Anna Williams, Director of Membership, Travelers' Philanthropy and Fundraising

Anna Williams grew up in rural Wyoming , where she developed a deep appreciation of wild places.  As the child of teachers, her summers were spent hiking, camping, hunting and fishing throughout the western US.  She discovered international travel by spending the summer after graduation backpacking through Europe with her sister.  Visits to China and Panama enlightened her of the impact tourists can have on the cultural and environmental heritage of destinations.  During college, Anna traveled multiple times to Haiti with a travel philanthropy group, buying local art at fair trade prices and selling it in the US to support the building of schools, housing for displaced widows, and agriculture projects. Anna graduated from the University of Kansas with a BA in Psychology and a Masters Degree in Social Welfare Administration.  She now lives in White Salmon, WA with her wonderful husband, one-year-old son, and their beagle.  She works to protect the things she values most – clean air and water, social / environmental justice, and the opportunity for future generations to enjoy the wonderful places that have shaped her on her journey.

Matt Kareus, Director of Marketing and Sales

Matt Kareus was born and raised on the western slope of Colorado where he developed an early appreciation for nature and wide-open spaces. His passion for adventure was sparked during college while escorting European tourists on extended camping trips throughout Alaska, the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Since then, he feels truly fortunate to have been able to indulge his passion for travel on adventures from the high Arctic to the Antarctic, and many wild and wondrous places across South America, Africa, Europe and Asia. He first became involved with STI as a client when he served as the Director of Marketing for Natural Habitat Adventures, one of the world's leading eco-tour companies. There he developed a deep and abiding interest in the sustainability issues faced by the travel industry. He is motivated both personally and professionally by the belief that travel at its best is not only one of life’s great pleasures, but that it can be a positive and transformative force for good in the world. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado and lives in Boulder where he enjoys hiking and camping with his dog Jones.

Nick Piedmonte, Vice President of Operations and Finance, and Director of Carbon Management

Nick has a thirst for social entrepreneurship and socially responsible business development. In 2007, he incubated a socially-purposed start-up which advocated for disadvantaged property tax payers in Cook County Illinois. Tax Recovery Solutions identified millions in unclaimed property tax exemptions and assisted homeowners in recovering their funds. Before TRS, Nick utilized well lubricated credit markets to direct funds through the Community Reinvestment Act, to disadvantaged neighborhoods in Chicago, reinvigorating them through homeownership. Rounding out his social finance focus, Nick directed investments to underserved farming communities through the USDA Rural Development Program.

In 2008, Nick discovered the Bachelor’s of Science in Sustainable Business Program at Aquinas College. As an advocate of for-profit enterprise as a vehicle for social change, Nick enrolled as a continuing education student and dove into his studies. With its biomimicry focused curriculum, he found the program to be a transformational experience, and discovered new depths of opportunity available in the burgeoning sustainable business movement, not only as a vehicle for building social value, but value for the environment as well. Nick brings his business sense and passion for sustainable business models to bear on his work with STI’s internal operations as well as his development of our Carbon Management program.

Nick is a proud husband of 5 years and father of 3 beautiful children. He enjoys reading and music in his free time as well as sharing his passion for nature with his family.

Robert Chappell, Director of Eco-certification and Standards Development

Robert grew up in a small town outside of Atlanta, GA where his sense of adventure and exploration started at a very young age. Robert spent weekends camping and fishing and summers traveling cross country with his family. After building a career as a wilderness ranger, wildlife biologist and environmental consultant in the states, Robert started a new life and career in Central America. Surfing took up much of his free time while he worked as an ecotourism travel planner and tour guide and it was here his vision of sustainability came into focus. His call to duty was to shift efforts to education abroad programs centered on cultural immersion, environmental impacts, and responsible travel throughout the Southern Hemisphere. Robert furthered his experience receiving a Masters degree in Sustainable Community Development, interning at an organic farm in the Caribbean, and volunteering his time at STI prior to employment. Robert is an avid photographer and now lives in Hood River/Portland, Oregon where he and his partner Tiffany enjoy the dedication to sustainable agriculture and the sense of the community found in the region and exploring the wild wonders of the Pacific Northwest.

Marilyn Larden, Director UK Operations

Marilyn was born and continues to live in the suburbs of London. With a long career in the computer industry in senior consulting, sales and management roles; she is well equipped to understand corporate thinking and priorities. Importantly this career facilitated her passion for travel, be it for business or importantly for pleasure.

Shifting career in order to make a difference, and reaffirmed by a month long volunteer trip to South America, Marilyn began working for NGO’s. She developed the national awareness-raising Taste for Life exhibition at the Fairtrade Foundation, and whilst at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, was a national judge for the Calor Village of the Year.

Marilyn is a MBA and has a MSc in Environmental Sustainability, with experience that spans studying eco-tourism in Wales, to standards auditing and the carbon offset market. She profoundly believes that good for business and good for the planet do not have to be at odds. When she is not trying to persuade companies they can meet both their business and environmental goals Marilyn likes to walk, cycle and ski in mountains, and spend time with her family.

Luis Felipe, Director of Brazil Operations

Luis Felipe grew up in the country side of Brazil, in the city of Campinas. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Catholic University of Campinas. His passion for hospitality and tourism started during his internship at the Millennium Hotels in New York, as a marketing management assistant. To continue pursuing his passion for tourism, Luis moved to Europe to attend to the post-graduate program in hospitality management and tourism at the Swiss Hotel Management School (Montreux / Switzerland). Upon graduating, Luis returned to the US for a hotel management program in Vermont, where his interest in tourism deepened with a new appreciation for sustainable tourism, ecotourism development and community based tourism. After 3 years in Stowe VT, he returned to his home country to create a hospitality and tourism consulting company to develop sustainable tourism. He now also holds a MBA in Economy of Tourism from the State University of São Paulo. Luis’ love for ecotourism has allowed many trips around the world and also in the northern region of Brazil, where he has developed a sustainable tourism project in the Amazon. Luis’ dream is to help Brazil along the path to sustainable tourism development.

Arturo Arrea Anderson, Director of Costa Rica Operations

Arturo Arrea Anderson was born and grew up in San Jose, Costa Rica. As the former general manager for the represented General Motors, Arturo was able to travel around the world and witness the numerous positive and negative effects of tourism on the world. As a result, he is now part of the team of executives that makes up the Responsible Business Alliance, which works to guide business initiatives in a way that leaves the world a better place. In his free time Arturo likes to do extreme sports such as mountain bike and hiking, yet over everything else Arturo values most the time he spends with his family.

Mezwyn D’Junus, Director of Malaysia Operations

Mezwyn D’Junus was born in Malaysia and spent most of her early childhood amongst her country’s multicultural environment of food, cultural traditions, and the outdoors. Her travels started at a very young age when she was sent to Melbourne, Australia to further her education. Mezwyn now holds a bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University, Australia. Her broad education and ongoing relationship with both countries has helped her gain a profound understanding of globalization. She is passionate about global sustainability and continuously acts as a bridge between the developed and developing countries. She recognized that not only the adults but also the young needed strategies to deal with globalization, climate change and responsible travel. Frustrated by the greenwashing of ecotourism, she decided to combine her knowledge and founded Ecoearth Adventure Travel.com, to help promote awareness in sustainable tourism and raise a sense of responsibility to protect the culture and environment while traveling around Malaysia. She enjoys every moment with her children Hannah and Harris, be it raising them, rollerblading, reading, just being silly and laughing out loud. She also likes to spend time with her family and friends, which takes her to different parts of the world, in particular a small island called Pulau Sibu in Johor.

Sam Huang, Director of Taiwan Operations

Samantha Huang is currently a PhD Candidate in Behavioral Neuroscience at Boston University School of Medicine. She also holds a BSc degree in Chemistry from National Taiwan University, as well as a Masters in Philosophy from the University of Oxford. Prior to pursuing her academic career, she worked in the information and communication industry, specializing in marketing and international cooperation for over 15 years. She has traveled extensively around the world and witnessed numerous natural disasters caused by climate change, as well as human damage caused by overdevelopment and unsustainable growth strategies widely adopted in Asia. She founded Lohas Traveler in 2007 together with her partners in Taiwan, in the hope to raise awareness of the importance of sustainable travel, especially in the greater China region.

Monique Chen, Assistant Director of Taiwan Operations

Monique Chen first realized her passion for traveling when she joined a mountaineering club while attending her university and went kayaking with friends around Taiwan. Without a doubt, she was always the one behind, but that allowed her time to delve deeply into aborigine heritage and further appreciate the explorative hiking tour. Monique appreciated her encounters with the people she met there, and those experiences helped her realize her passion for travelling. After graduating, Monique was engaged in cultural and environmental restoration work for five years in Taiwan. Her latest job was the Chief of Operations & Promotion in the Taipei County Gold Ecological Park, in a gold mining village where she was able to explore the mining history with mineworkers, local residents and explore sustainable ways to balance local economics and environmental conservation. Monique hopes that through the spreading of knowledge about sustainable travel, Taiwan can arouse these issues in Taiwan and other Chinese communities.

Ted's journey into the travel and tourism industry started the summer after his sophomore year of college. A two-month backpacking trip throughout Europe ignited what has come to be a life-long passion for international travel. After spending a semester studying abroad in southern Spain and a summer in Southeast Asia, Ted graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Getting a "real job" didn't sound like nearly as much fun as traveling, so he and a few friends decided to spend a year living, working, and exploring Australia and New Zealand. Living "down under" opened his eyes to the full scale of the tourism industry and solidified his desire to pursue it as a career. After returning from the southern hemisphere, Ted earned a master's degree in Tourism Studies from Arizona State University, where his thesis research investigated ecotourism development in Central America. Since then, Ted has focused his efforts on helping STI promote sustainable tourism development across the globe. In his free time, Ted enjoys most things outdoors, particularly skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, and backcountry hiking.