Authors

Colleen Smith has years of experience working behind-the-scenes in the travel and tourism industry. As a travel-obsessive and a self-described "beach bum and mountain girl", she uses her personal passions and her industry experience to empathize with travelers and craft insightful travel writing.

Kat Nellis is an Alaska native with years of experience working with the cruise and tourism industry in Alaska. She grew up playing on glaciers, fishing for salmon and picking wild berries and now uses her travel writing to share her passion for Alaska with fellow adventurers.

Sam Dobie is a travel writer and content creator with years of experience in outdoor leadership and the tourism industry. His experience working directly with travelers and helping visitors plan their trips help him provide carefully curated recommendations for visitors to Alaska.

Danielle Laramie has over a decade of experience in the tourism and travel industry, and has been exploring Alaska since her first visit in 2006. She has also worked as a guide, and on the front lines of the hospitality industry, and uses her inside knowledge to help visitors to Alaska plan their perfect trip.

Haley Mortenson is Director of Marketing at Alaska shore tours, and has been writing about Alaska for over seven years. With inside knowledge of the Alaska tourism industry, a background in creative writing and a love for the mountains and adventure sports of Alaska, she is well-equipped to help visitors to Alaska find the right tours and experiences. Haley describes herself as our resident marketing guru and mac n' cheese connoisseur. Growing up in the Big Sky Country down south, she developed her love of big mountains and epic adventures that drew her here to Alaska Shore Tours.

Cara Lederrman has worked in the Alaskan tourism industry for years, and specializes in sharing her passion for Alaska through blogs and social media content. She travels the Inside Passage each summer to find hidden gems, explore new tours and ensure her recommendations for Alaska tourists are up-to-date.

Drew Fortner is the founder of Alaska Shore Tours, the Inside Passage's leading independent shore excursion company. Since launching the business, Drew has helped tens of thousands of cruise passengers discover Alaska through carefully vetted, locally operated tours across Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Sitka, Seward, Anchorage, and Denali.

Drew's approach combines deep knowledge of Southeast Alaska's tourism landscape with a commitment to connecting travelers with authentic local experiences. He oversees Alaska Shore Tours' partnerships, guest experience, and the growth of the Tourbase franchise network — which now spans destinations from Alaska to the American West.

Carly is a travel content writer and blogger. For her, travel is where it’s at. She loves doing it, researching it, and writing about it, sharing her enthusiasm along the way. Let her do the research so you don't have to! 

Kyle Aiton has decades of experience in the outdoor industry and in wilderness photography, working and travelling throughout Wyoming, Colorado and Alaska. In his travel writing, he draws on his love of adventure and his personal history of volunteering in the outdoors to help tourists have authentic experiences in Alaska.

Jordan Pringle brings her inside knowledge in Alaska tourism booking and sales to help visitors to Alaska find the right experiences and tours for them. Her love of food and wine also helps her provide insights on the Alaska restaurant and dining scene. She is a sales guru, originally from upstate New York, who moved out west for the mountains. She loves bringing a little East Coast flare to rugged Alaska!

Daniel first saw Alaska at age nine, after a weeks-long drive up the Alaska highway in a weathered RV. He's been in love with the Last Frontier ever since, and he's spent several months guiding teenagers in the wilderness around the Talkeetna Mountains north of Anchorage.

Curt Davidson spent many summers living and working in Skagway, Alaska on the zipline, before turning his expertise to Alaska Shore Tours. 

Brittany Keller has lived and worked in Skagway and considers it her favorite place on earth. She draws on both her firsthand experiences in Alaska and her years of experience in the travel and tourism industry to write articles that help visitors to Alaska get oriented and find the right tours and experiences for their trip.

Kristina is our creative video editor with over 8 years of experience in filmmaking and post-production. After years spent working on video production & capture in the cruise industry in Alaska, she now shares her expertise with us here at Alaska Shore Tours. 

Sarah is the General Manager at Coastal Helicopters in Juneau, where she oversees day-to-day operations for one of Alaska’s premier glacier flightseeing and dog sledding operators. Since joining the company in 2018 as Tour & Marketing Manager, she has grown into a leadership role focused on delivering seamless, high-quality experiences for thousands of visitors each season.

A Juneau local, Sarah brings a deep connection to the region and its outdoor culture—something that shapes both how Coastal operates and how guests experience Alaska. From coordinating complex glacier logistics to working closely with pilots, ground crews, and dog camp teams, she plays a central role in making these remote experiences run safely and smoothly.

Beyond her work at Coastal, Sarah is actively involved in Alaska’s tourism community, contributing to broader industry conversations and supporting collaboration across operators through organizations like the Alaska Travel Industry Association. Through both her operational leadership and industry involvement, she helps shape how visitors experience Southeast Alaska.