Forum Speakers

Travel Forum Speakers

Jeff Greenwald

http://www.ethicaltraveler.org/

Jeff Greenwald has traveled extensively through five continents, working as a writer, artist and photographer.  In the course of his travels, Jeff has participated in a number of unusual projects from designing urban playgrounds for UNICEF to serving as a volunteer water engineer at Khao-I-Dang—the largest of the Cambodian refugee camps.  Jeff is an award-winning author.  His books include: Mr. Raja’s Neighborhood: Letters from Nepal, Shopping for Buddhas, which won the Lowell Thomas Gold Award for Best Travel Book of 1996, The Size of the World—a chronicle of his 29,172-mile, around-the-world overland voyage, Future Perfect: How Star Trek Conquered Planet Earth, and Scratching the Surface: Impressions of Planet Earth from Hollywood to Shiraz, an anthology of his best short travel stories.  Jeff’s travel writing is widely anthologized, appearing in The Kindness of Strangers, In Search of Adventure, and his stories have also appeared in the New York Times Magazine, National Geographic Adventure, Outside, and Salon.com.  Jeff is also co-founder and Executive Director of the non-profit Ethical Traveler, a global community dedicated to exploring the ambassadorial potential of world travel.

Rolf Potts

Rolf Potts is perhaps best known for promoting the ethic of independent travel.  His book on the subject, Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel has been through ten printings and has inspired thousands of young people to don a backpack and embark on adventures of their own. His newest book, Marco Polo Didn't Go There: Stories and Revelations From One Decade as a Postmodern Travel Writer won a 2009 Lowell Thomas Award from the Society of American Travel Writers, and became the first American-authored book to win Italy's prestigious Chatwin Prize for travel writing.  Rolf has reported from more than fifty countries for the likes of National Geographic Traveler, the New York Times Magazine, Slate.com, Conde Nast Traveler, Outside, The Believer, The Guardian (U.K.), National Public Radio, and the Travel Channel.  His adventures have taken him across six continents, and include piloting a fishing boat 900 miles down the Laotian Mekong, hitchhiking across Eastern Europe, traversing Israel on foot, bicycling across Burma, and driving a Land Rover from Sunnyvale, California to Ushuaia, Argentina.

Tony Wheeler

lonelyplanet.com/about/our-founders, lonelyplanet.com/tonywheeler/

Tony Wheeler co-founded Lonely Planet Publications with his wife Maureen in 1972 to publish Asia on the Cheap, their story of a six-month long trip from London to Australia.  Eighteen months in Southeast Asia resulted in their second guide, South-East Asia on a Shoestring, which they put together in a backstreet Chinese hotel in Singapore in 1975. The 'yellow bible', as it became known because of its distinctive yellow cover, soon became the guide to the region. It has sold well over half a million copies worldwide and is now in its 13th edition, still retaining its familiar yellow cover.  Tony has authored or co-authored dozens of travel guidebooks.  His most recent book, Once While Travelling: The Lonely Planet Story, traces the Wheelers’ personal story of Lonely Planet’s often bumpy evolution into the world's largest independent travel publishing company.  Lonely Planet has expanded and evolved its brand to include virtual travel, with Thorn Tree online community, Blogsherpa, and online travel groups, as well as mobile phone applications, city guides, and audio phrasebooks.

Travel Workshop Moderator

Pauline Frommer

Pauline Frommer (moderator) has been traveling since she was four months old!  Daughter of famed budget travel author Arthur Frommer, Pauline has written her own award winning series of travel guides.  Pauline Frommer's London was named "Best Guidebook of the Year” by the Society of American Travel Writers. Pauline Frommer's New York City and Pauline Frommer's London won that same award from the rival travel writing association, the North American Travel Journalists Association in 2006, 2007, and 2008. There are currently 14 titles in the Pauline Frommer "See More, Spend Less" series.   In addition, Pauline and Arthur co-host a nationally-syndicated weekly radio program and podcast, The Travel Show.  She also appears weekly on CNN.com to discuss the latest travel trends and has appeared on countless other nationally televised programs and local news stations.  In addition, Pauline was the founding editor of Frommers.com and served for two years as travel editor for MSNBC.com.

Travel Workshop Speakers

Sean Keener

Sean Keener, cofounder of BootsnAll Travel, grew up in Chicago and began his journey in 1994 with a year of study at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. His studies and travels there inspired him as he met travelers from all over the world. Following his return to Chicago and graduation from University, he departed 1996 on a whirlwind tour of England and Scotland with 3 Australian friends. He has since continued his journey alone through countries such as Ireland, France, Greece, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, India, Nepal, Tibet, Kazakhstan, and his native United States.

Elizabeth Sanberg

Elizabeth Sanberg, co-founder of Go Green Travel Green, is avid traveler committed to reducing her environmental impact. After living in Russia and traveling across Eastern Europe, Egypt, and Turkey for 5 months in 2004, she settled in Washington, DC.  Bitten by the travel bug again, she quit her DC job to vagabond around Argentina and Belize for 4 months in 2008, and has recently returned home to Minneapolis. She’s a freelance writer and first-year law student.

Keith Levit

Keith Levit first picked up a second hand camera twenty-five years ago. The ensuing years have seen Keith creatively pursue his concept of merging photography and art, in both the black and white and color mediums. Although based in Winnipeg, many of Keith’s images have been created during his extensive travels throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North & South America. Keith promotes his business of commercial and fine art photography under the name of Keith Levit Photography. His boundless passion for photography is evident at his web-site www.keithlevitphotography.com and www.takestockphoto.com.

Edward Hasbrouck

Edward Hasbrouck is an award-winning travel journalist, a life member of Hostelling International, and has authored several books including “The Practical Nomad: How to Travel around the World,” now in its 4th edition. His most recent year-long trip took him 80,000 miles through 28 countries on 6 continents in 2007-2008 – while writing for his Web site (Hasbrouck.org) and telecommuting for consulting clients in the USA.

David Clemmons

David Clemmons is the Founder of VolunTourism.org. Since 2000 he has been a ‘student’ of VolunTourism. He has shared his insights and understanding of the subject via an in-house, quarterly newsletter; a weekly review; weekly webcasts; and a blog. Of particular interest to David is the continuing education and support of all stakeholders – community residents, not-for-profit entities, the tourism sector, and voluntourists themselves. Through greater awareness of potential benefits and challenges, all members of the VolunTourism Community will be better suited to play their roles with service at the heart of their activities.