Our Story

Joseph Rosendo

Introduction

Multi Emmy®-award winning director and host, Joseph Rosendo, has been a travel & food journalist and broadcaster for more than 40 years.

Beginning in 2007, he hosted, directed and wrote Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope®, the 12-season travel television series still airing nationwide on over 550 PBS stations and CreateTV.

Joseph champions healthy living, engaging travel, and sincere human connections. He's involved in environmental activism, including leading a weekly volunteer effort to clear trash and debris from the highways near his home in Topanga, California.

"A journey of a thousand miles...

...begins with a single step." And each episode of Joseph's newest series, Joseph Rosendo's Steppin' Out, begins with with this famous Lao Tse quote. Joseph continues to add to his legacy as a globe-trotting cultural explorer as he brings his millions of PBS viewers along on his new adventures.

“I believe that a passion for traveling and exploring the world is a part of Aging and Living Well, and that it should be accessible to everyone. What's wonderful with PBS is that anyone can travel and learn with me simply by tuning in.”

Meet the Crew

Joseph Rosendo

Host, Director, Writer, Executive Producer

6-time Emmy-award winning director and host Joseph Rosendo has been a travel, food and wine journalist and travel broadcaster for 40 years. Since 2007, he has hosted, directed and written Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope, the Emmy award-winning PBS travel television series. In 2024 Joseph kicked off his new series, Joseph Rosendo’s Steppin’ Out.

With 13 seasons and 138 shows, Joseph’s PBS shows reach 98% of the US market and 286 million viewers on more than 500 Public Television stations nationwide, as well as airing in Canada and in numerous other international markets. Since his first travel story appeared in The Los Angeles Times in 1980, his work has appeared in countless publications worldwide. He was the Consulting Editor for DK Eyewitness Travel Guides’ Where To Go When and Where To Go When—The Americas, as well as the author of An Insider’s Guide to Los Angeles.

For twenty-four years, as the creator and host of Travelscope Radio, Rosendo produced featurettes for numerous electronic media outlets including Discovery Channel Radio and the Associated Press. For ABCnews.com he created a series of Business features that taught readers the cultural Dos and Don’ts of international business travel. Rosendo is a member of the prestigious Society of American Travel Writers and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. As a travel expert and motivational speaker, Joseph addresses national travel, wellness and business conferences, consumer shows and private gatherings and has guest lectured at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Ron Hanks

Producer

Ron Hanks is the Producer for Joseph Rosendo’s Steppin’ Out, and has completed a full season of the show for PBS in the United States. His career has spanned 30 years, and most recently he has been a showrunner and director for the show Chef Swap at the Beach for the last three seasons for the Cooking Channel. He has produced 6 feature-length movies including two for Lifetime and two for Tubi, and has directed one feature-length movie, After the End. Ron has produced six short films, and three short form television series.

He recently was a producer for Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime with Guy Fieri for the Food Network and his 2018 series Broken was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards. Ron’s other work has included producing the broadcast of Billboard’s Women in Music awards, along with Billboard News for the Billboard Music Awards and the Latin Music Awards.

He produced the interstitials for Amazon Prime’s broadcast of Pharrell’s Something in the Water festival in Washington D.C. in 2022. And lastly, with Ron’s work in commercials, he has directed and produced spots for companies such as Budget Blinds and the high-end perfume company Amaffi.

Marko Alonso

Director of Photography

A native of Spain, Marko Alonso moved to Los Angeles in 2013 to attend UCLA and decided to stay for the adventure of living in a foreign country. His curiosity to discover the unknown is exemplified by his passion to discover and experience other cultures. In addition to travelling, he has an interest in philosophy, history and the visual arts.

With awards from several film festivals, Marko’s background as a cinematographer is in music video and narrative story telling, but he has gravitated toward the documentary field because through storytelling his work has a direct impact on society.

Marko has been part of Joseph’s team since Travelscope Season 9, and was honored with a Telly Award for his work on Season 10 - Mekong River Adventure - Part 1.

Tom Geagan

Director of Photography

Tom Geagan, a seasoned director and Emmy-nominated director of photography has played a pivotal role in the creation, development, and filming of numerous television travel series. His notable contributions include his work on acclaimed shows such as Travelscope, Krusing America, Rhythm Abroad, Epic Adventures, and Canvasing the World, showcasing his talent in bringing diverse and compelling narratives to life.

Tom's keen eye for cinematography and storytelling excellence garnered him an Emmy nomination, reflecting his dedication to his craft. In the last seven years, Tom has embraced a new chapter in Wichita, Kansas, as the Video Production Supervisor at a marketing company. In this role, he has been instrumental in producing impactful commercials for television and crafting multimedia assets that leave a lasting impression.

Elizabeth

Hodgman Hanks

Director of Photography

Elizabeth is an LA-based cinematographer. She loves blending her technical and creative skills to build the most effective and unique visual style for each project, whether scripted, unscripted, or promotional. She craves that exhilarating, collaborative atmosphere when the director, on-camera talent, and crew are all in-sync, gliding through the day to create something everyone feels proud of.

Some of her recent projects include feature films After the End (2021), and Serpentine Pink (2021), and short films 5 Teenagers Walk Into a Bar (2019), and Blue Moon (2021). She has also recently made promotional content for Moonbug, Hulu, and Refinery29, and The Webb Schools.

Michael Faner

Sound Mixer

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Michael graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a Bachelor's in Radio/TV/Film. He shifted his focus to on-set production where he has worked for companies such as Centric/BET, Fox Sports, Entertainment Weekly and E!.

Michael also occasionally works with The Los Angeles Dodgers, Reese Witherspoon's Book Club and the PGA. He has over 132 movies, short films, and television shows under his belt as a sound mixer, and has worked with Joseph Rosendo for the last 6 years, traveling the world and recording sound.

Nicole Bell

Post-Production Supervisor, Editor

Originally from South Florida, Nicole moved to Los Angeles after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She found her passion for documentary work while traveling to Tanzania as a student, and has worked in post-production for several documentaries since graduating.

Nicole is grateful to have parents who instilled in her a love for travel. Because of this, she has been able to see many parts of the world and enjoys learning about other cultures. She joined the Travelscope team for their 10th season, before joining Steppin’ Out.

Contact us

info@JosephRosendo.com

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