Rene Steele found her calling in the Travel Industry at an early age. She was born and raised in Northern Maine, and moved to Birmingham in February of 2005 to be closer to family. She began her career at Brownell at the reception desk and quickly realized she had found the industry, career and company to call home. After a few months at reception, she accepted the position of Leisure Travel Assistant to Meg North, Executive Vice President. In October of 2009 Rene returned to Maine to continue her college education and to also continue to work for Brownell from home.“Being in the industry at such a young age is truly a blessing in disguise. The sky is the limit as long as you’ve got the drive to get there. I have so many years to learn and explore while building long lasting relationships with clients and vendors all over the world.”

She now serves as the Operations Coordinator and wears many hats on any given day. She works in several areas companywide such as Hosting, database maintenance and training, new hire training, as well as organizing and planning special projects . Rene is also the first Educational Coordinator for Brownell. She earned her CTA Certification and was named a "Virtuoso Rising Star" by the owners and managers of her agency in 2008.