Skiing: Europe
Dorothea Rasser, SkiEurope/Alpine Adventures, Houston
Rasser, who grew up skiing in her native Austria, spends 8 weeks a year on the Continent, checking up on the ski resorts to which she sends 2,000 powder hounds annually. Whether you're looking to carve up a trophy mountain like Zermatt or lay tracks at an affordable gem such as Bansko, Bulgaria, Rasser will match you with the right mountains, trails, lifts, properties, and even après-ski spots (800-333-5533; dorothea@ski-europe.com).

Skiing and Snowboarding: North and South America
Jana Emery, Ski.com, Aspen
A lifetime spent skiing North America's best resorts allows Emery to help clients plan their vacation on a run-by-run basis, whether they want bumps, steeps, powder, or half-pipes. "One person's ski-in/ski-out is another's walk-in/walk-out," says Emery, who can distinguish the nuances between a resort's many hotels and condos. Ski.com's purchasing power gives Emery access to the largest inventory of properties at U.S. ski resorts (800-525-2052, ext. 3622; jana@ski.com).

SPECIAL INTEREST

Business Travel
Terry McCabe, Altour, Paramus, New Jersey
Recommended Generalist
International road warriors need a multi-national agency that can score the best airfares and perks for its clients because of the volume of sales it does with airlines and hotels. Altour has its own rate desk, which translates into lower airfares on complicated international itineraries than you'll find through most online channels. Call on McCabe (see also "Caribbean") when you need the best fares to an exotic destination, including discounted business-class tickets (201-477-7000; terry.mccabe@altour.com).

Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg, Valerie Wilson Travel, New York City
Wilson-Buttigieg specializes in making arrangements for board-of-directors meetings and high-end incentive groups. She has clout with the airlines and an array of top hotel companies, and is savvy about the things that make a business traveler's life much easier: airport club lounges, hotel concierge floors, and time-sensitive drivers who know all the shortcuts (212-592-1210; jenniferwb@vwti.com).

Community-Based Tourism
Will Weber, Journeys International, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Learn the customs and traditions of an indigenous community by living in one. A former Peace Corps volunteer and ecotourism pioneer (who speaks Nepali, to boot), Weber has developed programs in 20 locales—mostly small villages in the Himalayas, Latin America, and East Africa—where you can stay in private quarters adjacent to a village family's home and accompany them to market, learn their crafts, join them for meals, and more. The cost of participation supports community schools and projects (800-255-8735; will@journeys.travel).