Our Dedicated Staff

You won't find more avid nature and travel enthusiasts than our Boulder, Colorado office staff, committed to providing you with the most extraordinary nature expeditions on the planet. There are two main facets to our work:
— to create and fine-tune the world's most unique and exciting nature adventures
— to help our travelers choose the trip that's best for them
As the winner of Outside magazine's award for the best company in the country to work for multiple years running (we are humbled!), we can confirm that there is absolutely no crew of individuals more enthusiastic about their mission than our Natural Habitat Adventures staff. We get to travel the world regularly, exploring the world's most amazing natural places. We each have a deep passion for helping our guests discover their own inspiring nature travel experiences. And, if all that does not keep us motivated, our boss, Ben, buys us lots of beer and pizza. Mostly beer.
Get to know us by reading our bios and viewing our personal travel slideshows!
Ben Bressler
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 1985
Ben was raised in New Jersey (he claims there are parts of Jersey that are absolutely beautiful, but he admits that he didn't live in those parts) and received his higher education at Skidmore...
Alex Haas
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2018
Alex was born in Sicily and raised in Virginia. He grew up with a love of the outdoors stemming from his time camping with the Boy Scouts and living in the Shenandoah Valley...
Aly Jacobsen
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2003
Aly was born and raised in the rustically charming countryside of southern Pennsylvania. She spent the majority of her childhood trying to get lost in the woods...
Amanda Rofheart
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2017
Amanda was born in New Jersey, but she’s an East Coast girl with a West Coast heart. Before she moved to Colorado three years ago, she left Jersey to attend the University of Maryland...
Anne Avellana
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2013
Anne climbed her first mountain at age 3, learned to ski at 5, and scraped up her hands riding a bike at 6. Growing up in New England, she has cheerful memories of hiking the high peaks of...
Annie Van Dinther
Expedition Leader Since: 1999
Annie's career as a naturalist began on a whale-watching vessel off Cape Cod. With degrees in biology and geology, and with her enthusiasm for teaching and understanding animal behavior...
Becky Pahl
Everything You Need to Know Before You Go
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2010
Becky’s love for the mountains brought her to Colorado from Kansas in 1998. The first order of business upon arrival was to secure a ski pass—never mind getting a job. A girl has her...
Ben Forbes
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2004
Ben was born into a military family in England and grew up on a diet of forces jargon, Monty Python and the belief that his dad must have a machine gun hidden in the house somewhere...
Camie Kirkevold
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2016
A Colorado native, Camie spent plenty of time exploring the Rocky Mountains, developing a great love and fondness for wildlife as her mother rescued many homeless and injured animals...
Christy Lavoie
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2005
Christy grew up in the Northeast, where she spent most of her time outdoors, tirelessly exploring nearby forests, rivers and beaches. At age 5, along with her mother and brother, she embarked...
Chrys Olson
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2017
Chrys grew up in the heart of the Midwest—born in Kansas and raised in Nebraska—with three brothers and three sisters. One of her most vivid childhood memories is...
Conor Frantzen
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2013
Conor grew up in Maine where he spent a lot of time outside, usually hiking with his family, skiing with friends or playing sports year-round. He went to Dartmouth College where the green hills...
Corrin LaCombe
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2017
Passionate about primates as a girl growing up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Corrin first proclaimed to the world at age 8 that she was going to be a “monkey doctor” and travel to Africa to save gorillas...
Court Whelan
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2013
Born and raised in Florida, Court spent much of his youth outdoors fostering a strong love and appreciation for nature and wildlife. This fascination led him to attend the University of Florida...
Davis English
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2018
Raised near the sunny foothills of Colorado’s Front Range, Davis began his love affair with nature at an early age. The mountains at his doorstep provided all the wonder a kid could ever need...
Devon Petersen
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2018
Devon was raised in Michigan, but fortunately her parents forced her to travel and learn to ski in Colorado at an early age. She studied Commercial Recreation and Event Management...
Don Martinson
Nature Ambassador to the Travel Industry
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 1995
Born and raised in Utah, Don was fortunate to have the best “natural playground” imaginable, with mountains, deserts and canyons in his backyard...
Emily Deemer
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2013
Although Emily is a Hoosier at heart from Indianapolis, IN, she chose to go to college across the country in Boston. She studied psychology and environmental studies at Boston College, where she...
Emily Kleinburd
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2015
Interested in nature and wildlife from a young age, Emily spent her early childhood reading wildlife encyclopedias, watching nature documentaries, road tripping with her family through National Parks and begging her parents to...
Francisco Di Poi
Nat Hab Staff Member
Born in Buenos Aires, Francisco’s first international adventure happened at the age of 4 when his parents moved the family from Argentina to New York City...
Greg Courter
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 1996
Greg grew up in the Mad River Valley in central Vermont where it’s nearly impossible to step outside without developing a profound appreciation for the outdoors. After graduating from the University...
Hazleena Hashim
Staff Member Since: 2014
Hazleena was born in Kuala Lumpur and grew up in Malaysia. At age 19, she moved solo to the United States for her Electrical Engineering degree and then later moved to Chicago...
Holly Glessner
Flying You to Nature's Edge
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2008
Holly grew up in Iowa and was fortunate enough to have parents who loved to travel. Every year her family would take off to a different part of Mexico or Europe and would spend summers in...
Janet Kazmierski
Flying You to Nature's Edge
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 1997
Janet was born and raised in the suburbs of the Motor City where cruising in hot rods and attending rock concerts were her pastimes of choice. After several trips to northern Michigan camping...
Janet Wood
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2018
Janet grew up in Michigan, where she received a B.S. degree in Environmental Science from the University of Michigan. After 20 years in the environmental consulting field, Janet switched her career focus to conservation travel and has never looked back. She is married to her high school sweetheart...
Joey Sudmeier
Nat Hab Staff Member
Joey grew up in Colorado, camping, skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking and doing everything active in the outdoors can imagine. He studied ecotourism...
John Holahan
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2014
John was born and raised in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania and developed a strong passion for adventure travel from a young age. While completing his bachelor’s degree in philosophy...
Jordy Oleson
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2014
A moment of truth hit Jordy shortly before graduating college. With a business degree and summa cum laude honors under his belt, the “good” job offers he received just didn’t feel right...
Karin Delany
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2015
Growing up in Munich, Germany, Karin spent her summer vacations camping with her family by the Mediterranean Sea and skiing the Alps in winter...
Kate Willingham
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2015
Kate became a connoisseur of adventure as a child in Atlanta, spending much of her time in her large forested backyard catching butterflies...
Kelly Knowles
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2017
Born on the island of Key West, Florida, Kelly learned to snorkel before she learned to ride a bike. A fifth-generation native of the Florida Keys, Kelly's heritage may include pirates down the line...
Kendal Bower
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2013
Kendal grew up in Kansas and Iowa where she spent most of her time outdoors with the neighborhood kids exploring and getting dirty or playing sports. Summer road trips to visit...
Kendra Olson
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2016
Kendra grew up just outside of Chicago, where she spent most of her time in the pool swimming and playing water polo. Family trips inspired her love for travel...
Kit Longnecker
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2014
Kit is a Colorado native who has always treasured having so much beauty in her own backyard. Kit graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2014 earning a degree in advertising...
Kristyn Tobey
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2018
Kristyn’s mom once gave her a card that read, “Not all those who wander are lost.” There is an unidentifiable magic that happens when you step out of what you know and cross into a something new...
Laura Capra
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2019
Laura spent her childhood between New York's Hudson Valley and the backwoods of Maine where most of her extended family still lives. After graduating high school she traded her horses for a bicycle...
Mandy Scott
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2013
Mandy Scott grew up in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts where she enjoyed numerous outdoor pursuits including skiing, horseback riding, tennis and hiking...
Mark Calder
Nat Hab Staff Member
A veteran traveler who has visited 39 countries, Mark loves to share his global knowledge with anyone who will listen—so it’s appropriate that he holds a position as an Adventure Specialist...
Mark Hickey
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2002
Mark was born in Hinsdale, IL, a suburb of Chicago. Part of an active family, Mark's appreciation of the outdoors was instilled at an early age. Camping and fishing trips played a big part in his...
Mark Jordahl
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2016
Mark has spent more than 20 years working in conservation and travel and is passionate about helping people learn about and explore the world's most amazing natural places...
Matt Goddard
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2001
Born and raised in Colorado, Matt has a natural affinity for the mountains and nature. He spent his childhood hiking and camping, exploring the backcountry. In 1992 he moved to Durango to take...
Mat Unger
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2005
Mat has been on the move all his life. Born in Chicago, raised in both East Berlin and Denver, Mat is a traveler at heart. Before joining Natural Habitat Adventures, he studied aerospace sciences at the...
Megan Bryant
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2012
Megan was born in Oklahoma, but didn’t stay there long. In fact, in her first 10 years, her father’s career took the family of four to Texas, Florida and Mississippi, ending up in north...
Megan Koelemay
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2009
Born in Texas and raised in Louisville, Colorado, Megan spent family vacations camping and hiking in the Rocky Mountains. She quickly developed a love for nature photography and...
Michelle Estrella
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2019
Michelle was born in the Philippine Islands and immigrated to the United States when she was 4 years old. She’s lived all over the U.S. since, and before moving to Boulder, Colorado, she lived and worked in Germany....
Nancy MacLean
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2019
Nancy MacLean’s roots in New England run deep. Born and raised in coastal Massachusetts, she’s proud to have a great-grandfather who was a schooner builder in Gloucester, and she comes from five generations...
Nick Grossman
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2015
Growing up at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Nick took advantage of convenient access to the many incredible outdoor opportunities that Colorado has to offer...
Rachel Milton
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2018
Growing up in Louisiana in the heart of Cajun Country, Rachel's early nature adventures embraced the Cajun way of life by sharing the outdoors with alligators and mosquitoes...
Renata Haas
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2014
Proudly calling the “Cheese State” her home, this Wisconsite started her outdoor adventures at a young age like any good outdoor enthusiast by playing in the dirt...
Rick Guthke
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 1999
Rick was raised outside of Cambridge in Massachusetts, but spent all his summers and Christmas vacations with his extended family in Germany. His parents always combined these family visits...
Sandy Shannon
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2001
Growing up in the Midwest, Sandy got her first taste of international travel on a two-week high school trip to Europe (at the time she was more interested in that fact that there was no legal...
Sara Higgins
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2010
Sara grew up in the great state of New Jersey (the nice part, not like Ben) with wanna-be-ski-bum-but-became-lawyers-instead parents and two older brothers who made sure she could climb...
Sarah Knight
Everything You Need to Know Before You Go
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 1998
Born and raised in Colorado, Sarah was introduced to adventure at an early age. Childhood vacations were spent hiking, camping, backpacking and skiing with her parents and brother. Sarah's...
Sarah Raby
Africa Nature Safaris
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2007
Raised in the Fox River Valley, 40 miles west of Chicago, Sarah was centrally located to roam the U.S. at a very young age. Some of her fondest memories include her six member family piling into...
Sarah Warren
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2019
Sarah grew up in Norwalk, Connecticut where she spent her childhood turning over every rock in search of burrowing bugs or crabs. Summers were focused on exploring tide pools...
Shelby Campbell
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2006
Shelby has always had a passion for new places to visit, the outdoors and new friends to meet. Growing up in Milwaukee, WI there was always something new to do. Whether it was camping...
Suzanne Kiser
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2000
Suzanne grew up in Massachusetts and headed to Colorado in 1980 where she fell in love with the magical Rocky Mountain beauty and has called Boulder home ever since. She has always loved to...
Ted Martens
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2011
Ted’s journey into the travel and tourism industry began the summer after his sophomore year of college. A two-month backpacking trip throughout Europe ignited what has come to be...
Tricia Brennan
Nat Hab Staff Member since: 2014
Tricia grew up on the Chesapeake Bay in the Northern Neck of Virginia, where every waking moment was spent outside, usually catching crabs, building forts in the woods or horseback riding...
Valerie Wimberly
Flying You to Nature's Edge
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 1998
Growing up in a Navy family, Valerie lived in a different state every year of her life from Alaska to Hawaii, from east coast to west. The love of travel and experiencing new and interesting places...
Wendy Klausner
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 1996
After graduating from Wharton Business School with an undergraduate degree and NYU with an MBA, Wendy worked for nine years in traditional marketing roles at big companies in...
Wendy Redal
Nat Hab Staff Member Since: 2011
Wendy’s passions are travel, nature and communication, which intersect in her position as Nat Hab's head writer and editor. A Northwest native who got hooked on the Colorado...