Meaningful Miles with NBC’s Amber Pfister

The Beverly Hills Hotel welcomes guests with a cascade of green and white stripes lining the ceiling of its iconic entrance. My interview subject greets me inside with a warm hug, dressed in a green and white striped two-piece midi dress. As she tells me, she knows how to dress for the setting. We have a table at the hotel’s historic Polo Lounge, a 113-year-old institution and the perfect setting for the California contemporary who sits across from me. Amber Pfister is an Emmy Award-winning correspondent for California Live, an NBC lifestyle and entertainment show. It’s a well-deserved role for this skillful storyteller, and one that has been shaped by her lifelong pursuit of travel. Over lunch we discuss her intrepid career, her well-worn passport, and her journey starting a family.  

Earlier in the day Amber was on location at Da Barbara, a tiny gem of a restaurant in Hollywood. She dishes about Chef-Owner Barbara Pollastrini’s migration from Italy and the three framed spoons on the kitchen wall that came from her family’s kitchen in Rome. She relishes every detail. I make a mental note to book a reservation before her segment airs. California Live sends Amber to all corners of the state in search of the best food, travel, and lifestyle trends. “We’re not just taking you somewhere,” she says. “We’re truly telling the story of the people behind it.” I can see that she considers this a privilege. Her stories are love letters to her home state.  

We have a friendly chat with our server who tells us about the McCarthy Salad, named after the famed polo player Neil S. McCarthy. It’s been on the Polo Lounge menu for over a century. Amber is sold and orders it on the spot, unable to resist sampling such a storied dish. I see the seed planted for a future California Live segment. Though we could go on about the Golden State, it’s a small territory compared to the global footprint of Amber’s travels, where she first developed her passion for collecting stories. 

Amber has always been on a mission to find the best places to explore, even before she had a platform to share it. She’s a natural journalist; resourceful, curious. Friends and family know her for keenly mining them for recommendations.    

Family road trips comprised most of her travel experiences in her younger years, growing into a pent-up wanderlust. “I had such an intense desire to see the world in my 20's.” She craved the formative, eye-opening experiences of solo travel, and embarked alone to Japan, Australia, and Western Europe. “I loved the world of hostels. I craved meeting people from other countries and socializing with strangers. Walking for hours in cities with only $2 in my pocket.”

Amber met her now-husband Dan in 2014 at a mutual friend’s spontaneous birthday weekend in Vegas. As “adventure buddies,” travel took on a new meaning for them, and they forged a deep connection through their globetrotting journeys. In 2019 they embarked on the Salkantay Trek in Peru, a more ambitious, lesser-known path to Machu Picchu. This trip was intended to be much more than just a vacation—at the pinnacle they exchanged vows and descended 8,000 feet to Cusco as husband and wife. 

With travel core to their marriage, they vowed to continue exploring together before having children. Hiking became their favourite way to see the world. “Immersing in nature and travelling by foot showed us a whole other side of the world.” Their most meaningful hike together was in the Pyrenees mountains. Straddling the border of France and Spain, they recreated the same path Dan’s grandparents took fleeing the Nazis in World War II.  

Amber now has two daughters Lyla, 4, and Lily, 1. Her journey starting a family has always been in the public eye. Her first pregnancy with Lyla was announced on the air in 2020 with a surprise ambush from her co-hosts. While pregnant with Lily in 2024 she bravely shared her difficult IVF experience in a California Live interview. “It helps other women feel less alone when we share our stories,” Amber says of her open-hearted approach.  

She’s just as candid when she talks about struggling with post-partum anxiety. Overwhelmed by the isolation of her maternity leave, she sought an escape. With Lyla and Lily in the care of her mom, she travelled 8,851 km (5,500 mi) to Tokoriki, Fiji with her husband. Tokoriki is a small, remote island just a mile long, west of the main island Viti Levu. “I wanted to feel completely disconnected because I was so overwhelmed with anxiety.” Travel was always a time for meaningful connection in her marriage, and the opportunity to reconnect with Dan was essential in her recovery.  

“I’ve seen my travel style change in ebbs and flows,” Amber tells me, and her chapter as a young mom has certainly been one of change. A slower pace and a bit of luxury are a well-earned contrast to hostel life: “I have a whole new appreciation for places that make me feel relaxed and completely disconnected.”  

Her daughters both have passports, and while shorter family trips to Mexico are perfect for now, Amber knows adventure awaits them around the corner. “As parents, one of the things we cannot wait for is to see the world with our girls. It's the greatest gift we can give them.” She recalls the hike to her mountaintop wedding and being surprised by the young families trekking to Machu Picchu. It was inspiration that one day her family could chart such a path.  

Amber’s own path has taken her right where she is meant to be: “Travelling the world is a huge reason I pursued the career I have now. I knew I wanted to be part of a show that explores California and to help tell the story of the amazing people here.” In every conversation she is effusively grateful for what her ambition has brought her. She has crafted her life’s journey with intention: a career of telling stories, and a family who will write them together.