About Us – Staff

Amanda Scotese

Founder, Executive Director and Tour Guide

I like wandering Chicago by foot, stopping to imagine what goes on inside unmarked buildings or where passersby are headed. I’m really excited about Chicago architecture, and studied it through the Masters of Arts Program in the Humanities at the University of Chicago. My love for stories was enriched by my B.A. in Literature from the University of Michigan. My world-wide travels have confirmed for me that Chicago is a world-class city, and I love to show it off.

Russ Martin

Director of Operations

I moved to Chicago in 2001, but it has always felt like home since my father was born and raised here and told me many stories about growing up in this beautiful and vibrant city. I am excited to bring my knowledge of business development and process design to Chicago Detours. I recently graduated with an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, where I studied entrepreneurship, strategic management, and operations.

Wendy Bright

Tour Guide (Inside the Loop)

Originally from Milwaukee, I’ve long been a regular visitor to Chicago and always wanted to be more than a visitor. First chance I could, I became a local and I feel completely at home in this vibrant city. I have a MA in Art History specializing in American Architecture from the University of Kentucky. One of my favorite things to do in Chicago, one of the most photographed cities in the world, is to discover unusual shots, uncommon angles.

Ramona Luka

Tour Guide (German and Russian languages)

I’ve lived in Chicago for more than a decade and love to explore it still. Before here, I’ve been around: Lithuania, Germany and Austria, as well as the Middle East and the U.S. I have an MA in Germanic and Jewish Studies from UIC, and like researching culture and places. As a tour guide I enjoy sharing a vast perspective on the riches of this city’s experiences, from its top-rate museums to its beautiful parks.

Phill Cabeen

Tour Guide (Inside the Loop)

I have always loved wandering through Chicago: drawing, taking photographs, and spending time looking closely at all the bits of this great kaleidoscope of a city. I studied Art History at UIC and have a Masters in Education from Columbia College Chicago. Returning here after six years living abroad, I found that I also love exploring the city with friends and visitors from other places, and sharing in their impressions and observations.

Denese Neu

Tour Guide

A native of Ohio, I’ve spent my adult years in New Orleans and Chicago. My Ph.D. in urban studies guides me in understanding how places have unique personalities. I bring guests to explore beyond facades and learn about the city in creative ways. My taste for craft beer is a gateway for telling stories of Chicago’s urban and social history with my book, Chicago by the Pint: a Craft Beer History of the Windy City.

Neil McCarthy

Tour Guide

Despite many years of overseas living and travel, Chicago is, and will always, be my home. I have a Master’s Degree in History from the University of Illinois at Chicago. For the past nine summers, I had the great privilege of showing off our city to thirty foreign Fulbright scholars. Now I show off my city as a tour guide, when not busy working on my third Masters and teaching world history to high school students.

Hilary Brown

Tour Guide (Jazz, Blues and Beyond)

Chicago as a jazz haven, blues institution, hip-hop and house music landmark is a musical melting pot that I’ve been simmering in since 2003. I studied journalism and political science for my B.A. from Northwestern University, and I’ve played music my whole life. Currently I am a music journalist and an Editor at DownBeat Magazine. As a tour guide, I encourage people to explore Chicago just like you learn music: listen to it carefully and consider its influences.

Brian Failing

Research and Collections Intern

My first memories of Chicago are from when I was a child and got to explore different museums and buildings with my father and siblings. Currently pursuing a B.A. in History and Urban & Suburban Studies at North Central College, I hope to continue my studies in graduate school and become a professor. Chicago is an always changing city that boasts a rich history and a vibrancy in the present.

Apolline Tabourot

International Marketing Intern

I am a real bookworm and so I first discovered Chicago through books like The Untouchables. Then part of my family moved there and I grew up hearing stories about how it is to live in the city of Muddy Waters. After having spent a year in Munich, I am about to graduate with my B.A. in Foreign Languages Applied to Business and Marketing at the Universite’ de Lorraine and plan to become an interpreter in English, German and Chinese.