Meet Our Team

With an impressive track record as a leading travel and tourism thought leader, over the past 12 years, Stephanie M. Jones has introduced several award-winning sustainable tourism initiatives that leverage tourism as a catalyst for economic growth and inclusion for underrepresented tourism & hospitality SMEs.

As a distinguished serial social entrepreneur and advocate for social inclusion and impact, her leadership has given rise to significant initiatives which aim to level the playing field for local, BIPOC tourism & hospitality businesses, museums, and entrepreneurs by preparing them to access equitable industry opportunities. 

Jones's consultancy extends to destinations and travel brands where she develops programs that marry community-based and sustainable tourism with corporate DEI, ESG, and minority supplier development strategies. Her innovative work has been recognized with prestigious awards, including one of 2024’s Most Influential Women in Travel by TravelPulse, 2024 Journey Woman Lifetime Achievement Bessie Award and 2022 Travel+Leisure Global Vision Award.

An influential figure in tourism development for SMEs, Jones has served on several advisory boards, including the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board for two appointed terms. Northstar Travel Group’s Black Travel Advisory Board and the Hurtigruten Group’s Black Traveler Advisory Board. Her expertise and dedication to social entrepreneurship in tourism earned her a spot as the only U.S.-based finalist in the 2021 UNWTO’s Social Entrepreneurship Competition in Tourism. Jones is an Executive Member of the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences.

She is the executive producer & host of “The Necessary Disruptor with Stephanie M. Jones" podcast, featuring insightful discussions with industry disruptors. A transformational speaker, she frequently delivers keynotes at national and global conferences, addressing crucial topics like sustainable tourism, social inclusion & impact, and the Black travel movement, underscoring her role as a leading voice in shaping the future of travel and tourism.

The business of driving mutually beneficial change in cultural heritage, history, and tourism is Kelly's purpose. She is passionate about creating and amplifying diverse, equitable, and inclusive experiences that are community-centered and generate economic opportunity.

As part of the Disrupt for Change leadership team, Kelly believes that success is built on human connections, teamwork, satisfying a customer's need through an engaging, experiential, inspirational, and transformational product.

As a business developer, she focuses on people and their needs to define opportunities. As a strategist, she sets a vision. As a logistical player, she defines processes, As a tactical player, she executes with precision.

As a transformationalist, Kelly exposes others to new experiences outside of their environment and inspires them to give back. She is recognized as a business leader for leadership, achieving financial goals, problem-solving, and organizational development.

Karen is a diversified senior financial management professional with a proven track record of implementing compliance and audit management programs. She deploys strong relationship management skills with a track record in organizational development and team building. 

Karen brings more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry to the team with strong business intelligence acumen, project and financial management skills, and the ability to identify and implement best practices. She is experienced in successfully building effective relationships and teams as well as managing complex business and financial changes. She is a self-starter able to identify critical business needs and develops and implements recommendations that increase operational efficiency.

Karen develops and implements recommendations that increases operational efficiency for Disrupt for Change.

Margaret “Margie” Miranda is an experienced marketing and outreach

professional. She has worked in the travel and tourism industry for more than 20 years. Margie conducts outreach in local communities and works with SMEs to help them understand their level of tourism and market readiness and where there are gaps in their knowledge base as entrepreneurs and business owners. She provides support for the Diversity Tourism Academy. 

Driven by her interest in culture and the tourism industry, she took a leap of faith as an independent tour guide on the island of Puerto Rico, engaging local business owners to be the source of her tour trips as well as providing visitors the best experience while traveling the island. As an entrepreneur, she understands firsthand the challenges and barriers for minority businesses from underserved communities working in the travel and tourism industry. She received certification as a cultural heritage tour guide through Miami-Dade Community College.

As an adventurer and Latina entrepreneur, she is passionate about her professional growth in the tourism industry and wants to ensure that others gain industry education to grow their businesses.