In Part 1 of our conversation, we sit down with Mel Gee Henderson, creator, journalist, host, and executive producer of ESCAPESEEKER, whose career has taken her across the globe in search of unforgettable destinations, cultures, and stories.
With 134 countries visited and counting, Mel has experienced parts of the world most people only dream of seeing. But for her, travel has never simply been about checking another destination off the list. It’s about stepping onto new soil, meeting the people who call it home, understanding their culture, and experiencing a place through their eyes.
Mel takes us back to where her journey began. After raising six children, she returned to her passion for journalism and documentary filmmaking. While working on a documentary in China, a chance encounter in Hong Kong opened the door to Escape Magazine and eventually led to an opportunity that would change the direction of her career.
She shares the story behind her first major feature, “Peace and Culture in the Desert,” which became an 11-page cover story, and how a later feature on Venice caught the attention of PBS. What began as an idea for a short television segment soon grew into something much bigger: ESCAPESEEKER, a travel series built around discovering some of the world’s greatest destinations and the people and cultures that make them extraordinary.
Throughout the conversation, Mel takes us behind the scenes of what it actually takes to produce a travel series around the world. From filming for weeks in South Africa to experiencing luxury destinations across Europe and beyond, she shares stories from the road, lessons learned from years of production, and why the people behind the camera are every bit as important as the person in front of it.
That philosophy extends to how she treats her crew. Mel explains why she has turned down opportunities when her team wasn’t going to receive the same level of respect and why creating a successful production means surrounding yourself with people who share your passion, work ethic, curiosity, and appreciation for the world.
She also reveals one of the most important rules she gives every crew member: take off your American lenses. Rather than arriving somewhere and judging it based on what you already know, Mel believes in seeing, feeling, and embracing a culture from the perspective of the people who live there.
At the heart of Mel’s story is an even bigger message about kindness, curiosity, and human connection. Some of the greatest things she has brought home from her travels aren’t souvenirs or photographs, but friendships that have lasted across countries, continents, and time zones.
From journalism and documentary filmmaking to PBS, luxury travel, 134 countries, and countless friendships around the world, Mel Gee Henderson has built a career around proving just how much the world can open up when you’re willing to experience it with an open mind.
And through it all, she continues to live by a lesson passed down from her mother:
“Be the kindest person you know.”
This is Part 1 of our conversation with Mel Gee Henderson!
Subscribe to I’ll Get the Tip and stay tuned for Part 2.
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2026/10/0548 分