Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, having moved there in 1990, Shanna Dickerson subsequently graduated from UNC Wilmington in 2001 with a degree in communication. She then began her career in Nashville, Tennessee, as an assistant in concert promotion and production. Over the next nine years, her career expanded into planning, coordinating and promoting concerts throughout the U.S., with the good fortune of working with such artists as the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Kenny Chesney, Jay Z, The Police, Pearl Jam, Jimmy Buffett, Snoop Dogg, Stevie Wonder, Kayne West, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Tim McGraw and many others. The most exciting and fulfilling responsibility came in 2004 as tour manager for the legendary Steve Winwood for three U.S. tours — a truly amazing experience.
With easy access through direct flights from Charlotte to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, her family often enjoyed vacationing on St. John while she was growing up. This made a lasting impression on Shanna, and as a result, in 2010 she sold all her furniture and her car, downsized into a couple of suitcases and used her remaining money to relocate to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Through Nashville connections, she learned Kenny Chesney owned a villa there. Shanna then reached out to his associates and found a source that led to a live-in property management position overseeing a $10 million beachfront villa. At a rental rate of $25,000 per week, the guests staying at the villa enjoyed all-encompassing concierge services that she provided. Living on the island gave her the chance to recommend restaurants and activities that she had personally experienced, and just like that Blue Sky Luxury Travels was born!
Fast forward to today, Shanna and her team help high net worth individuals manifest dream vacations and corporate retreats at the most incredible properties in the world, including Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands, Laucala in Fiji, and Mustique in the West Indies. Their specialty for world-class service extends to yachts and jet charters, dining experiences, and event planning. They also offer many properties and yachts that are so exclusive that they are not allowed to be marketed. One of the things that makes Shanna’s ultra luxury travel agency stand out is that she personally experiences all of her properties. “We know our product extremely well and will not take on anything new until we have experienced it first.”
From tragedy came opportunity: the hurricanes of 2017 (Irma and Maria) rendered many of Shanna’s Caribbean properties inhabitable, but rather than shut down her business, she started a logistics company to source housing for thousands of contractors rebuilding the islands, while also focusing on rescuing suffering animals. The generosity of her clients sharing their time and resources for animal rescue inspired Shanna to create Blue Sky Relief Foundation with a vision of creating more compassion in a culture through humane education and improved law enforcement. As the great Mahatma Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
Shanna is a lifelong athlete; she grew up as a Level 10 gymnast and is currently rated a 5.0 tennis player with plans to play the ITF Tour. She devotedly meditates and practices yoga.