Marissa Braden

Before the years of dropping a pin on your phone, Marissa Braden remembers when her mother and grandmother would splay out a map and decide where the next summer trip was going to be. These month-long road trip adventures were filled to the brim with everything they could possibly see. When Marissa’s grandmother offered to take her anywhere to celebrate graduating high school (with enough credits to be a sophomore in college), Marissa immediately answered, “Walt Disney World.” It was there that she realized that she wanted to continue the  tradition of sharing a love of travel with her own family. After she and Chris were married, the two of them would take a trip to Walt Disney World on the weekends, specifically for Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival! Then when they had kids, they would go up to three times a year, every year, starting with their son’s second birthday. Now they are adding new destinations since their kids have developed their own love of traveling! Marissa’s dream of sharing the magic has become her reality. Now that she’s a travel advisor, Marissa not only gets to share the magic of traveling with her family, but with other families!

• Has a degree in chemistry with a minor in math and business from Texas A&M

• Grew up with strong women: mom was a single mom who went to college when Marissa was in elementary school; grandmother was one of the first women engineers for AT&T in Houston

• Lives in a middle-of-nowhere small town where they own land and her kids have animals

• Has a boxer dog named Rey (Star Wars) and two outdoor cats named Princess Sofia (Sofia the First) and Notso (as in “Not-so-Disney-themed”)