The Rustic Pathways Team

Chang Mo leads teen travel programs across Asia and Latin America at Rustic Pathways. With 18 years of cross-cultural expertise, 1,000+ hours teaching international students, and trilingual abilities (Spanish, English, Korean), he creates transformative experiences and writes educational content that helps students navigate new cultures with confidence.

Chang Mo joined Rustic Pathways in 2024

Gabby supports families through their Rustic Pathways journey. She brings experience from 23 countries and humanitarian work in Russia to help students prepare for their adventures.
 

Gabby joined Rustic Pathways in 2022

Kayla leads parent partnerships at Rustic Pathways, ensuring families feel supported before, during and after their student’s travel journey. A Bay Area native and SJSU graduate, she combines her passion for global adventure with helping parents discover how travel shapes their teens’ growth and worldview.
 

Kayla joined Rustic Pathways in 2020

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Amy leads South Korea operations for Rustic Pathways, overseeing program development, retail sales and the Seoul office. She drives strategic growth in the Korean market.

Amy joined Rustic Pathways in 2025

De’Lynn designs custom school group travel programs at Rustic Pathways. With a Master’s degree from RIT and experience building community partnerships worldwide, she crafts itineraries that align with educational objectives while helping students discover their global purpose.

De’Lynn joined Rustic Pathways in 2022

Anya leads Rustic Pathways operations in Mongolia, bringing students into her homeland. A graduate of Ikh Zasag International University with NGO experience across 21 Mongolian provinces, she teaches students to honor the land and communities they visit.

Anya joined Rustic Pathways in 2018

Hannah supports school groups at Rustic Pathways. Her journey from Chile study abroad to a Master’s in International Education formed her worldview: global citizenship, community engagement and curricular alignment.
 

Hannah joined Rustic Pathways in 2023

Janette Daneshmand manages Rustic Pathways’ social media presence across all platforms. She creates content that showcases student transformations and program highlights to connect families through storytelling.
 

Janette joined Rustic Pathways in 2021

Leigh enrolls students in Rustic Pathways programs. She leverages customer service expertise from leading teams of 20+ and retaining clients across four countries to guide families through program selection, answer questions, and ensure smooth enrollment processes.

Leigh joined Rustic Pathways in 2025

Cameron Edwards manages school partnerships and leads their custom programs at Rustic Pathways. She designs educational travel experiences for school groups and often personally guides them abroad, leveraging her nine years teaching internationally across China, Vietnam, and South Africa.
 

Cameron joined Rustic Pathways in 2022

Emily matches students with gap year and teen travel programs at Rustic Pathways. She evaluates applications, interviews candidates and guides families through enrollment using her own international experience as a Program Leader to help teens find the right personal growth adventures.
 

Emily joined Rustic Pathways in 2022

Emma is on the Personal Travel Advisor team and supports families on their travel experience. She guides enrollments, answers questions and helps students prepare for travel.

Emma joined Rustic Pathways in 2024

John is the co-Founder of Climate Leaders Fellowship, an innovative global service and leadership development program for high school students created in partnership between the Stanford Deliberation Lab, Rustic Pathways and The Rustic Pathways Foundation. John was a previously a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, Vice President of Strategy & Innovation at Teach For America and a founding team member of two other education nonprofits, Braven and TEACH.org.
 

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Ziyoo leads illustration at Rustic Pathways. She transforms travel experiences into animations using her Royal College of Art training to capture the wonder of student travel.

Ziyoo joined Rustic Pathways in 2024

Keegan leads program operations across Southeast Asia for Rustic Pathways. He brings 10+ years of Thailand expertise, fluency in Thai and Lao, and deep cultural knowledge to ensure every program.

Keegan joined Rustic Pathways in 2016

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Yuri leads student programs and manages influencer partnerships at Rustic Pathways. She combines Norwegian-Korean heritage and fluency in five languages to guide teens abroad while creating marketing content that showcases authentic travel experiences.

Yuri joined Rustic Pathways in 2024

Heather manages program logistics and shipping at Rustic Pathways. She makes sure every travel document reaches families on time and student data flows smoothly using her Psychology background and Rustic alumni experience to support perfect pre-departure preparation.

Heather joined Rustic Pathways in 2016

Henrike qualifies and connects schools with Rustic Pathways programs. She identifies partnership opportunities across Europe and Asia using her German-Korean cultural expertise to match international schools with student travel experiences.
 

Henrike joined Rustic Pathways in 2024

Jonathan guides families through enrollment and leads programs on the ground at Rustic Pathways. Jonathan is a veteran with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and brings leadership lessons from his Air Force service and international relations education.
 

Jonathan joined Rustic Pathways in 2024

Matija develops custom group travel programs for European and Asian schools. Matija partners with educators to design and launch experiences from initial concept through final itinerary.

Matija joined Rustic Pathways in 2012

Devon manages school partnerships and personally leads on-ground programs at Rustic Pathways. He combines client relationships with hands-on guiding ensuring every adventure builds student independence and empathy exactly as schools envision.
 

Devon joined Rustic Pathways in 2024

Dani supports families throughout their Rustic Pathways journey. She handles inquiries, resolves issues, and ensures every parent and student has a smooth experience from enrollment through post-trip—focusing on service excellence that drives referrals.

Dani joined Rustic Pathways in 2024

Heeju coordinates South Korea operations for Rustic Pathways. She supports program delivery, manages influencer partnerships and retail sales and runs the Seoul office ensuring smooth operations while building relationships in the South Korean market.

Heeju joined Rustic Pathways in 2025

Emma Sparkes is a travel journalist and cross-cultural education advisor at Rustic Pathways. Based in South Korea for over a decade, she helps students and families navigate study abroad, cultural adjustment, and travel logistics. She is a fluent Korean speaker (TOPIK 5) and draws on past roles as editor for Morning Calm (Korean Air), radio co-host and international student advisor.
 

Emma joined Rustic Pathways in 2024

Talia guides families through enrollment and manages client relationships at Rustic Pathways. She specializes in Central America and Europe programs, monitoring service quality to ensure exceptional experiences.

Talia joined Rustic Pathways in 2023

Quintin shapes sustainable student travel at Rustic Pathways. Quintin has firsthand experience in 20+ countries, eight years in South Korea and a Business Sustainability degree from ASU with honors.

Quintin joined Rustic Pathways in 2024

Teryn matches students with student travel programs at Rustic Pathways and leads programs in Italy, Greece, Germany and Hawaii. Teryn brings firsthand cultural immersion experience to help teens find their perfect adventures.
 

Teryn joined Rustic Pathways in 2023

Since our founding in Australia in 1983, exceptional team members have built Rustic Pathways into the transformative travel company we are today. These former staff members contributed their expertise, passion, and vision during their time with us. While they’ve moved on to new adventures, their impact on our mission continues.

Note: Links preserved for select alumni profiles below.

Chris Stakich – Former CEO