 Fritz Satran, PresidentBorn and raised in Vienna, Austria, Fritz founded AESU in 1977 on the idea of increasing global understanding through travel. Over the years, Fritz and his staff have conducted high-quality tours to Europe and beyond for many prestigious groups and universities. Driven by a belief in the idea of travel with a purpose, Fritz specializes in creating unique and flawlessly executed travel experiences. When carving out some free time, he enjoys skiing, swimming and learning even more about world history. |
 Lisabeth Berquist-Satran, Executive DirectorSince 1977, Lisabeth is one of the founding members of AESU. While on a European student exchange program, she and Fritz met in Paris, France. They fell in love and took the entrepreneurial leap of faith to start their own travel company and share their passion for travel to spark positive change in the world. Lisabeth continues to travel extensively throughout the world and share her expertise. She strives to inspire others to expand their horizons, follow their dreams and make their own history. When not traveling, Lisabeth enjoys yoga, dancing, and sunsets on the beach. |
 Vera Ingram, Executive DirectorBorn and raised in Germany, Vera moved to the US to work for the German Embassy and Lufthansa German Airlines in Washington, DC. She joined the AESU team in 2000 and started working in partnership with university alumni associations on graduation trips and young alumni travel programs. The best part of her job is reading testimonials from travelers such as ‘most amazing trip of a life-time’ or ‘a wake-up call to see the world’ and possibly having changed someone’s outlook on the world, because he or she went on this incredible journey. Her favorite place in the world is her next destination, looking to meet people who have inspiring stories to tell. |
 Karoline Bowman, Director of Group SalesKaroline started working at AESU in the Reservations department way back in December of 1996. Now as the Director of Group Sales, she gets to spend her day developing customized travel itineraries for everything from study abroad classes to traveling musical groups! Karoline’s favorite part of her job is planning special events, like dinner in an oceanfront chateau on the French Riviera, or a private evening for a group among the incredible artwork of the Tate Britain. It can take months to work out every detail, but the excitement of seeing the event come to life is totally worth it. When she’s not working, Karoline can be found enjoying life near the Chesapeake Bay with her husband and two daughters. |
 Maggie Stephens, Assistant DirectorMaggie has been with AESU since 2002. Originally from Ireland, she has lived and worked in Ireland, England and the U.S. After visiting Baltimore for a weekend, she fell in love with the city and decided to stay! Her previous experience working for both student travel companies and tour operators was a perfect fit for AESU Travel. The best part of her job is the varied roles – working with our partners at Alumni Associations across the country, talking to travelers and occasionally getting out of the office and meeting our clients on tour. Someday she will travel across the US in an RV with her pup Gus! (see photo below) |
 Kaila Ingram, Graphic Designer and Marketing CoordinatorKaila officially joined the AESU staff full time in October of 2015 after interning in the graphics department for three summers. As a dual citizen of the U.S. and Germany, and growing up in a bilingual household, travel was inevitably going to be an important part of her life. With a love of exploration and a curious mind, Kaila hopes to add Japan, Israel, and Australia to her travel list in the near future. When she’s not creating web/print materials and helping to navigate the waves in the ocean of marketing, Kaila is most likely re-creating a costume or prop from a popular superhero franchise, baking an exorbitant amount of pies, or spending some quality time catching up with her cat, Bowie. |
 Christine Galik, Program CoordinatorChristine joined AESU’s team in June of 2017, but has been passionate about exploring since she was bit by the travel bug during a semester studying abroad in Florence, Italy. She loves learning about new places and cultures, and hopes to make it to South Africa and New Zealand one day. When she’s not planning her next trip, or helping you plan yours, you can find her snuggling all of the dogs and eating all the sushi. Her best travel advice? Pack light and take lots of pictures! |
 GusGus is AESU’s office pup! He was adopted by Maggie back in 2014, and has made himself right at home ever since. He loves making his rounds to get pet by all of the staff, getting snacks from Fritz, lying down in a sunny spot or on the couch, and can occasionally be found going nuts over bubble wrap. Gus is a great addition to the office as he manages to put smiles on our faces every day, and is always entertaining us. If he could talk, his slogan would be “I solemnly swear I am up to no good!” |
