JULIAN BROWN

Europe & Asia

Born and educated in England, art historian Julian Brown made his home in Paris in 1986. He began leading tours around Europe in the early 1980s whilst he was an undergraduate student at the University of Durham, and he now spends much of each year conducting museum visits and historical walking tours in the French capital and provinces.

When not in France, he lectures on tours in Italy, Spain or Southeast Asia. He has travelled extensively in Asia and has a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. He gives lectures on his research for universities, museums, royal societies and at international conferences. 

ADAM TOOZE

European History

Dr. Adam Tooze is one of the world’s leading experts in European history.  He is also good fun, a tireless conversationalist, and an experienced travel study leader. Born in London, raised in Germany, and educated between the two, Adam holds the Shelby Cullom Davis chair of History at Columbia University. In 2019, Foreign Policy Magazine named him one of the top Global Thinkers of the decade.

Adam's writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, and the Financial Times; he is also the author of three critically acclaimed prizing winning books, the most recent being Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World.  More information can be found on his website adamtooze.com

SOPHIE CAMPBELL

England

Sophie Campbell is a travel writer and London Blue Badge tour guide. She was brought up in Asia and Africa and has been based in London for the past 25 years, writing for many national publications. She writes a monthly column for the travel pages of the Daily Telegraph and guides many incoming journalists and corporate clients on their visits to London.

Her book, The Season, details her summer whirl through the English social season – think big hats, camping in queues and royal regattas. 

TIM JEPSON

Europe & Asia

Tim Jepson is a British, London-based writer, traveler, and broadcaster. He began his traveling life at the age of 12, exploring the mountains of Britain and Ireland. After graduating from Oxford University with a BA in English Literature and Language, he lived and worked in Italy for six years, writing for a variety of British newspapers and leading high-level expeditions in the country’s remotest corners. His experiences were recorded in a book, Wild Italy, published in the U. S. by the Sierra Club. He has since written more than 20 books, including several titles for National Geographic, and numerous articles for publications worldwide.

He worked as a Travel Editor for London’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, and continues to travel extensively, with a passion for the farthest-flung destinations and the untrammelled cultures of Bhutan, Laos, Tibet, and Myanmar. Italy remains a passion, where he has been a National Geographic Cultural Expert for almost ten years. His most recent work, The British World: An Illustrated Atlas, for National Geographic, is published in November. After hours, you can often find Tim and his folk, pop, and bluegrass band Police Dog Hogan playing shows across the U.K. 

Ross King

Art History

Ross King is the bestselling author of books on Italian, French and Canadian art and history. Among his books are Brunelleschi’s Dome, Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling, The Judgment of Paris , and Leonardo and The Last Supper.

Ross’s most recent book, published in September 2016, marked his return to French Impressionism ten years after his award-winning The Judgement of Paris. The story of Monet’s struggles and triumphs in the last dozen years of his life, Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies has been written with “a historical novelist’s attunement to the interplay of place, temperament, and society … Never before has the full drama and significance of Monet’s magnificent Water Lilies been conveyed with such knowledge and perception, empathy and wonder” (Donna Seaman, Booklist). Mad Enchantment was the winner of the 2017 RBC Taylor Prize.

In tandem with his writing, Ross is an active fundraiser for the arts and a passionate lecturer and tour guide. When not traveling for work or pleasure, he lives in the historic town of Woodstock, near Oxford, with his wife Melanie.

LIONEL MICHELIN

Wine Expert

Wine expert Lionel Michelin was born in 1949 – a one of a kind vintage – a special blend of 50% Martinique and 50% Ardennes.  While studying law, he worked a part-time job where he discovered the historic wine warehouses in Paris Bercy and began his initiation into the delights of antique vintages - these extraordinary tastings literally went to his head and he was soon building his own cellar of fine wines!

Through his company, De Vinis Illustribus, he sources exceptional vintages with the aim of providing his customers with a truly memorable tasting. Lionel has access to some of the most exclusive wine tasting experiences in France, and he is delighted to share them with you via Conley & Silvers.

KATE MARSH

design consultant

Kate Marsh specializes in customized design solutions for small businesses. Her clients' businesses span the medical, engineering, lifestyle, and fine arts fields. Kate was born in Colorado and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Since her graduation with a BA in Fine Arts from the University of Southern California in 2009, Kate has been freelancing as a designer for web and print projects as making paintings as a fine artist. Kate currently resides in San Francisco, CA with her husband and daughter. She enjoys hosting dinner parties, reading on the couch, and traveling whenever possible. 

ALISON SILVERS

Co-Founder

Alison co-founded and managed Conley & Silvers for four years before she realized that the only thing more alluring to her than international jet setting, was romping around the National Zoo with her young son, Ricky. 

Alison studied abroad in Florence with Dana, got hitched in a small town in Puglia, and remains a lover of all things Italian. Although she is currently on "mommy sabbatical," Alison does provide business, travel, and legal consulting services for C&S.  Alison graduated from Stanford University with a BA in international relations and received her JD from UCLA School of Law.  She resides in Washington, D.C. with her family, but one day hopes to own a Tuscan villa with Dana where all of you will visit for a feast under the stars. Until then, happy travels!

MADI GANDALFO

Italy

Our partner in Rome, Umbria and all things Italian is Maria Delfina Gandolfo (everybody calls her Madi). Madi was born in Rome, but grew up in the great port city of Genoa, not far from the enchanting Cinque Terre. After studying in Genoa, Madi took her doctorate from Yale.

Her career has taken her from the Italian embassy in Ottawa to the American Academy in Rome and most recently to the secretary-generalship of an Italian petroleum distribution center. But Madi's real love and passion long has been and remains that “other” Italian oil, namely olive oil, celebrated since the days of ancient Rome. Madi is an enthusiast for all things Umbrian and above all the beautiful hilltop town of Amelia, where she has organized successful summer residential courses for Yale. To this day, the citizens of Amelia continue to ask American visitors to their town how their “children” are doing. 

San Francisco Opera

Conley & Silvers has been proud to work with the San Francisco Opera House since 2019.

STANFORD UNIVERSITY TRAVEL/STUDY

Conley & Silvers has been a proud partner of the Stanford University Alumni Association’s Travel/Study program since 2013. 

YALE Alumni Academy

Conley & Silvers has been proud to work with Yale Alumni Academy since 2013.