Entrepreneur. Dynamic,creative,versatile strategic consultant.FOCUS: experiential, sustainable travel; Boomers & Women
Greater Denver Area
- Current
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- Founder at TravelDragon Inc.
- Founder/Owner at The Dragon's Path
- Owner at Dragon Consulting
- Past
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- Consultant: Boomer Travel Product Section Creator at EONS.com
- owner at ActiveWomen.com
- Marketing Director at Whole Foods Market
- VP: Business Unit Director Whole Journeys at WholePeople.com A Whole Foods Market company
- Marketing & Tour Development at Country Walkers
- Education
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- Gestalt Center for Organization and Systems Development
- University of Denver
- Recommended
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34 people have recommended Kathy - Connections
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500+
connections
- Industry
- Leisure, Travel & Tourism
- Websites
Kathy Dragon’s Summary
I've been leading, designing, selling and operating small group adventure trips for the past 20+ years. Many of the 3000 folks I've traipsed around the globe with have become personal friends.
My target markets are successful, active, connected, engaged, involved Women, Boomers and PrimeTime Travelers (ages 50-70). I intimately understand and very much enjoy these markets.
If your company is interested in getting to know this market better, really understand them, I'm interested in helping.
I'm passionate about authentic, experiential, sustainable travel. I believe why we travel, how we travel, where we go, what we do while we are there and when we return, all have the ability to effect positive change in the world.
I'm more comfortable on the road, trail, in front of an audience, leading a group, or with a new startup than in an office. I love being around and involved with passionate, smart, caring individuals and learning new things.
There is never enough time in the day for all the opportunities we are offered or to execute all the ideas that evolve. I'm incredibly busy but never too busy to meet new people who have similar view of life and work. Contact me at kathleendragon@gmail.com if you think we should be linkedIn.
Kathy Dragon’s Specialties:
Strategist and Subject Matter Expert in the categories of Boomers, Prime Time, Matures, & age 40+ Women as they relate to and interact with Travel, Technology, Sustainability, Green, Outdoor, and Natural Foods Industries. Deep understanding of Online Communities, Social Networking, Web 2.0, Open Social.
Kathy Dragon’s Experience
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Founder
TravelDragon Inc.
(Leisure, Travel & Tourism industry)
December 2007 — Present (1 year 8 months)
TravelDragon will offer a curated destination for travelers interested in small group, authentic experiences worldwide. Search from 1000's of tours and properties offered by 200+ of the best small/medium size travel providers focused on active/adventure, cultural, nature, learning, sustainable/green, volunteering, culinary, and family travel categories.
Research, compare, share and review trips, unique properties and providers. Contact companies directly.
Combining all the social tools and integration potential only a Ruby on Rails based platform can. API available for vertical partner sites. -
Founder/Owner
The Dragon's Path
(Privately Held; Myself Only; Leisure, Travel & Tourism industry)
October 1998 — Present (10 years 10 months)
Worldwide Cultural Walking and Hiking Tours
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Owner
Dragon Consulting
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Leisure, Travel & Tourism industry)
August 1998 — Present (11 years)
Strategic Consulting, including brand strategy development. Subject Matter Expert, including professional speaking and ideation.
Consumer Expertise: Boomers, Mature Market and Boomer Women.
Category Expertise: Travel: Adventure/Specialty/Experiential/Sustainable; The Outdoor Retail and Natural Foods industries. -
Consultant: Boomer Travel Product Section Creator
EONS.com
(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Internet industry)
October 2006 — October 2007 (1 year 1 month)
Eons™ is a 50+ media company inspiring a generation of boomers and seniors to live the biggest life possible. Founded by Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.com, Eons was launched in July 2006.
Travel areas offers 2500 + high quality tours provided by 140 of the top tour operators in the world. Search by destination, activity, interest or inspirational category. Http://travel.eons.com -
owner
ActiveWomen.com
(Leisure, Travel & Tourism industry)
2004 — 2007 (3 years)
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Marketing Director
Whole Foods Market
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; WFM; Food & Beverages industry)
October 2005 — October 2006 (1 year 1 month)
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VP: Business Unit Director Whole Journeys
WholePeople.com A Whole Foods Market company
(Privately Held; 501-1000 employees; Internet industry)
October 1999 — December 2000 (1 year 3 months)
Responsible for Business Plan and Vision for Whole Journeys, one of 5 core business units supporting 500 employees. Reported directly to John Mackey, founder/CEO of Whole Foods Market
Executive Team Member: responsible for vision and development of WholePeople.com
Hired and directly managed staff of 6.Direct responsibilities for all aspects of Whole Journeys business including tour selection and brochure development and direct marketing campaign, web site presence within vertical portal,set up of policies and procedures including budgets, staffing, operations, marketing etc.Developed partnership relations. Co-created co-branded store front with Altrec (site selling
travel clothing and gear), as well as spearheaded discussions with number of other business regarding partnership potential. -
Marketing & Tour Development
Country Walkers
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Leisure, Travel & Tourism industry)
November 1994 — November 1998 (4 years 1 month)
Worked with founders to grow company from 300-3000+ guests during my tenure. Researched and designed over 70% of worldwide walking vacations. Personally trained local guides & escorted trips in over 30 countries.
Involved in all aspects of marketing company and growing the company including first website, press releases, trade shows, travel agent training, hosted gatherings, catalog design and photography.
Kathy Dragon’s Education
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Gestalt Center for Organization and Systems Development
International Organization and Systems Development 2007 — 2009
The OSD International Program offers professionals effective alternatives for influencing the systems in which they work. The experiential nature of the program design enables participants to practice new skills in observing, reporting, and intervening in organizational settings. The intensive, international-based training draws heavily from the Gestalt Center for Organization & Systems Development Program, which was the first to apply Gestalt principles to the field of organizational consulting and has maintained a reputation for exceptional professional development for over 30 years. The program has four major foci:
* The Gestalt Framework
* Developing Systems
* Designing Interventions
* Developing Professionals- Activities and Societies:
- The program consists of five week-long sessions over the span of 16 months. Each session is held in a different country. Canada, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, South Africa, and Turkey are sample locations.
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University of Denver
BA , Exercise Physiology, Biology, Psychology , 1981 — 1985
- Activities and Societies:
- Resident Assistant, Soccer, Swimming
Additional Information
Kathy Dragon’s Websites:
Kathy Dragon’s Interests:
Adventure/Experiential/Sustainable TRAVEL, Social Media, Boomers, new product development, strategic alliances, professional networking, international travel, sustainable tourism practices, natural and organic food trends, LOHAS, wine, trail running, skiing, biking, hiking, photography,new technology, Travel 2.0, Widgets, gadgets, macs.
Kathy Dragon’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- career opportunities
- consulting offers
- new ventures
- expertise requests
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
