about us

Wingback Travel is owned and operated by Laura Leeker in conjunction with her colleague and long time friend, Michael Ross Harper. Together Laura and Ross plan every detail and lead all of our tours themselves, meaning they are with you every step of the way when you travel with us. They have both lived abroad and speak French. Laura has a PhD in the History of Art and several years of teaching experience.

Laura and Ross met in French class at Auburn University. They became fast friends when they both moved to Paris after graduating in 2009, Laura with a degree in Finance and Ross with a degree in French. Laura worked for a global shipping container company and Ross at the Emmanuel Ungaro boutique on avenue Montaigne.

After living in Paris, Laura went on to live in Berlin and London, where she completed her Masters degree in Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art. She then returned to the US, working at an art gallery in New York City and returning to school to finish her PhD in Art History. She specializes in the art of medieval Italy, but has taught and studied widely in the field, from ancient to modern periods. Her favorite part of being a PhD student was spending several months a year in Europe doing research and co-leading study abroad trips.

A detail-oriented lover of logistics and research, Laura has over 15 years of experience planning complex itineraries and sharing her love of travel with others. She lives in Connecticut. Laura speaks French and Italian.

After working in Paris, Ross moved to Bayeux, a small town in Normandy, where he taught English for a year. He then returned to Columbus, Georgia where he worked as an Event Designer at Details of the Garden and opened his first store, The French Market, in 2012. Two years later he opened his current store, Fiddleheads, selling special gifts, jewelry, and clothing . Ross travels to England and France several times a year to source antiques, shipping all his finds back in a container and offering them for sale at Fiddleheads. He lives in Georgia. Ross is a fluent French speaker.