KELLI CARPENTER
Back in 2003, our world was a very different place. Only one state acknowledged civil unions, no state allowed same-sex marriage, and there was little indication that LGBT families would gain greater legal recognition. It was the same year that marketing executive Kelli Carpenter and her business partner Gregg Kaminsky created a bold company-R Family Vacations, the first cruise line catering to LGBT families. Carpenter brought Broadway performers and top-name entertainers to each voyage, and gave parents and kids a once-in-a-lifetime vacation (though many returned to do it again!) “We have seen these children grow up before our eyes over the years, and are proud to have been pioneers in this movement,” Carpenter says. “R Family Vacations was built on the premise that all are welcome on our trips. We wanted to create a vacation experience that was reflective of our own lives”-meaning that aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and friends come, too. With her wife Anne Steele (another Woman We Love this year), who performs regularly on the cruises, Carpenter has four children, and she says their support “has allowed me to create trips to encourage an openness to all types of families who travel with us.” They´re looking forward to next July, when R Family Vacations teams up with Olivia Travel to offer their biggest resort vacation to date in Vallarta, Mexico. -KL
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