Ashton Palmer Founder & President

At age 18, Ashton left his native town of Sutton Coldfield, England, with a one-way ticket to Australia via Bangkok. He has never looked back. Since then, Ashton has pursued his childhood dreams of travel all over the world, along the way becoming an expedition leader, guide, naturalist, conservationist, Zodiac driver, bird-watcher, and photographer. Read More

Meg Rand Director of Operations

Meg grew up in a suburb of Seattle. At the age of 16, she spent a summer in Germany and fell fast in love with the opportunity to view the world through the new lenses that different cultures and landscapes provide. At 18, she made the 3,000 mile move east to attend Vassar College in New York’s Hudson Valley. Read More

Chris Myers Expedition Sales Manager

Chris grew up in the woods and waterways near the Chesapeake Bay. Fishing, camping and canoeing from an early age led to a passion for adventures in the natural world. After moving west to Oregon, the urge to travel became too much to resist and Chris bought a backpack and a ticket to Europe. Read More

Jennifer Santoyo Expedition Advisor

With an open mind, positive attitude and adventurous spirit, Jennifer has wandered off the beaten path and allowed her own curiosities to be her guide throughout her ventures. She has trekked the Outback, dived the Great Barrier Reef, journeyed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, witnessed the rising sun atop Mount Fuji, and ice climbed the challenging walls of Fox Glacier. Read More

Olivia Zimmerman Expedition Advisor

A native of the Pacific Northwest, Olivia had no shortage of the glorious outdoors growing up. The abundant mountains, lush forests, and beautiful beaches instilled a deep love of the natural environment—both in exploring and protecting it. An adventurer at heart, she took her studies overseas and canceled her flight home in favor of spending a year taking in Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. Read More

Aubree Wilson Expedition Advisor

Aubree is grateful to call the Pacific Northwest her forever home, an oasis where the awe inspiring mountains, forest, and sea meet in harmony. As a former tour guide, she shared Seattle’s unique history and sensational cuisine with adventurous travelers from all over the world. Read More

Caitlin Moore Expedition Advisor

Caitlin grew up in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and although she has a strong bias for evergreen trees, she feels at home when surrounded by nature in all its glorious forms, whether in her backyard or across the world. Her passionate love affair with travel began when, as a college graduation gift to herself, she ventured to Europe. Read More

Brandye Alexander Expedition Advisor

It was time spent in the US Peace Corps which ignited Brandye’s passion for travel. Living abroad in Ukraine and experiencing its culture, history, and geography made her hungry to see more of the world. Later, when she visited the Galapagos Islands, travel shifted from something Brandye merely loved to something she absolutely needed—as essential as breathing. Read More

Tom Mountford Expedition Advisor

Originally from Staffordshire, England, Tom first started traveling when he accepted a diplomatic posting with the UK Foreign Service in Mumbai. After three years of living, working, and traveling around the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, Tom relocated to Shanghai for his second overseas assignment. Read More

Jess Brown Expedition Advisor

As a native of Seattle and a Washington State University graduate, Jess’s Pacific Northwest roots run deep. Hometown proud but a traveler at heart, her first forays away from the comforts of home included rebuilding orphanages in Mexico and backpacking through France.  Read More

Paul Hopp Expedition Advisor

A native Seattleite, Paul grew up with a love of the magnificent Pacific Northwest. His natural-born curiosity led him to travel to Europe for three months during his studies at the University of Washington. After completing his degree, he worked for a tech company for nearly four years until his growing wanderlust became too much to bear. Read More

Amanda Parshall Expedition Logistics Manager

After spending her childhood in a small town in Maine, Amanda was ready to break out and explore the world! That exploration started with a cross-country road trip the summer after graduating high school. The spirit and character she felt during her one-day stop in Seattle was the only inspiration she needed to pack up her life and move to the Emerald City. Read More

Marybeth Coghill Expedition Advisor

Marybeth is a Western Washington University graduate and a proud Seattle native who loves the Pacific Northwest and exploring its natural wonders. As a big fan of road trips, she continues to check destinations off her list, including trekking and hiking Yellowstone National Park. Read More

Sarah Davenport Expedition Advisor

Sarah is a proud Midwest native and semi-recent Seattle transplant, moving to the Emerald City in the summer of 2013 to pursue interests in the arts and theatre. Her love of travel was cemented with a five-month stay in the Emerald Isle to study Irish music and culture at the University of Ireland Maynooth, with frequent excursions to experience the countryside and coasts. Read More

Van Nguyen Expedition Advisor

Ever since childhood, Van has been a curious adventurer. Biking around her hometown neighborhoods of Nha Trang, Vietnam and later, Eastern Washington, she loved to be on the move and experience new places. With a fondness for the Pacific Northwest, she attended college in Seattle. Read More

Whitney Miller Expedition Advisor

Whitney grew up in Georgia and, after moving away for graduate school, never looked back. After a few years in Ohio and Arizona, she settled in Seattle and continues to be amazed by the beauty of the area. She discovered her passion for travel and exploration at an early age when her family hosted exchange students from a variety of countries. Read More

Shelley Fry Marketing and Media Manager

Shelley believes that penguins can change lives! She first discovered ExpeditionTrips as a client planning to visit penguins in Antarctica. A few months after her fantastic voyage to The Ice, Shelley packed up her business background to join the ExpeditionTrips crew. An independent-minded traveler, Shelley thrives on researching destinations and seeking out unique experiences. Read More

Jennie Drazan Senior Marketing and Content Coordinator

Jennie discovered a love of travel and the outdoors from an early age on family trips to the Oregon Coast and National Parks such as Yellowstone and Yosemite. While earning her degree in biology, she spent a summer in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands living with local families and studying environmental science and conservation. Read More

Maria Romero Marketing and Content Coordinator

Maria attributes her love of discovering new places and cultures to the Weekly Readers she devoured in elementary school. She began her first travel bucket list in the 3rd grade, when she read an article about the Galapagos giant tortoise. Read More

April Petersen Accounts Manager

April received her first taste of international travel while still a teenager, volunteering with community service organizations in Europe. During the next several years, she explored the world on board expedition cruise ships working in retail and management positions. Her travels have taken her to such places as Antarctica, South America, Galapagos Islands, and Alaska. Read More

Sabrina Yoshitomi Accounts Manager

When people meet Sabrina, they get an instant shot of her high energy, positive attitude, and outgoing personality! As someone who enjoys math and loves building relationships, she has pursued a career path combining her number crunching skills with her desire to help others and her passion for travel. Read More