The third annual AL DÍA 40 Under Forty event serves to highlight and showcase some of the most diverse and impactful young professionals across the Philadelphia region. 

At this year's event, taking place Friday, Aug. 26, Jeannette Ceja will be one of the 40 honorees. 

Biography

Jeannette Ceja is an award-winning bilingual travel journalist, television host, travel advisor, global public speaker and CEO of Jet Set with Jeannette. 

Ceja is known for her expertise in women’s travel, luxury travel and the Latino-Hispanic demographic of travelers, having appeared on BBC World News, ABC7 Los Angeles, WTTW Chicago, FOX 11 Los Angeles, Mexico Travel Channel, KUSI News, and other prominent media outlets worldwide. With her level of expertise and dedication, she has been able to travel to over 60 countries to date.

She is also a passionate advocate for women and diversity, as Ceja has been a speaker at notable global conferences, including The Women Economic Forum, The New York Travel Festival, The Tourism in Romania Conference, Impact Travel Immersion Conference, The Epic Mastermind Conference, and many others.  

Ceja is a graduate of Belmont University, where she received her Bachelor's Degree in Broadcast Journalism. She also completed the Professional Program in Producing at the UCLA, as well as the Chips Quinn Scholar program for diversity in Journalism. 

As part of the lead-up to the AL DÍA 40 Under Forty event, AL DÍA asked each of the honorees a set of identical questions and collected their responses. 

Here are Jeannette Ceja's responses: 

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your professional career?

I always felt a strong knowing of my ‘why,’ ‘what,’ but not always the ‘how.’ For example, I did not know how to reach out to mentors or ask for help as an early career professional. Another challenge, I underestimated the importance of personal self-development, mindset, and self-love until later in my career.

What are steps that can be taken to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in your industry? Why is it important to do so?

I feel there is an ongoing need for even more representation, diversity, equity, and inclusion in the travel and media industry. From the job openings to visibility, I feel individuals want to see more of themselves visible in these industries. Growing up, I did not see as many women or Latinas specifically on travel shows, but this motivated me to want to do something about it.

I feel a significant step is to reach college students and create more internships, fellowships, and study abroad opportunities. In addition, there can always be an increase in mentorship programs, grants, and hiring opportunities for early career professionals to late-career professionals, including more job fairs and travel events in different languages that welcome diverse communities.

What does being a leader mean to you?

When I think of a leader, Oprah immediately comes to my mind. A leader to me is an individual who exudes a lot of empathy, purpose, and experience and who, at the core, is a visionary that sees things that are yet to accomplished. Also, I believe a leader is someone who overcomes obstacles, stereotypes, and fears and still wants to pave the way by example for others.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

In five years, I will be 41-years-old. I see myself already married, with children, and traveling the world together as a family. Professionally, I will have hosted and produced an Emmy award-winning bilingual travel show. I will have visited at least 40 more countries. Lastly, I will have created a study abroad scholarship for college students at my alma mater, Belmont University.

The 2022 AL DÍA 40 Under Forty event will take place Friday, Aug. 26 at The Vie at Cescaphe. To learn more or purchase your ticket, click here.