ATTA Team

Shannon Stowell ~ President

“To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.” Soren Kierkegaard
~ Shannon Stowell

Shannon’s personal and professional background is well suited for the adventure travel industry. He’s lived in Fiji, trekked Indonesia, Thailand, Burma and China, and has spent time in many places around the world including Taiwan, South Africa, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Brazil, Qatar, Norway, Mexico and Canada. Among the diverse adventures he’s enjoyed: summiting Mount Rainier & Mount Hood, diving in Mexico, sitting out a riot in Jakarta, being involved in Fijian kava ceremonies, caving in Thailand, and many more. Shannon is an active traveler, trail runner, swimmer, mountaineer, skier and fly-fisher. He brings a special passion to this industry borne of experience and a desire to see others experience the world in a richer way. His 17+ years of business experience, connections, marketing insight, environmental science, vision and passion for adventure travel have prepared him well to serve and lead as the president of the Adventure Travel Trade Association. Early in his career, with a B.S. Biology from Seattle Pacific University, Shannon worked as a fisheries observer on ships in Alaska for the National Marine Fisheries Service. After a stint on the Bering Sea, and work with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, he spent eight years at an environmental testing laboratory as a biologist/chemist. He was promoted into management to develop and spearhead the company’s international vision and Asian presence with the President of North Creek Analytical International.

Shannon then engaged in the dot-com revolution as a co-founder of Altrec.com, a successful outdoor and adventure travel gear retailer (www.altrec.com). He directed the company’s business development, affiliate marketing and non-profit relations for six years. Despite the dotcom boom and bust, Altrec survived, then thrived. During his time at Altrec.com, he struck deals with Amazon.com, CBS Sportsline, National Geographic and National Geographic Adventure, Backpacker Magazine, Virtuoso, Nike, Gore-Tex, Outward Bound, Virtuoso and Mountain Travel Sobek among many others. He wore many other hats during his tenure, overseeing aspects of marketing, PR, affiliate programs, ad sales, advertising program development and development of Altrec’s sister site, www.Greatoutdoors.com.

Under his leadership as president of the ATTA, the organization has grown into the largest international association of adventure travel companies with nearly 500 members and dozens of tourism boards, major corporations and influential individuals helping propel industry initiatives forward.  The ATTA also hosts the Adventure Travel World Summits.  Shannon also co-authored a book in 2008, published by National Geographic: Riding the Hulahula to the Arctic Ocean- A guide to 50 Extraordinary Adventures.

Committed to non-profit endeavors, Shannon served for four years on the Board of the American Hiking Society. He has also directed several community plays, been the vice-chairman in a community political group, serves with his local church and served on the Library Board at his local library. Raised on the Arkansas River in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, Shannon today lives with his wife, Shelly, and two children in the Seattle area. 

Feel free to contact Shannon at any time to discuss the Adventure Travel industry or the Association.

Chris Doyle ~ Vice President, Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) & Editor, AdventureTravelNews™

“My traveling mantra goes something like this: Carry adventure in your soul. Allow your imagination to run wild, always. Let ‘it’ come to you. Keep an open mind and heart. Imbue yourself in and embrace the ways of the peoples and cultures you visit. Empathize. Understand. Learn. Grow. Give back.”
~Chris Doyle

Active in road and mountain trail marathons, Chris Doyle is a long-time enthusiast of adventure travel, with first-hand whitewater rafting, fly-fishing, backpacking, sea kayaking, mountain biking and mountaineering experience on five continents.

Since 2004, Doyle has played a key role in the organization’s strategic direction and development and continues to drive its research, marketing, public relations and communications, and directs the content and execution of ATTA’s annual Adventure Travel World Summit and Webinar programs.

For nearly 20 years, he’s offered an array of strategic public relations and business expertise in the retail, technology, sports and outdoors, adventure travel, fashion, home furnishings and non-profit sectors. He’s managed corporate reputations and developed extensive national awareness campaigns for retailers and manufacturers, supported the launch of six Internet concerns, worked extensively with trade organizations and industry analysts, launched numerous private-label product campaigns and managed consumer affairs crises.

As principal of Doyle Public Relations (2001-2006), he handled media relations for Eagle Creek (www.eaglecreek.com), ExOfficio (www.exofficio.com), Converse (www.converse.com), Gateway (www.gateway.com), Altrec.com, MariSafe.com, American Alpine Club, and numerous others. Doyle also led public relations efforts at Eddie Bauer (www.eddiebauer.com), and handled corporate media and community relations for Recreational Equipment, Inc., (www.rei.com) and its adventure travel business, REI Adventures (www.reiadventures.com).

Chris Chesak ~ Vice President, Business Development

"Adventure, naturally, involves some risk. Risk is, inherently, a challenge. And challenge, ultimately, creates exhilaration.”
~Chris Chesak

Chris Chesak has 15 years experience forging corporate partnerships and in organizational development. His past partnerships focused on the outdoor industry, bringing apparel, gear, and footwear companies like Patagonia, Marmot, and Gore-Tex together with grassroots partners The American Alpine Club, American Hiking Society, and Winter Wildlands Alliance.

As a boy, Chris always dreamt of leaving his hardscrabble, blue-collar Massachusetts hometown for parts unknown. He dreamt of great adventures, wrote stories about exotic lands, and devoured books about both.

But practicalities (and a lot of hard work) first took him to Wesleyan University (Middletown, Conn.) were he garnered four varsity letters in football, attended the Wesleyan Writer's Workshop and an intensive International Relations semester at The American University in Washington, D.C., and earned a B.A. in English and International Politics.

While his childhood dreams were of other continents, he realized that he first needed to know his own nation. After a year of skimping and saving his paltry salary as a reporter and photographer for a regional newspaper, he took off in a battered VW Golf for two months of solo travel across the U.S., sleeping in state parks, National Parks, youth hostels, and a few times in the Golf itself. In the hostels and on the back roads, he met more Germans, Kiwis, and Aussies than he could count, further inflaming his desire to travel farther, outside his nation's borders.

But work took him to Washington, D.C., and a year long stint at the U.S. Supreme Court, followed by three years working in marketing, conferences and trade shows, and on international subsidiary rights for an environmental book publisher. From there, Chris gravitated to the outdoor industry and began work for the American Hiking Society where he managed the National Trails Day program with various outdoor industry partners. He also participated in trail-building 'vacations' in Kentucky and California, backpacked through Shenandoah National Park, and attended a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) trip leader course.

His next stop was Golden, Colo., where he ran the development program for the venerable organization The American Alpine Club and achieved triple-digit growth in his programs. With the AAC, Chris retooled their membership development, appeal, and branding programs and built partnerships with The North Face, Gore-Tex, Helly Hansen, and numerous mountaineering guide services. In his spare time, he climbed mixed routes and ice in Rocky Mountain National Park and made a wind-blown winter attempt on Mount Rainier. His national tour then took him to settle in Boise, Idaho, where he became a grant writer and consultant to outdoor associations, most notably Winter Wildlands Alliance.

As part of the Army National Guard, he then deployed to Iraq for a year with a line unit, but he still managed to have some fun along the way (including writing a blog and and articles about his experiences for the Idaho Statesman, various military magazines, and Good Housekeeping). He looks forward to someday returning to the city of Kirkuk to explore the ancient ruins, distribute yet more candy and toys to the children, and to see the city through anything but night vision goggles.

Chris is an avid climber, skier, backpacker, and writer, having published fictional works in several literary quarterlies and non-fiction in national outdoor publications. He lives with his wife Sally and daughters Lillian and Sylvia in Boise, Idaho.

Jason Reckers ~ Director of Online Strategies

“Adventure, for me, begins with seeing cultures worldwide come together, and, initially, all through the eyes of my laptop. Every day is a new experience filled with the education of new people, cultures, and the power the Internet has in connecting us all. Most importantly, the adventure lies in the future where we just might have the chance one day to meet those on the other side of the globe face-to-face.”
~Jason Reckers

Jason Reckers, President and CEO of PixelMill, has more than 10 years of experience providing web strategy guidance and training to professional services firms, trade associations, business and web consulting companies, and a host of industry sectors. Under his direction, PixelMill has contributed to the development of more than 65,000 web sites. Jason connects daily with diverse customers on topics ranging from web site development and web site marketing strategies to search engine optimization and web site standards. As a strategic partner of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, he provides ATTA with consultation on web site strategies and features, web-based products and services, and manages .travel authentication.

Murray Bartholomew ~ Membership Administration

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
~Helen Keller

Murray has been hard wired for the world of travel and outdoor recreation since childhood. He, along with his family, has explored many parts of the world. He has gained indelible impressions of diverse cultures drawn in part from an extended journey to Indonesia – hearing people worship in a foreign tongue, smelling the scents of tea plantations, and observing vast economic inequities. Spending time in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bali, he realized further that the world’s culture is far broader than he could have imagined. Nothing like a little first-hand experience to awaken the mind.

In college, he leapt at opportunities to leave America’s borders. Though not a Literature Major, he studied South African Literature at its source. During a month’s stay along the southern coast of Africa, he read novels depicting the Apartheid and then saw its lingering effects and an optimistic country in recovery. For his International Business Degree at Seattle Pacific University, he studied for a time at Oxford University in England, and then headed to Barcelona to study at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. In Barcelona, he immersed himself in Spanish culture; he lived with a Spanish family, ate their food, spoke their language, and gradually learned how to fit in well enough to be confused as a Spaniard.

In joining the ATTA, Murray is carrying out his dream to be intimately involved in international business. In 2004, he worked for Agros International, a non-profit organization that empowers indigenous people in Central America through land loans and training. The locals use the new land to cultivate to become self-sustaining, and to establish productive and economically viable communities. He rigorously analyzed the company’s operations in Central America, and then reported to the company’s president how Agros could be more helpful during their frequent service trips and provide the maximum value to the new village and its inhabitants.

Being raised in a family of outdoor enthusiasts, including his father who served as an executive in the outdoor recreation and manufacturing industry, adventure was never far away. Even as young as two months old, Murray, a native of Washington State, could be seen in the mountains. Active in the Scouts, he learned to appreciate hiking. In his teens, he pursued more serious endeavors, including 50 mile hiking trips in the rugged North Cascades. After earning his Eagle Scout, he did what America’s forefathers did, stepped out a little further and went on to explore the “last” American frontier — Alaska. There, Murray boned up on his glacial ice climbing and white water rafting skills throughout the 24/7 summer sun of Denali National Park. He even chose to attend Seattle Pacific University in a large part for its proximity to adventure. After he and his brother got their first set of climbing gear, he started what really should have been his Major; nearly every sunny day (i.e. every non-rainy day in Seattle) he rock climbed at Washington State’s premier locations: Index Town Wall, Peshastin Pinnacles, or Castle Rock.

Murray joined the Adventure Travel Trade Association in August 2005 in support of the Adventure Travel World Summit. After contributing to this event’s success, he has shifted roles and now coordinates the ATTA membership program.

Paula Mendes ~ Business Development

“Why join the navy if you can be a pirate?”
~Steven Jobs

Fun, quirky, passionate, curious and adventurous, Paula has been  seeing the world from many different perspectives.

Travel is the cornerstone of her existence, bringing new and exciting foods, people, music and culture to enrich her life and challenge her understanding of the world around us.

Born to Portuguese parents, Paula grew up in Timor, Macao and finally Australia where her parents still maintain there little outpost of the Portuguese empire. Fueled from a childhood experience with her mother in the Middle East, Paula has gone from the Australian outback to the most storied places in the world. Highlights include Machu Picchu, the orangutans of Borneo, diving with stingrays in the Caribbean, and  surfing the world from Australia to Costa Rica to Portugal... And even the frozen waters of Tofino, BC.

Adventure is what you make it, and Paula is happy just being "out  there", no matter if it's pedaling around Napa looking for the perfect $10 shiraz, visiting relatives in Portugal, or a Pacific Northwest road trip with her loving family.

But the world has slowly become Paula's home away from home. A devoted snowboarder, she fell in love with the Whistler area where she and her partner have "settled" into their biggest adventure yet, a 10-month old son who shares there strong spirit, inquisitive nature, and pursuit of laughter. She enjoys gardening around her home, snowboarding and mountain biking in her backyard, and the local farmers markets in search of the perfect tomatoe.

Paula has been a standout within the tourism industry ever since she first set foot in Whistler, BC, over a decade ago.  She is a well loved local for her strong character, friendly personality and welcoming charm. Having built a successful career with companies like Intrawest and Tourism Whistler, first as a snowboard instructor and recently as a corporate sales manager, she truly emanates her mantra, "love what you do".

Antonio del Rosal ~ Executive Director - Mexico

Antonio was born in Mexico in 1974 to a Mexican father and an American mother. He was raised in a bi-national, bi-cultural environment which has made him particularly sensitive to the multi-national issues as seen from local perspectives.

He received his formation as a Civil Engineer and later obtained an MBA from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. This led him to become a consultant for the IDB “Inter-American Development Bank” and advisor to a large Private Equity firm in D.C. Some years later, he was invited to collaborate with CEMEX, one of the largest Mexican conglomerates as strategy and planning manager. At this point is where Antonio decides to make a huge leap of faith, follow his passion, and accept a position as Executive Director for Rio y Montaña Expediciones, one of the largest and most reputable adventure travel companies in Mexico.

Today, Antonio is Executive Director for ATTA Mexico and is committed to build on his experience in international business, strategy and operational management in order to develop the adventure travel industry in Mexico, Latin America and the Developing World.

Alice Gifford ~ Member Advocate

“Live every week like it's Shark Week.”
~Tina Fey

Growing up with an active, creative and supportive family, Alice spent each winter in Savannah, Georgia and each summer on the coast of Maine. While she did not grow up camping or participating in outdoor sports, something drew her to Jackson Hole, Wyoming one summer to work as a whitewater rafting guide. It was here she discovered her passion for adventure travel. She spent the following year studying and backpacking throughout Tasmania, Australia and New Zealand, combining her love of the arts and her newfound passion for wilderness. Upon her return, she became an editorial intern with National Geographic Adventure magazine, graduated from Sarah Lawrence College, and promptly moved to the West Coast, where the ocean and mountains were calling her name.

She worked a stint onboard a small cruise ship along the Columbia River - no better introduction to the Pacific Northwest! - and edited for The Mountaineers Books. After a few years with a travel and nature stock photography company, she found herself yearning to be the one inside the photos rather than cataloguing them. This desire led her to Adventure Associates of WA, an eco-sensitive tour operator specializing in meaningful worldwide travel experiences for women. Here she developed a strong rapport among trip participants and fellow tour operators, a deep sense of company loyalty, and firsthand knowledge of the challenges involved in niche marketing.

Her favorite memories linger in summers spent guiding sea kayaking trips in the San Juan Islands of Puget Sound, leading overland explorations through Copper Canyon, Mexico and escorting a cruise full of adventurous women in the Galapagos Islands.

Alice's passion is to foster sustainable lifestyles and environmental and cultural stewardship within the outdoor recreation industry. Having worked as a guide and in adventure travel media, she brings an insider's perspective to the ATTA. She is your member advocate and looks forward to speaking with you about making the most of your membership.

Alice lives with her husband and their kayaks in Seattle and continues to guide throughout the year.

Carrie Horner ~

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today, let us begin.”
~Mother Theresa

Swimming in the brisk waters of the Pacific Northwest, hiking through the Cascade Mountain Range, and camping in a variety of national and state parks, Carrie considers herself fortunate to have grown up in a family that embraced and explored the outdoors. Whether it was sliding down muddy hillsides into creeks, running up and down a soccer field, whizzing past her father on the ski slopes, or going on family bike rides, she lived an active childhood, which laid the foundation for a life full of adventure.

Setting out from her family, as a young adult, Carrie had the opportunity to journey on several backpacking trips in the Canadian Rockies and a sailing excursion through the alluring San Juan Islands of Washington State. On these trips Carrie's eyes were opened to the mystery, beauty, and majesty of Creation, and a hunger was unleashed to discover the people and places of this world. While an undergraduate student at the University of Washington, Carrie married Tyson who shared these sentiments towards nature. Upon completing a B.A. in Psychology, they moved to Sun Valley, Idaho to work and play…well, let's be honest, not much work took place with the limitless ski terrain of Bald Mountain as a backyard. During her time in Sun Valley, Idaho, Carrie grew to cherish a slow-paced, small-town lifestyle and integrated the values of living presently and living simply into her being. Other notable outdoor moments have included biking through the captivating countryside of Czech Republic, taking in the marvelous night-lights of Budapest while cruising down the Danube River, snorkeling and swimming in the waterfall-fed lagoons of Maui, and training for multiple triathlons in the outdoor playground of the greater Seattle area.

Professionally, Carrie holds a M.A. in Counseling from Seattle University. She has worked as the Regional Intake Coordinator for Meier Clinics and the Program Coordinator for Monroe Public Schools' GEAR UP Scholars Project. In her community she has actively served, volunteering as a volleyball coach at the local Boys and Girls Club and as a leader for her church's youth group. Carrie now lives in Monroe, Washington, where she and her husband welcomed the addition of a beautiful girl to their family in 2007. The prospect of giving back what she received as a child and opening her daughter's eyes to the wonders of this world is exciting for Carrie.

In the fall of 2007, with the arrival of her daughter, Carrie underwent a career shift and began working with the ATTA in database development. Her focus now includes supporting the Business Development Team and assisting the membership program. It is Carrie's hope that pairing her enthusiasm for activity and the outdoors with her experience in the human service sector will enable her to make valuable connections and contributions in the adventure travel industry.

 

ATTA Associates

Moe Carrick ~ Strategic Partner, Consultant

Moementum (www.moementum.com) Founder and Principal Moe Carrick has woven a cohesive and provocative tapestry of personal leadership experiences, Fortune 100 consulting, academic and institutional learning, keynote addresses, authorship, strategic partnering, and masterful facilitation. Her diverse background, which spans more than two decades, makes Moe an ideal partner for those who possess the power and desire to achieve concrete and lasting change for themselves and their organizations.

Moe grounds her approach in a unifying and undeniable truth: successful work is dependent upon human relationships. Moe believes that people and human relationships can stand between our successes and failures when not managed well. Her work begins and ends at the critical juncture where people and organizations must solve root issues while simultaneously sustaining the motivation to become better.

Counted as one of the nation’s foremost leaders in adventure learning, one of Moe’s on-river forays with senior executives on the nation’s most threatening white-water rapid were recorded in Fast Company’s, “Extreme Off-Site” feature story (1999). Straddling mainstream organizational consulting with best-of-the-best wilderness education as faculty for the National Outdoor Leadership School, Outward Bound, and Project Adventure, Moe’s varied contributions to people and organizations have consistently stimulated positive ripple effects with direct and favorable impact to the bottom line.

Her lifelong adventurous spirit and story-telling prowess coupled with her inspirational, witty, and humorous style, earn Moe rave reviews following keynote addresses, training events, and consulting experiences. Her visionary mind allows her to translate her experiences into engaging and interactive presentations, which both predict and reflect emerging trends.

Moe holds a BA from the University of New Hampshire, an MS in Organizational Development from Antioch University, and numerous relevant certifications.

Christina Heyniger ~ Associate

“Adventure travel has given me something I treasure more than the physical: a sense of purpose, clarity, energy and inspiration.”
~Christina Heyniger

Christina is the president of Xola Consulting, Inc and an associate with the Adventure Travel Trade Association. Christina has ten years experience in business management consulting, specializing since 2004 in marketing and development work in the adventure tourism industry. In cooperation with ATTA and the rest of the Xola team, Christina's current focus is on supporting public and private sector initiatives which seek to create adventure tourism markets as a means of driving human and environmental development.

Christina's work has supported adventure travel tour operators and governments around the world including Africa, Asia (particularly SE Asia), South America and North America. She speaks regularly at industry and academic conferences on topics ranging from small business management to humanitarian aid and international development through responsible tourism.

Christina earned her Bachelor of Science from Cornell University in 1993; her Master of Arts from Georgetown University in its Communication, Culture and Technology program; and her Master of Business Administration from American University specializing in Entrepreneurship in 2004.

Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, Christina now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

Hong Zhao ~ Associate

"Travel around the world, adventure travel in particular, is a wonderful experience that enriches and creates powerful memories you carry for life"
~Hong Zhao

Hong has been in senior management positions over the past 15 years and has been responsible for international technical and engineering management, business development, and venture operation management for several large US and Canadian companies, including AT&T Wireless and Nortel Networks. In those international management roles, he has traveled the world, from Asia to Europe, from North America to Central America. Travel has been an integral part of his business life. In his most recent duty at AT&T Wireless where he served as a senior director of engineering and a senior director of business development, he led his engineering team and implementation team developed and deployed cellular networks in the whole Caribbean region from Bermuda to Curacao, from Cayman to Barbados, explored the mountains and jungles (using machetes from time to time to create paths) for cellsite location selection. He has accumulated rich experiences in government relations, business development and operation management, which he brought in with him to the ATTA. Born and raised in Beijing, Hong speaks Mandarin and English fluently.

Hong's rich international business experience, bi-lingual capabilities and knowledge of technology and travel make him an ideal team member as the ATTA works with many international governments, NGOs and companies.

When he is at home in the beautiful emerald city of Washington, he enjoys hiking, camping and biking with the family and friends. Hong received his PhD degree in electrical and computer engineering from University of Victoria, British Columbia in 1993 and owns many US patents.

Paige Schneider ~ Associate

Paige P. Schneider is a Ph.D. candidate at Michigan State University. She holds an M.A. in Recreation and Tourism from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio. Paige’s research has focused on marketing, communication, and consumer behavior related to tourism, with a special interest in adventure tourism. She believes adventure travel offers experiences that promote cultural understanding, fulfill personal dreams, and encourage environmental sustainability.

Paige has 15 years of experience as a travel consultant and manager of a Virtuoso member agency in Perrysburg, Ohio. She is a Certified Travel Consultant (CTC), an Adventure Travel Specialist (ATS), and has completed four Destination Specialist (DS) certificates during her career. Viewing travel as “a life-changing experience,” Paige has been passionate about adventure since her first adventure in the San Juan Island of Washington State. Since then she has actively participated in adventure travel, hiking, biking, and kayaking throughout the world. Her latest favorite places include the beautiful islands of Croatia and the breathtaking Pacific Lowlands of Nicaragua.

Paige is an active member in The Travel Institute (formerly ICTA), the Communication Majors Association (CMA) at Michigan State University, and the Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA), at whose June 2006 conference in Dublin she won Best Illustrated Paper Presentation.

Paige also volunteers for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northwest Ohio and, since 2004, has been a research associate with the Adventure Travel Trade Association and a member of the advisory council for the startup of Green Travel Magazine, which is to launch in 2007.

Paige Stringer ~ Associate

“Adventure travel offers inspiration for the soul and reflection for the mind. The world’s countries and cultures are waiting to share with you. Strap on the boots, open yourself to new opportunities, and get outside yourself. You will return a changed person, a wiser person, for the experience.”
~Paige Stringer

Paige Stringer has 10 years of marketing and business development experience from Amazon.com, the Clorox Company, The Wilkinson Group cause marketing agency, and various professional and collegiate sports entities.  Her desire to combine her professional skills with her interests in writing, travel, and altruism led her to the Adventure Travel Trade Association where she contributes to marketing and communications efforts.

Paige’s travel odyssey began when her family moved to England from the United States when she was a mere two months old.  She spent the first three years of her life exploring Europe from atop her father’s shoulders.  That early experience instilled an innate passion for adventure, and she has kept her passport at the ready ever since.  Her success as a Division I collegiate tennis player offered opportunities to play tennis and travel throughout Europe and Scandinavia.  She has since returned to Europe several times (from a lower vantage point) and has seen parts of South America and Mexico.  In our own country, she has trekked Alaska’s glaciers, cat-skied the Rockies, and stopped just short of her goal to visit 30 states in her 30th year.  Her travels and adventures have given her an appreciation of foreign cultures, and an awareness of environmental stewardship that remains a large part of who she is today.

Paige has a Bachelor’s degree in Forest Resource Management and a certificate in Public Relations, both from the University of Washington. She also holds a Master’s degree in Sports and Recreation Management from the University of San Francisco.

Paige lives in Seattle where she has embraced the Northwest outdoor lifestyle (although she still cannot stomach the taste of coffee). She enjoys hiking, skiing, trail running, cycling, and racing duathlons.  She serves as board Vice President for Listen & Talk, and is a member of the Washington Environmental Council.

Natasha Martin ~ Associate

"For me, the best travel pushes my personal limits and helps me discover what I'm capable of."
~Natasha Martin

Natasha has been traveling her entire life. She was lucky to be born into a family of wanderlusters and has had the good fortune to learn about the world by visiting it. She is very proudly Canadian, and currently lives in Vancouver. However, as the child of a Foreign Service officer, she grew up around the world and has lived in Barbados, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Palestinian Territories, the US, Japan, and Scotland. She travels at every available opportunity and her favorite trips have been diving in Malta, trekking in Ladakh and hiking in Quebec, especially in the Fall.

After graduating with a degree in African History from Concordia University in Montreal, Natasha began to pursue a career in development by interning at the United Nations in Nairobi, working at a Canadian NGO and at the Canadian Senate. It did not take her long to realize she could not sit behind a desk. She had the good fortune to meet Christina Heyniger in India – and has been working for Xola Consulting ever since.

At Xola, Natasha's research supports Xola ATDI Feature Adventure Destination assessments. Her adventure tourism market research also includes primary and secondary research into industry trends; in 2008 Xola and ATTA will release her work studying the adventure tourism preferences of "GenY" travelers. In addition, she edits and manages day-to-day operations for Off the Radar. Natasha supports ATTA business development, especially in Spanish speaking countries.

Advisory Board

The ATTA would like to thank the following individuals for their participation with our Advisory Board. Follow the link to learn more about these incredible people....

Richard Bangs adventurer, entrepreneur, author, producer and director

Eric Brodnax Vice President, Orbitz Worldwide - General Manager, Away.com and Outside Online

Jeff Dossett Chief Executive Officer, AdventureLink, Inc.

Urs Eberhard Executive VP Markets & MICE, Switzerland Tourism

Francis X. Farrell Former Publisher, Men's Journal and National Geographic Adventure Magazines

Nicky Fitzgerald Sales & Marketing Director, &Beyond

Kristian B. Jørgensen Managing Director, Fjord Norway Tourist Board

Kurt Kutay Founding Director and President of Wildland Adventures, Inc. and non-profit Travelers Conservation Trust

Perry Lungmus Director of Sales & Marketing at Travcoa

Thornton May Contributing Futurist - World Bank

Praveen Moman Co-founder and Managing Director of Volcanoes Safaris

Helen Nodland Director, Member Sales & Service at Virtuoso, Ltd.

Everett Potter Author, Journalist

Gustavo Timo co-founder of ABETA (Brazilian Adventure Travel Trade Association)

Russell Walters President, Northern Outdoors; former GM of O.A.R.S.

ATTA Advisory Board – Emeritus Members

Mike Adams Travel Footwear, W. L. Gore and Associates

Rick Hemmerling Vice President Business Development – Buzz Off Insect Shield LLC

John Hogan Director – Qatar Airways

Megan McCormick TV Show host for Globetrekkers

John Poimiroo Principal, Poimiroo & Partners; former Director of Tourism, California

Steve Trautman Principal, Solution Strategies; former Expedia manager

Ed Viesturs Adventurer, Author and America’s Leading High-Altitude Mountaineer