We are cousins, photographers, travellers and foodies!

Laurie Nassif, Director and Culinary guide 

wa and wee one.jpg

Foodie, travel photographer, author-photographer of two books, fashion and editorial photo-shoot producer, and adventure traveler, Laurie’s photographs have appeared in numerous publications including, Conde Nast Traveler, Elle, Sierra, and The New York Times. Laurie’s books, A Year in Central Park, with an introduction by Pulitzer Prize winner, Paul Goldberger, (Rizzoli International, 1992) and A Year in Chautauqua, with an introduction by Emmy Award winner, Roger Rosenblatt (Park Bench Press, 2000) are stunning photographic essays on a year in the life of two of the Country’s most enduring expressions of community, both natural and social.

A foodie extraordinaire, she was co-owner of the highly successful and succulent eatery, Green Fine Salad in Denver, CO that saw years of success in the Denver restaurant scene. Laurie’s attention to detail and vast experience as a guest service professional means she has a knack for making our travelers feel at home, and comfortable, anywhere in the world!

Her passion for travel, photography and food has taken Laurie around the globe, with extended stays in Africa, Guatemala, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam. Laurie lives with her husband, Jon, in beautiful Laguna Beach, California. Their son, Sam, is living in New York City and working for a Start-up Company.

Laurie’s love of Laguna Beach has inspired her to create a subsidiary company, Laguna Tastes & Tours, to provide personalized and intimate experiences that offer an authentic immersion into Laguna's vibrant culture.


Nance Ackerman, Instructor, Photography

nance and yayaj.jpg

Celebrated documentary photographer, Nance Ackerman has been taking pictures around the world for over 30 years. Her work has been featured in Time, Newsweek, Canadian Geographic, New York Times, and Canada’s national newspaper, the Globe and Mail. Her photographs of First Nations women have been exhibited at the Aperture Foundation in New York. Her book, Womankind: Faces of Change Around the World – a collection of portraits and essays of women activists around the world, was released in 2003 to rave reviews.

She’s covered the war in the Middle East, AIDS orphans in Africa and Mexican factory crime along the border. She just returned from Afghanistan where she is shooting a documentary film on midwifery. Her images and teaching always has a message – compassion, connection and understanding. As a filmmaker, she has gone on to win numerous awards and nominations for her film Cottonland, an exploration of prescription drug addiction, Four Feet Up, an intimate look at child poverty in Canada, and Fid, a short doc on aging. Her film, Conviction, released in 2019, is a raw and intimately collaborative film about women and prison. Ackerman also taught photojournalism at the University of King's College in Nova Scotia, before she and her partner, Jamie Alcorn, decided to create music, film and soundtracks at their maritime studio, Heartstring Productions, full time.