Growing up in the Midwest, Sandy got her first taste of international travel on a two-week high school trip to Europe. She carried that curiosity to Ohio University, where she studied International Business, Marketing and French, and spent a semester abroad in France honing her language skills and love of cross-cultural connection.

After graduation, still unsure exactly what path to take, Sandy joined the Peace Corps in Mauritania, West Africa, teaching basic business skills to local entrepreneurs—and learning just as much from them. She mastered the art of riding camels, tolerated the occasional bug in her dinner and picked up local customs (including why you never, ever shake hands with your left hand). Eventually she craved a more outdoorsy home base and moved to Colorado, where she found her perfect fit at Natural Habitat Adventures.

Travel has remained the through line of Sandy’s life. She has bungee-jumped in New Zealand, shark-dived on the Great Barrier Reef, backpacked through Southeast Asia, meditated in remote temples, climbed volcanoes and lazed in beachside hammocks. She has explored Uganda, Antarctica and the Galapagos, trekked in Nepal’s Mt. Everest region during the Mani Rimdu festival to help ward off evil spirits, searched for elusive snow leopards in Ladakh, India, and walked among brown bears at Alaska Bear Camp in Lake Clark National Park.

When she’s home in Colorado, you’ll most often find Sandy hiking local trails, reading, catching live music, enjoying happy hour with friends and dreaming up her next adventure.