Patrick Ziemnik is Leader of Global Operations at Rustic Pathways and the approval authority named in its activity standards, including the exceptions on this page. He oversees Rustic Pathways country operations teams across the 38 countries where the company runs programs.
A Harvard graduate, Patrick has been with Rustic Pathways since 2012. He served as Country Director in Mongolia and Tanzania, running programs in the field before taking responsibility for the standards that govern them, and he leads training for Rustic Pathways customer-facing teams.
Before Rustic Pathways, he worked in community health as a New Sector AmeriCorps Fellow and at DotHouse Health. Read more about Patrick.
Latest
Rustic Pathways Review 2026: Legit? Safe? Worth It? (25-Point Audit)
We ran our own 25-point transparency audit on ourselves and scored 23. Here is what we publish, the two gaps we did not close, and what to ask any provider.
Teen Travel Safety with Rustic Pathways: Proven Systems, Trained Leaders, and 24/7 Emergency Support
The safety systems behind a safe trip at Rustic Pathways. Staff ratios Rustic Pathways publishes, incident data going back to 2014, a dedicated Medical Director with a name, and how fast parents hear from Rustic Pathways.
How Rustic Pathways Designs Community Service With Local Partners
How Rustic Pathways designs community service with local partners: a 5-step process, projects it has declined, 5 focus areas, and 1.3 million service hours