Debra Hines Brown

CEO/PRESIDENT & FOUNDER SMARTBIRD WORLD TRAVEL | SB WORLD LUXE TRAVEL

Debra entered the travel industry in 2014 after a successful, executive-level B2B career in commercial risk management and insurance, specializing in alternative risk financing and transfer, complex property & casualty insurance placements, and as an international underwriter and aviation insurance broker. In 1994, she earned the designation of Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter (CPCU). Debbie is also a former US Army Reserves Commissioned Officer and Desert Storm Era veteran.

Debra owns a boutique retail storefront agency in Atlanta, Georgia and enjoys her role as a luxury travel designer and a mentor to new travel advisors. She specializes in curating bespoke, authentic, culturally immersive travel for individual, groups and corporate/organization meeting and incentives in the luxury space across the globe with an emphasis on Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Oceania and the Polar Regions. 

She has appeared in a number of travel industry articles as a contributor, is a member of Connections Luxury Leaders and formerly held Advisory Board Member positions with Global Travel Market (GTM) and the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority. 

Personally, she is the mother of five adult daughters, a graduate of Hampton University, Hampton Virginia and a strong supporter of HBCUs. She considers herself a global history and geography “nerd” and enjoys genealogy, having traced her family’s history to the 1600s. 

Her favorite quote is “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”