Latin America Travel Specialist

Valentina Michaels

Growing up with a father who traveled internationally for work, it’s no surprise that Valentina’s wanderlust emerged at a young age. Following a college semester abroad in Scotland, Valentina decided to pursue a Master’s degree in International Tourism Administration from George Washington University, with an emphasis on Ecotourism & Sustainable Development in Latin America. Her thesis led Valentina to Belize, Venezuela and northern Guatemala, where she worked and lived for several years with ProPeten (in partnership with Conservation Int'l).

Now with 20+ years of travel industry experience and having visited 22 countries, Valentina continues her work throughout Latin America with a focus on adventure, eco and philanthropic travel. Equally comfortable in the office, exploring the rainforest, or out trekking, Valentina is thrilled to be working with Global Basecamps and helping create highly customized, off the beaten path adventures for her clients.

Breanne Kiefner

Growing up in New Mexico and Colorado guided Breanne to a life of adventure and love of nature and Latin culture. Summiting many 14,000ft peaks in Colorado, cross-country roadtrips and reaching the summit of Mt. Rainier were amongst her greatest adventures, until she discovered the world of adventure travel. A decade ago, she took a pause from her hospitality career, sold all of her belongings and backpacked throughout Latin America for six months, a decision that forever shaped her career and way of life. Her travels ignited a strong passion for authentic adventure travel and a wish to share these experiences.

Since her original journey to Latin America, she's been fortunate to return many times and even lived in Buenos Aires and Bariloche in Argentina with her husband and dog. Her wanderlust heart has taken her all over the world including Trekking throughout the Andes, sleeping in a dome tent under the Southern Cross constellation in Patagonia and swimming with sea turtles in the Galapagos. With 16 Latin American countries explored, she’s not stopping anytime soon!

Richard Rowley

Richard has had a passion for traveling all his life. Born in Austria and extensively traveling through Europe as a child has helped establish a travel minded lifestyle. To pursue his passion to experience the world and its many cultures he studied international business with an emphasis in Latin America at San Diego State University. He has travelled extensively through Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico. From Backpacking through the Andes to sipping wine in Mendoza, he loves all things Latin including it's rich culture, majestic landscapes and delicious/diverse cuisines.

During his studies he had the opportunity to study in Buenos Aires, Argentina and work in sustainability in Cusco, Peru. Experiencing South America has influenced him to become more conscious of the importance of sustainability and responsible tourism around the world. Over the last year he has spent extensive time traveling to Southeast Asia, Oceania, Central Asia and Europe. At Global Basecamps he enjoys creative writing for the marketing department and assists the team in building customized itineraries allowing others to experience the world as well.