Our Story
The idea for Alumni Escapes occurred to Kim Young ‘81 when she and her husband, John Moragne ‘79, finished building their vacation home in Sun Valley, Idaho. They were concerned their lovely home overlooking Mt Baldy would sit unused most of the year. That’s when they considered renting it to fellow Dartmouth alumni and giving a portion of the income to the College. Through the Dartmouth
network, Kim met Scott Simmons ‘82 who has decades of experience in the luxury vacation rental business. Together, they began reaching out to Dartmouth alums to see if others wanted to participate in a private vacation rental network benefitting Dartmouth. The answer was a clear “Yes.”
Meet The Team
Kimberly Young, Class of ’81
Founder, Alumni Escapes
Before launching Alumni Escapes, Kim was a marketing consultant specializing in corporate branding and content development for print media and websites. Earlier in her career, she co-founded a San Francisco-based marketing firm serving companies in the tech, financial and retail industries, including Apple Computer, Wells Fargo Bank, The Wine Company and many start-ups.
An active volunteer, Kim is a board member of Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) and a member of the Stanford Cancer Council. She is Co-Chair of the Friends of Dartmouth Women’s Rugby Advisory Board.
Kim is married to John Moragne ’79 and is the mother of Hutch, Tyler (Class of ’14) and Dani (Class of ’17) Moragne. After graduating from Dartmouth, she received an M.A. in Creative Writing and Literature from Stanford University.
Scott Simmons, Class of ’82
Co-founder, Alumni Escapes
Scott has spent close to 20 years in luxury travel as a senior executive and principal with both leading brands and early stage companies. He served for over five years on the executive committee of $250 million (revenue) Abercrombie & Kent and subsequently was COO/principal of Andrew Harper Travel, having led its successful sale to a private equity firm. Scott was a founding partner of Harborview Nantucket and was a principal with luxury villa rental manager, Beautiful Places. In addition to his co-founder role at Alumni Escapes, Scott is a principal at Elite Alliance. Prior to entering the luxury travel sector, he was a senior M&A advisor for leading UK investment bank Cazenove & Co.
Scott is married to Stephanie Mott Simmons whose brother, Paul Mott, is a Dartmouth ’80. They enjoy watching their daughter, Sophie, play soccer. Scott graduated from Dartmouth and has an MBA from New York University.
“You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
so…get on your way!”