SHELBY PAULSON

From road trips to Santa Fe and skiing in Colorado to Caribbean beaches and Christmas markets in Germany, my parents instilled a love of exploring the world. 

TRAVEL ADVISOR

I grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, in a family that was always planning the next trip. Good food was always a priority, as was hospitality that felt warm and personal. Those priorities still shape how I travel and plan for others. If food is part of your reason for going, I’ll happily research everything from a special dinner reservation to the local spot you might otherwise walk past.

That curiosity eventually took me to Barcelona as an au pair and to Cabo, where my husband, Mack, and I moved the day after our wedding for what we call our “six-month honeymoon.” After studying Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Sciences, I built a nine-year career in luxury golf and lifestyle clubs, learning to anticipate needs, navigate surprises, and make people feel remembered.

My brain is happiest putting the moving parts together. I especially enjoy the logistics behind company retreats, wedding room blocks, group getaways, and multigenerational vacations, bringing individual attention to trips with a lot of people and details. And when plans change, I bring a calm, resourceful approach and a sense of humor, shaped by years of both hospitality work and family adventures.

Now based in Austin with Mack and our three young children, I affectionately call myself the “vicarious travel agent.” In this season of life when my own adventures are fewer, I get particular joy from researching my clients’ destinations, getting excited alongside them, and hearing the stories when they return.