Samantha Falewée is a writer and editor seeking stories that deepen human connection and understanding of the world around us. She began her career as an intern in 2011 at National Geographic; most recently, she was a senior print editor at Travel + Leisure. In 2024, Samantha left the magazine to pursue a master’s degree in Animal Studies at New York University.

In 2024,

“Isle of Freedom,” a piece Samantha edited for Travel + Leisure, received a Gold Award in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Travel by the North American Travel Journalists Association. That same year, Samantha was invited to speak as a panelist at the world’s largest international Indigenous tourism conference, in the unceded Algonquin Anishinabeg Territory in Ottawa, Ontario.

In 2025,

she wrote a TIME magazine cover story about a cultural center in western Mongolia dedicated to the collaboration between raptor conservationists, Kazakh eagle hunters, and travelers. Around the same time, her article for Condé Nast Traveler about Indigenous alpine tourism was shortlisted for Consumer Magazine Feature of the Year (North America) by the Inspire Global Media Awards. A story she assigned and edited for Travel + Leisure, “Nature’s Keepers,” received an honorable mention in the Sustainable Travel category from NATJA. In June of that year, she spoke on a panel at the Adventure Travel Trade Association conference in Denver about the changing nature of digital media.

Previously,

Samantha has served as a board member of ASME Next, the leading organization for early-career print and digital journalists, part of the American Society of Magazine Editors. Her writing has been published in Afar, Condé Nast Traveler, TIME, Travel + Leisure, Virtuoso, Vogue, and Wine Spectator, in addition to a book review for National Geographic.

Samantha has represented Travel + Leisure to the brand’s Travel Advisory Board, a noted group of top travel advisors and agency owners collectively managing more than 7,000 travel designers and driving more than $14.5 billion in annual sales.

Some favorite lodges around the world:

  • Six Senses Fort Barwara, in Rajasthan

  • The Mount Nelson, in Cape Town

  • Hôtel Musée Premières Nations, in Wendake

  • St. Regis Bora Bora, French Polynesia

  • Kalepo Camp, in Samburuland

  • Shash Diné Eco Retreat, in the Navajo Nation

  • The Royal Mansour, in Marrakech

  • andBeyond Sandibe, in the Okavango Delta

  • Explora Los Torres, in Patagonia

  • Soho Beach House Canouan, in the Grenadines


A France-U.S. citizen, Samantha speaks conversational French. She is an Advanced Open-Water certified scuba diver.

The last name rhymes with “far away.”