I am inspired by all that Beth Santos has created. It was an honor to speak to her for my podcast after meeting her in NYC at the Travel and Adventure Show where we were both speakers. Her LinkedIn says that she is disrupting travel for women but I believe she is changing the world for women! You can watch our interview on YouTube, read the transcript below or listen on your favorite podcast platform.
Wanderful‘s book club will discuss my new book, BRAVE-ish, on Dec 16, 2023. I hope you will join us and I cannot wait to read her new book, Wander Woman, coming on March 5, 2024. Learn more below about Wanderful, Wanderfest and see you in Utah for Women in Travel Summit in April 12-14 2024.
Another title for this interview was “Maximum Beth: Disrupting Travel for Women, Changing the Wander World Worldwide – A Community Builder’s Journey” If you are traveling in Boston, make sure to eat at her Ula Cafe. Thank you to Beth Santos for making time to share her incredible journey!
TRANSCRIPT from our interview below: (filmed Sept 28, 2023)
Lisa Niver:
This is Lisa Niver and I am the author of Brave-ish, One Breakup, Six Continents and Feeling Fearless after Fifty. I am so beyond thrilled and excited to be here today with Beth Santos. Hello Beth. Welcome. Thank you for being here.
Beth Santos:
Hi. Thanks so much for having me.
Lisa Niver:
Oh my goodness. It is. I’ve been researching you and it’s hard to sum you up because you are a force of nature. I appreciate that your social media is called Maximum Beth, because I think you are constantly at maximum capacity, what you’ve accomplished for women. I know you focus on women in travel, but I think that you are really changing women in business and women entrepreneurship for everyone, so thank you.
Beth Santos:
Aw, I really appreciate that. That’s really sweet. Maximum Beth is what they called me in college, so the name stuck and I like to keep busy.
Lisa Niver:
One of the things I noticed since you brought up college, let’s start there, is that you have a lot of places that you worked in conjunction. Being in an acapella group is a very specific kind of music where everyone’s piece makes a big difference. You really have to bring everyone along or it doesn’t work.
Beth Santos:
Absolutely. That’s an interesting insight. I also did crew in college, which is very similar to that. Everyone works as a team. Everyone has to put in their unique part, and you make something. That’s how I’ve always viewed leadership. Honestly, in running a business, you are salesperson, number one. When I say sales, it doesn’t always mean financial. It also means you have to sell this idea to every single person that works with you, who collaborates with you. Your team has to believe at least close to as passionately as you do about the work that you’re doing. Otherwise, you’re not going to get as far as you want to go.
Lisa Niver:
I did wonder about that. How did you get involved in crew? It’s a tough sport. 4:30 AM workouts.
Beth Santos:
It’s funny. My husband now is just like, really? You were an athlete. My current hardcore workout is pulling weeds in my garden. But no, I loved it. I actually did it in high school first. I grew up in coastal New Hampshire and so you would do any kind of workout if you saw the view that I went out with. We would do afternoon workouts when we were kids. It’s just something that I fell in love with. When I went to college, I thought I’m going to keep this going. 4:30 AM Yes, it’s pretty rough. But also there’s a lot of comradery in it, to all be together and to see the sunrise. It was a really magical time in my life. I don’t know if I could do it now, but I loved doing it then.
Lisa Niver:
I’ve read a lot of research about women CEOs that make a big impact. Most of them come from an athletic team background and understand how to bring people together and what coaching is required.
Beth Santos:
Yes. I believe that. Absolutely.
Lisa Niver:
Lisa Niver:
You’ve brought together a hundred million women with Wanderful. That is incredible.
READ THE FULL INTERVIEW on We Said Go Travel
Chaplains are called to be present. We hold, we witness, we support others in accessing their spiritual resources, and we accompany. We honor the grief, loss, and love by seeing and hearing them when it is unbearable.
An outcry over my support for Israel in my Jewish Journal columns forced me to withdraw from my commencement address at Georgetown Law School. Here is the speech I was going to give.
In a sold-out event at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, WIZO (Women’s International Zionist Organization) hosted its annual Mother’s Day Luncheon.
He became the first senior adviser to Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, helping elect pro-Israel politicians to Congress and winning more than 80% of races.
The challenge is how we can reinvent rabbinical training so that it’s not clinging to models that no longer work, is sustainable, and addresses the needs of today and tomorrow’s Jewish community.
It’s not just a momentous occasion for the congregation but is significant for the larger Palisades community as well, as it helps restore a sense of faith that the community will reemerge stronger than ever.
The story centers on Esther Perez (portrayed by Leïla Bekhti), a Moroccan-Jewish immigrant and devoted mother of six. When her newborn son Roland is diagnosed with a clubfoot and given a bleak prognosis, Esther refuses to accept limits placed on his future.
In the introduction to the book about the U.S. community I wrote about a decade and a half ago, a little story about Foxman appeared, which I thought was appropriate as a farewell to this man and to an era.
Perhaps this also signals a belated reckoning for other false-flag NGOs claiming to promote human rights. The damage from terror-supporting propaganda will take many years to reverse, but at least further abuse can finally be prevented.
Maximum Beth: The Empowering Entrepreneur Embodies Wonder, Wanderlust, and Wanderful Adventures
Lisa Ellen Niver
Listen or watch our interview on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or your favorite podcast platform
Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.
Editor's Picks
Israel and the Internet Wars – A Professional Social Media Review
The Invisible Student: A Tale of Homelessness at UCLA and USC
What Ever Happened to the LA Times?
Who Are the Jews On Joe Biden’s Cabinet?
You’re Not a Bad Jewish Mom If Your Kid Wants Santa Claus to Come to Your House
No Labels: The Group Fighting for the Political Center
Latest Articles
“Netflix is a Joke” Returns to LA with Jewish Acts Galore
The Book and the Sword
In the Desert – A poem for Parsha Bamidbar
A Bisl Torah — Your Time Capsule
Not Wandering in the Wilderness with Bewilderness
A Moment in Time: “Me Time”
Inaugural ‘Core Vital Voices Conference’ for Orthodox Women Who Provide End of Life Care
Chaplains are called to be present. We hold, we witness, we support others in accessing their spiritual resources, and we accompany. We honor the grief, loss, and love by seeing and hearing them when it is unbearable.
Print Issue: The Speech I Won’t Give at Georgetown Law | May 15, 2026
An outcry over my support for Israel in my Jewish Journal columns forced me to withdraw from my commencement address at Georgetown Law School. Here is the speech I was going to give.
Israel’s Noam Bettan Advances to Eurovision Grand Final
This is the fifth time that Israel has qualified for the Eurovision final in the past six years.
The Klezmatics Are Made for These Times
“We Were Made for These Times” is as inventive and joyous an album as I’ve heard in a long time. And the most proudly Jewish.
Motherhood, War and Media: WIZO Luncheon Reflects a Changing Reality Since Oct. 7, 2023
In a sold-out event at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, WIZO (Women’s International Zionist Organization) hosted its annual Mother’s Day Luncheon.
Brian Goldsmith’s Senate Bid Rooted in Fighting Antisemitism in California
He became the first senior adviser to Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, helping elect pro-Israel politicians to Congress and winning more than 80% of races.
AJU’s Ziegler School: Growth and Transformation
The challenge is how we can reinvent rabbinical training so that it’s not clinging to models that no longer work, is sustainable, and addresses the needs of today and tomorrow’s Jewish community.
A Guava Gourmet Cheesecake for Shavuot
Let’s just say, Shavuot gives us a wonderful, guilt-free excuse to indulge in this guava mango cheesecake!
Celebrate National Hamburger Month
While there may be limitations on how to enjoy burgers due to the laws of kashrut, it just means Jews have to get a little more creative.
Table for Five: Bamidbar
Counting Soldiers
Kehillat Israel to Return to Palisades 16 Months After Devastating Fire
It’s not just a momentous occasion for the congregation but is significant for the larger Palisades community as well, as it helps restore a sense of faith that the community will reemerge stronger than ever.
‘Once Upon My Mother’ Brings Roland Perez’s Extraordinary True Story to the Screen
The story centers on Esther Perez (portrayed by Leïla Bekhti), a Moroccan-Jewish immigrant and devoted mother of six. When her newborn son Roland is diagnosed with a clubfoot and given a bleak prognosis, Esther refuses to accept limits placed on his future.
An American Shabbat
When I travel in America, I love being invited to observe Shabbat building bridges – uniting tribes – among Christians.
Synagogues Have Become the New Front Line for Jews in New York
The moment Jewish houses of worship become targets for political intimidation, the line between activism and harassment disappears.
Rosner’s Domain | Remembering the Inimitable Abe Foxman
In the introduction to the book about the U.S. community I wrote about a decade and a half ago, a little story about Foxman appeared, which I thought was appropriate as a farewell to this man and to an era.
The Remnant of Israel and the Meaning of Monticello
America’s third president’s home survived thanks to the efforts of a proud Jew thankful for freedom of religion in the United States.
The End of an Anti-Israel Propaganda NGO – More to Come?
Perhaps this also signals a belated reckoning for other false-flag NGOs claiming to promote human rights. The damage from terror-supporting propaganda will take many years to reverse, but at least further abuse can finally be prevented.
Shavuot: Return to Sinai
Shavuot is that moment in the year where all becomes one – People Israel, Torah, memory and the Divine – a unification begun at Sinai.
A New Jewish College
This idea is not just about fleeing antisemitism, nor proving native loyalty. It is about experiencing life from a different angle than the coasts.
Two Down, One to Go
So now, for my wife and me, it’s time for the mezinka, an Ashkenazi Jewish wedding custom that is observed when parents marry off their last child.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.