Who I Am
I’m a traveler, boomer, writer, coach, consultant, adventurer, lifelong learner, and a professional. Of course, I’m much more than that if you include my personal life, but this is a good start.
Like most boomers, I’m of an age when one label doesn’t adequately describe me because my experiences have broadened me to such a degree that I’m not just one thing. I’m sure that’s always been the case, but I think that it’s with age and wisdom that we own up to it more easily.
It’s this complexity that makes us both more interesting as people and more of a challenge to satisfy when we travel. That’s because we’re no longer pleased by the superficial peeks at cultures offered by most tours as they have you flit from a museum to a village to an artisan shop on your way to a concert—all in one afternoon. We need more; we demand more.
I’ve visited every continent and would like to visit every country in my lifetime. By the age of 50, I’d been to 50 countries. My goal is to visit at least another 50 by the time I’m 75. The challenge will be to do it in a meaningful manner. So you see I, like you, don’t have time or money to waste on travel that doesn’t suit me.
Traveler
I’ve traveled across North America too many times to count, visited some 35 U.S. states, nine Canadian provinces, all seven continents, and 50+ countries, living in five of them. I’ve done my darndest to use just about every means of transportation, including jets, small planes, cruise liners, canoes, bamboo rafts, limos, tuk tuks, motorcycles, donkeys, camels, and yaks. I’m fluent in three languages and learned enough of half a dozen others to manage life abroad while improving my pantomime skills beyond belief.
Writer
I’ve been writing for 30 years as a news reporter, corporate communications professional, blogger, travel writer, and now a travel coach. Thousands of readers to my Daily Travel Tips and weekly blog posts, follow me on Twitter and Facebook, and read my guest blogs on boomer and travel sites. Oh yeah, I also wrote a book to help our age group go sooner, more often, and further – The Boomers’ Guide to Going Abroad to Travel * Live * Give * Learn.
Boomer Travel Coach
I help people let go of their fears of the unknown so they’ll travel and discover the exciting life they’ve always wanted by going abroad to travel, live, give, and learn. I’ve helped hundreds save money and time with tips and advice on everything from when to travel to booking cheaper accommodations. Thousands follow my advice through Facebook, Twitter, and my blogs while others take advantage of a more personal approach through one-on-one coaching or join in on my teleseminars
Consultant
I share my expertise with corporations, professional groups, and non-profit organizations through speaking engagements geared toward the needs of baby boomers. I bring several decades of experience as a management consultant, speaker, and facilitator to my seminars and workshops, and I make sure people learn a great deal while having fun.
Adventurer
Along with husband Jacob, I left my corporate job, sold our Los Angeles-area home and everything we owned, found homes for our cats, and started our nomadic lifestyle in 2006. We completed a 26-month round-the-world trip [RTW blog] to 40+ countries and six continents, including Antarctica, and then immediately began a second round-the-world trip (more slowly this time). During this second trip, we lived in Mexico, Costa Rica, and China [Baby Boomers Traveling blog]—and we have yet to stop. We continue our vagabond lifestyle, traveling all over the United States and living abroad every opportunity we get.
Lifelong Learner
I received my MBA from the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University (2000), with concentrations in strategic planning and marketing. My undergraduate degree is in public administration from Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto (1998), and I also have a diploma in broadcast journalism from the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby, British Columbia (1985). Of course, having worked for 30+ years in the corporate, non-profit, and public sectors, I’ve attended several dozen training seminars, conferences, and workshops on everything from using computer programs to effective communications.
Professional
My career has included the positions of Director of External Relations at the University of Southern California, management consultant, as well as internal consultant, policy analyst, corporate communicator, and news reporter.