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Mary co-founded Carpe DC Food Tours in 2014. After traveling all over the world, she realized the beauty of connecting to the local community and the importance of giving back. She has a passion for making the world a smaller place by connecting people to community through stories, culture and of course, food!
Prior to Carpe DC, Mary earned her M.P.A. in nonprofit and international management, worked with a Ugandan-based NGO named Paper to Pearls, children’s shelter For Children’s Sake, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Mary is also a ballerina turned yogi who loves to squeeze in a down dog every chance she gets. Mary and Stefan had their first daughter a few years ago and are excited to show her the beauty of travel and cultures.
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Stefan co-founded Carpe DC Food Tours while getting his phD in Archaeology from the University of Maryland. He has a passion for the intersection of food, history and culture and loves to share his knowledge with others.
He’s an avid, master home chef. Starting at a very young age, he would stand on a chair in the kitchen to help his mom stir. Now he’s excited to share that love of food with his and Mary’s young daughter, whose first “real” food was Japanese ramen in Okinawa, Japan.
As an archaeologist, he’s worked with countless communities and students on projects, and loves to share untold stories discovered through artifacts and research with the community they’re found in.
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Katie has a master’s degree in Tourism Administration from The George Washington University where she focused on sustainable tourism management. Her career in tourism includes living in a hostel in DC, studying sustainability at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, leading a tourism consulting project in Indonesia, and even an internship with Blue Fern Travel. Katie is a trivia fiend and history buff. She leads several tour routes as well as spearheads local operations. When not on tour, Katie could probably be found with a book open, a coffee in hand, and surrounded by her dogs.
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David Steele is an avid Eater from Silver Spring, Maryland. He graduated from the University of Maryland in May 2018 and he majored in Innovation & Entrepreneurship, a major he designed himself. While in school he created a capstone project examining the impact of innovative menu design on a new restaurant concept. He has worked in and around the restaurant industry and plans to create his own restaurant concept in the future.
He has traveled around the world and found his favorite meal to be from a Mexican and Chinese fusion restaurant called China Poblano in Las Vegas, a restaurant created by DC celebrity chef Jose Andres. His favorite dish is a combination of his grandmother’s and mother’s best pasta dishes. David also enjoys learning more about the world’s history, science, and technology.
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Taylor is a lifelong food and travel lover who moved to DC in 2015 after graduating from the University of Richmond. She has lived in four of DC’s neighborhoods and loves exploring all the DMV area has to offer. She joined the Carpe DC team in 2019 after completing her Masters in Tourism Administration from the George Washington University. Her studies and work have allowed her to travel to destinations all over the world, including Spain, Indonesia, the Bay Islands of Honduras, and Belize. Through these experiences, she has witnessed firsthand the benefits that tourism can bring to local communities when done in a responsible manner. She loves to visit and learn about new places, meet new people, and try new foods while inspiring others to do the same.
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Are you into food, history, and love DC? Want to share your passion with others? Carpe DC is looking for outgoing, dynamic, friendly people who want to show off Washington, DC’s food culture to locals and tourists alike! Great guides are fun, friendly, and love leading a crowd. We’ll provide the script–you provide the character! Prior tour experience is not required. However, knowledge of food, Washington, DC history, and local knowledge is preferred. Guides are paid hourly, plus tips. Guides must be able to commit at least two tours a week.