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Council Members
Please feel free to peruse the bios of each member of the VolunTourism.org Advisory Council as they appear below, for:
- Nikki Bond, Principal of Go Differently
- Richard Brooks, Program Outreach Manager for the Department of Professional Development & Applied Studies, Division of Continuing Studies at the University of Wisconsin
- Karma Brophy, Proprietor of Inbound West
- David Clemmons, Founder/Director VolunTourism.org
- J.Mara DelliPriscoli, CEO & President of Travel Learning Connections
- Christina Heyniger, Founder of Xola Consulting
- Kristin Lamoureux, Director of The George Washington University's International Institute of Tourism Studies (IITS)
- Jeneatte Leehr, Board Chair for Los Ninos, Inc.
- Priscilla Macy, Founder of Global Sojourns
- Nancy McGehee, PhD, Associate Professor in the Hospitality & Tourism Management Program at the Virginia Tech University
- Elisa Sabatini, Executive Director of Los Ninos, Inc.
- Gregory Tehven, Co-Founder of Students Today Leaders Forever
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Nikki Bond, Founder/Proprietor, Go Differently
Nikki is the founder of Go Differently, a UK-based ethical tour operator specialising in tailor-made tours and short-term volunteering opportunities in India and South East Asia.
After studying for a degree in Hotel and Tourism Management, Nikki worked in hotels and tourist offices around the world before moving into conference and incentive management which continued to satisfy her wanderlust but often left her frustrated that delegates were merely using the destination countries as a pretty backdrop rather than truly getting to know the cultures through which they passed.
It was whilst on a family vacation to Thailand that Nikki first came across the concept of ethical tourism when staying at a small hotel where a proportion of the profits were donated to help support orphans in Bangkok. Shortly afterwards, Go Differently was born – dedicated to offering vacations which benefited both travellers and local communities alike.
Strangely, it was the tragedy of the Asian tsunami which brought a new focus and a unique requirement – suddenly local communities were in need of both physical assistance (in terms of volunteering) but also financial support (in terms of the tourist dollar). Offering clients a combination of time spent exploring/relaxing together with a week volunteering was the obvious solution and the trips were warmly received by both Voluntourists and local communities alike.
As far as possible, Nikki prefers to operate at a very “grass roots” level, liasing with small community based tourism projects in order to assist them in putting together itineraries which will appeal, particularly to the western market, as well as benefiting the local people and has considerable experience with the problems faced in achieving this.
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Richard Brooks, Program Manager, University of Wisconsin
Rick Brooks is a former U.S. representative for Sarvodaya – a nonprofit, community development organization with operations in Sri Lanka. The Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement started 47 years ago. Sarvodaya is Sanskrit for "Awakening of All,” and Shramadana means to donate effort.
He has lived in Mexico, Peru, Jamaica and Tunisia, and has led study-service tours to Japan and Sri Lanka. A community development and social marketing specialist, he is the founder of Where We Live, an international education program which promotes understanding of communities "from the bottom up."
He is a program outreach manager and instructor in a cross-disciplinary course entitled e Projects in Community Service at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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Karma Brophy, Founder/Proprietor, Inbound West
Karma grew up on Vancouver Island, making her one of roughly 750,000 others currently residing there. But it isn't just her unique name that gives her some autonomy from the "herd," it is her work with Inbound West and her focus on delivering stellar events that focus on giving back in and around her current home of Nanaimo, BC. With her strong background in event planning, Karma runs Inbound West and incorporates her in-depth knowledge of Vancouver Island, a knowledge that only comes from having lived, worked and played
there for most of her life. In her words...
Being raised here on Vancouver Island, I spent much of my holidays and weekends exploring the islands on boat trips, beachcombing, hiking or having tea in the garden of a local farm. Not much has changed the landscape or charm since growing up here and it seems that more than ever we want to share our local pastimes with the rest of the world. This is evident in the growing network of adventure tour operators, the trail of world-class spas up and down the island and the very exciting development of Agri-Tourism!
David Clemmons, Founder, VolunTourism.org
As one of the world’s leading authorities on VolunTourism, David has provided lectures on VolunTourism for corporations & associations, the travel industry, the nonprofit sector, service clubs, colleges & universities, and high schools since 2000. He has written extensively on the subject and is the Editor/Publisher of The VolunTourist, a travel trade e-publication. In August 2007, he began hosting a weekly webcast, also entitled "The VolunTourist," to further educate the travel & tourism and nonprofit industries respectively.
He advises destination marketing organizations, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and tour operators. He has designed events and products & services for destination management companies and corporations to support team-building projects in the U.S. & Mexico. Occasionally he will even host a VolunTourism group in the U.S./Mexico Border Region from college, university, or corporation.
In collaboration with The Educational Travel Conference, he facilitates an annual discussion on VolunTourism for travel planners, DMOs, tour operators & suppliers, and nonprofit organizations. He is often quoted by the media and his insights on VolunTourism influence blogs & web sites throughout the world.
Prior to his involvement with VolunTourism, David spent 15 years in the Hospitality Industry in numerous capacities. He has worked in the nonprofit industry and has been an active volunteer for more than three decades.
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J.Mara DelliPriscoli, President & CEO, Travel Learning Connections
Ms. DelliPriscoli is the founder and architect of the Educational Travel Conference (formerly Nonprofits in Travel Conference), now in its nineteenth year. With this conference platform she has successfully facilitated strategic business partnerships between nonprofit institutions and for-profit travel suppliers within the educational and special interest travel community. Expanding the professional development and business-to-business networking needs of those in the field of alumni, museum, conservation and affinity group travel, Mara is currently focused on launching an online trade and membership community serving the special interest travel community worldwide, and aggregating and leveraging the collective buying power and des tination expertise of this market niche for the support of sustainable tourism.
With over 25 years experience in the tourism industry, Ms. DelliPriscoli has directly worked within most sectors of the travel industry including tour, hotel, and transportation, trade and government research firms. In addition to heading the pioneering efforts of the Educational Travel Conference and online Community, Mara lectures, writes and works with cultural, community and conservation tourism development projects in the US and abroad. She consults in the field of educational, community and special interest tourism development for a variety of US and international organizations. Mara holds an M. Ed in Tourism Development from the George Washington University, and a B.A. from Barnard College, Columbia University.
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Christina Heyniger, Founder/Proprietor, Xola Consulting
Christina Heyniger is a management consultant specializing in adventure travel and voluntourism. She founded her consulting practice, Xola Consulting, in 2004 to work with enterprising businesses in the adventure travel industry. Xola, which in the South African Xhosa language means ‘stay in peace,’ was founded on the belief that niche forms of tourism such as adventure travel have the power to positively transform both travelers and the destinations they visit, bridging divisions between people and nations.
Prior to founding Xola, Christina worked for eight years as management consultant in a range of industries - aerospace, communications, higher education, federal government – and supported large enterprises on projects at various levels within the organization – from strategic planning at the executive level to operations procedures within individual divisions.
Inspired by her adventure travel experiences, and seeking a way to contribute in a field close to her passions, Christina shifted her professional focus to the adventure travel industry in 2004. Since then she has supported adventure travel tour operators, blended adventure-voluntourism organizations, industry associations, and travel companies promoting sustainable development.
In 2005 Christina created Off the Radar, a newsletter to support responsible entrepreneurial adventure travel operators around the world. As an associate with the Adventure Travel Trade Association, Christina promotes voluntourism’s mission objectives at industry conferences and in the ATTA’s industry publication, Adventure Travel News.
Christina is an Associate with the Adventure Travel Trade Association and is on the board of directors for an adventure travel/voluntourism company, the Outdoor Industry Women's Coalition, and a consumer travel magazine launching in 2007. She holds a BA in Communication from Cornell University, an MA in Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University, and an MBA with a concentration in Entrepreneurship from American University.
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Kristin Lamoureux, M.A., Executive Director, International Institute of Tourism Studies
Kristin Lamoureux is the Director of the International Institute of Tourism Studies at The George Washington University, as well as an adjunct faculty member of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, specializing in the planning and development of sustainable tourism. Currently, her duties include the oversight of all IITS activities including the Career Education Program and the administration of all grants/contracts such as the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail Interactive Guide project with the US National Park Service and a USAID project focused on Sustainable Tourism Development in Rural Areas of Mozambique.
Additionally, she is involved in several projects focusing on the development of tourism competitive clusters as a means for economic development in various destinations including Bulgaria, Dominican Republic and others. Ms Lamoureux recently served as a consultant on a World Bank funded project entitled “ Honduras: Sustainable Coastal Tourism Project” intended to lessen poverty in the Northern Coastal regions of Honduras. She has also worked as tourism advisor or consultant to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the World Travel and Tourism Council, the Ecotourism Society, and Conservation International, among others.
Ms. Lamoureux has been involved in tourism projects within the United States as well as abroad beginning with Ecuador where she lived for several years. She has an A.S. from La Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, a B.S. from Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island and a M.T.A. (Master of Tourism Administration) from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. She is presently completing a Ph.D. in Business Administration with a focus on Strategic Management and Tourism Development at the same university.
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Jeanette Leehr, Board Chair, Los Niños, Inc.
Jeanette Leehr is a political analyst by training. She has worked for a number of international businesses and has been active in philanthropic, educational and political organizations at home and abroad.
Ms. Leehr holds a BA in Political Science from Loyola University ( Chicago), an MA in Political Economy/International Relations from the University of Southern California and she studied law at Southwestern University in Los Angeles.
Currently, Ms. Leehr is Executive Producer of Heritage Productions InternationaI LLC, based in New York. The new company is producing high quality television programs that aim to enhance artistic and cultural understanding.
In addition to this work, Ms. Leehr runs a family property business and serves on the Board of Directors of Los Niños International, San Diego, a non-profit community development organization dedicated to serving families along the U.S.-Mexico border. She resides in Minnesota with her husband and three children.
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Priscilla Macy, Founder/Proprietor, Global Sojourns
Priscilla established Global Sojourns to inspire Americans to become more aware of developing countries and the issues related to them. This is achieved by providing clients with a fun and memorable travel experience that has unique activities and information woven into the itinerary so the clients can come away with a deeper understanding of the land and the people they are visiting.
After a career in business, Priscilla turned her focus to international development. After living and working in Kenya and spending three years conducting cultural anthropological studies in Mozambique, Priscilla moved to Zimbabwe and started Global Sojourns in 1997.
Global Sojourns provides customized trips to Africa and SE Asia. The company focuses on helping clients connect with locals in a manner that is culturally sensitive and mutually respectful and on designing itineraries that get the client off the beaten path and to travel responsibly while having an experience of a lifetime.
Committed to the promotion of responsible tourism and to connecting people from different cultural backgrounds, Priscilla sees offering volunteer opportunities to clients as a great way for them to enhance their travel experience while gaining understanding and inspiration.
Priscilla has an undergraduate degree in Business Management from the University of Washington and a Masters in International Development from the University of Colorado. Currently Priscilla stays involved with international affairs while living in Washington D.C., spending time with her husband Peter and her Rhodesian Ridgeback, Zim.
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Nancy McGehee, PhD., Associate Professor, Virginia Tech University
Nancy has been working in the area of tourism development for over 15 years. She received an MS in Tourism Management from North Carolina State University in 1991, worked for the Appalachian Tourism Research and Development Center from 1991-1994, then received both an MS and PhD in Sociology from Virginia Tech in 1999. Her dissertation focused on how volunteer tourism influenced individual’s participation in social movements once they returned to their home communities.
Since that time, Nancy has broadened her research focus to include what really was her “first research love”, resident attitudes toward volunteer tourism. She is in the early stages of what she hopes to be a long-term study of exploring the similarities and differences amongst a variety of communities experiencing a variety of types of voluntourism. Her other long-term project involves raising her two children, both 4-year olds, named Grace and Spencer. Any advice on either project is always welcome!
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Elisa Sabatini Executive Director, Los Niños, Inc.
Elisa Sabatini serves as the Executive Director for Los Niños. She is responsible for providing strategic direction, supervising staff, creating new programs, and securing all resources for activities in Mexico, the United States and Canada. Program areas include family health, nutrition, micro-finance, sustainable agriculture, community organizing and development education. In 2003, the VolunTours™ “social business” joined the family of Los Niños’ programs.
Elisa formerly served with World SHARE for fourteen years. She served as Mexico Director (1984-87) involving food movement and storage, inventories, community development projects, program proposals, fundraising and evaluation. As Country Director in Guatemala (1987-91), Elisa set up systems, trained staff in accounting software, developed food handling and warehouse manuals, designed program proposals in the areas of maternal child health, agroforestry, infrastructure development and community banks/income generation.
Elisa was named the World SHARE Regional Director for Latin America (1992-98) and coordinated participatory processes to create an autonomous SHARE organization in Guatemala as well as develop self-funding food distribution in Mexico and a rural agricultural loan fund. In Mexico, the Compartamos (SHARE) program is now the largest micro credit initiative in the country. Elisa joined Los Niños in 1998.
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Gregory Tehven, Co-Founder, Students Today Leaders Forever
Originally from West Fargo, ND, Greg Tehven was active in high school. He held many leadership roles in various organizations including President of his Student Council, Founder of Fellowship of Christian Athletes at his high school and Vice President of North Dakota’s National Honor Society. He entered the University of Minnesota as a freshman with big ideas. 10 days into his college career, he launched a vision with three friends to change the world.
These four students worked to create a Pay It Forward Tour, a service project on wheels. In just four years, the organization, Students Today Leaders Forever, has grown from one bus of 43 people serving 5 communities to over 1,600 participants serving over 180 communities across the country. During the 2007-2008 school year, STLF will send out 45 Pay It Forward Tours with 1,800 students in one year!
After his graduation from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management in just 3 ½ years, he has decided to continue working with STLF as a full time employee. Tehven’s role has been in growth and expansion. He has traveled the country speaking to high school, college and junior high students sharing his passion for service. Tehven serves on the wisdom council for Voluntourism, is the advisor of the Metro Student Council Ambassadors of Fargo Moorhead and volunteers with the Moorhead Healthy Community Initiative. His personal mission statement is simple: To challenge, inspire and encourage young people to live a life of excellence.
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