Catharine Hamm joined the staff of the Los Angeles Times as deputy travel editor in 1999 and was named travel editor in November 2003. Previously, she was the editor of the newspaper in Salinas, Calif., the managing editor of The Sun in San Bernardino County, Calif.; and the deputy managing editor of The Kansas City Star, where she also served as the travel editor for five years.

Hamm earned her bachelor's degree in Spanish and did master's work at the University of Kansas and Simmons College Graduate School of Management in Boston. She is a native of New York but counts Virginia, Hawaii, the Philippines, Kansas, Missouri, Spain and, of course, California as among the 34 places she has called home.