Alberto ‘Ariel’ Chavez
Ariel was born and raised in La Paz, Bolivia. In 2002 he moved to the U.S. as an international student to complete his engineering studies at the University of South Alabama. In 2005 he graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Civil Engineering program at South Alabama and was selected graduating Student of the Year by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Ariel worked as a project engineer in the highway design department at Volkert & Associates for over 8 years. In 2010 he obtained his masters degree in transportation planning from the University of South Alabama as well as his Professional Engineering (P.E.) license in Alabama and surrounding states.
In 2014, following his love and passion for travel, he started a small business in Mobile and purchased a Cruise Planners American Express Travel franchise. Since 2016 he has been a top producing franchisee and now manages a team of travel advisors around the country. In 2019 he was elected as a member of the Advisory Board of American Express Travel.
Ariel became a U.S. citizen in 2015 and has visited all 50 states and over 40 countries around the world. Ariel is fluent in Spanish, English, intermediate German and can understand Southern. He and his husband Cai enjoy sailing, they recently completed their foster care and adoption certification and both are looking forward to their first placement.