Samantha Falewée is a writer and editor seeking stories that deepen human connection and understanding of the natural world. After more than a decade of in-house editor roles, most recently senior editor at Travel + Leisure, she left the office in 2024 to pursue open sky and a master’s degree in Animal Studies at New York University.

Her writing has been published in Afar, BBC, Condé Nast Traveler, TIME, Travel + Leisure, Virtuoso, Vogue, and Wine Spectator. Eons ago, she was an intern at National Geographic.

In 2026,

Samantha’s reporting on the effects of climate change on semi-pastoral tribes in Kenya received an honorable mention from the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA). That same year, she traveled to Somaliland to learn about illegal wildlife trade in the Horn of Africa. Two of her articles—one celebrating female Inuit jewelers in Greenland for Vogue, and the other examining the effects of growing tourism on nomadic herders in Mongolia for Condé Nast Traveler—have been shortlisted for Consumer Feature of the Year by the Inspire Global Media Awards in the UK. She was accepted to a fieldwork program in Gabon that studies the correlation between ancient Indigenous village sites and regional biodiversity in the Congo Basin.

In 2025,

Samantha’s article about a new cultural center in Mongolia, a meeting space for raptor conservationists, Kazakh eagle hunters, and curious travelers, landed on the cover of TIME magazine. She traveled to the Republic of the Congo to learn about forest elephants and saltwater bais. Her article for Condé Nast Traveler about Indigenous alpine tourism companies was recognized by the Inspire Global Media Awards, and a story she edited for Travel + Leisure about eco-tourism efforts in Brazil received an honorable mention from NATJA. In June, she spoke on a panel at the Adventure Travel Trade Association conference in Denver about the changing nature of digital media.

In 2024,

“Isle of Freedom,” a piece Samantha edited for Travel + Leisure, received a Gold Award from NATJA. That spring, Samantha was invited to speak as a panelist at the world’s largest international Indigenous tourism conference, in the unceded Algonquin Anishinabeg Territory of Ottawa, Ontario.

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. While at Travel + Leisure, she liaised with 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.

Her favorite places to stay, around the world:

  • Lango Lodge, in the Republic of the Congo

  • Six Senses Fort Barwara, in Rajasthan

  • Cheetah Rescue and Conservation Centre, in Somaliland

  • The Happy House, in Nepal

  • Ilimanaq Lodge, in Greenland

  • Three Camel Lodge, in Mongolia

  • The Mount Nelson, in Cape Town

  • Kalepo Camp, in Kenya’s Samburuland

  • Explora Los Torres, in Patagonia

  • Shash Diné Eco Retreat, in the Navajo Nation

  • andBeyond Sandibe, in the Okavango Delta

  • St. Regis Bora Bora, French Polynesia

  • The Royal Mansour, in Marrakech

  • Hôtel Musée Premières Nations, in Wendake

  • Soho Beach House Canouan, in the Grenadines


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

The last name rhymes with “far away.”