Cassandra Vanhooser is the director of economic development and tourism for Talbot County, Maryland.
She grew up on a dairy farm and holds a degree in agriculture from the University of Tennessee. Cassandra spent more than 14 years as a travel and features writer at Southern Living magazine, where she first covered Georgia and then Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. She has crisscrossed the region's highways and byways, writing about everything from the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial to the South's best fried chicken.
In addition to writing about food and travel, Cassandra also served for many years as the magazine's football editor. Her second book, The All-New SEC Tailgating Cookbook: Great Food, Legendary Teams, Cherished Traditions, was published by Time Inc./Oxmoor House Books in August 2018.
Today, Cassandra is Talbot County’s chief storyteller and business advocate.