# Ashley Emala

> Ashley Emala is the Glen Ridge, New Jersey-based founder of Arco Destinations, a boutique travel advisory focused exclusively on individually curated trips to Italy. She began advising travelers in 2023 after a two-decade career spanning accounting, finance and nonprofit operations, bringing a self-described love of spreadsheets to an intentionally narrow travel specialty shaped by childhood summers in Italy, Italian-language study and repeated firsthand travel.

- **Role:** Owner and Founder, Arco Destinations; Travel Advisor, Fora Travel
- **Organizations:** Arco Destinations, Fora Travel, LBR/PR, Junior League of Montclair-Newark, Cougar Aquatic Team, University of Maryland Alumni Association
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, University of Maryland, College Park
- **Known for:** Founded Arco Destinations, a boutique New Jersey travel agency focused exclusively on Italy., Earned Fora Travel's Pro Travel Advisor and Advanced Fora Advisor credentials in early 2024., Built a Fora advisor profile with 26 published client reviews as of the latest crawl.

## Career timeline

- **2003-2004** — Worked as a senior associate at KPMG US.
- **2004-2007** — Served as assistant controller for aggregates at Holcim.
- **2008-2010** — Held finance and administration roles with Tower Hamlets Summer University and Futureversity in London.
- **2014-2020** — Worked as finance manager at House of Funk.
- **2015-2017** — Served as managing director of the Junior League of Montclair-Newark.
- **2015-present** — Listed as chief financial officer of LBR/PR.
- **2017** — Received the Junior League of Montclair-Newark's Leader of the Year award.
- **2023** — Began planning travel professionally and launched the advisory business that was initially known as Ashley Wood Travel.
- **2024** — Earned Fora's Pro Travel Advisor and Advanced Fora Advisor credentials and appeared on podcasts about family travel and advisor entrepreneurship.
- **2025** — Repositioned the business as Arco Destinations, focused exclusively on individually curated travel to Italy.
- **2026** — Continued publishing Italy-focused guidance and promoting tailored corporate and leisure travel, including integrated northern Italy itineraries.

## Achievements

- Founded Arco Destinations, a boutique New Jersey travel agency focused exclusively on Italy.
- Earned Fora Travel's Pro Travel Advisor and Advanced Fora Advisor credentials in early 2024.
- Built a Fora advisor profile with 26 published client reviews as of the latest crawl.
- Received the Junior League of Montclair-Newark's 2017 Leader of the Year award.
- Appeared on the Build Your Best Family podcast to discuss family culture through travel and on Masters in Travel to discuss advisor business development.
- Serves publicly as officials coordinator for the Cougar Aquatic Team in New Jersey.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Celebrated Fora Travel's inclusion in TIME's 2026 list of influential travel and tourism companies and emphasized the host agency's support for new, often female and parent advisors building flexible careers.
- **2026-05** — Promoted premium hospitality and integrated northern Italy itineraries around the September 2026 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
- **2025-03** — Arco Destinations' Italy-focused brand and website were publicly featured by BrandWell Designs.
- **2024-07** — Appeared on Build Your Best Family to discuss memorable international family travel, child-inclusive planning and cultural immersion.
- **2024-06** — Joined a Masters in Travel roundtable on how peer community and business coaching influenced her travel-advisor business approach.

## Links

- Website: https://www.arcodestinations.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-emala/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arcodestinations/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Arco-Destinations/61551051221591/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ashley-emala
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-26