Rachel Celebrates with The Explorers Club

What a blessing it has been to spend the last four days in NYC with The Explorers Club, celebrating and communing with the dreamers, doers and change-makers who are working to improve our planet (*and* universe) for all of its inhabitants, great and small.

The Explorers Club is a multidisciplinary, professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration and resource conservation. It was founded in 1904 to support “the Scientific Exploration of Land, Sea, Air & Space”, and its members include the first people to visit the North & South Poles, the first to reach the Summit of Everest, and the first to set foot on the Moon.

I’m honored to be a Fellow in The Explorers Club for my storytelling work, and it is my absolute delight to uplift and shine a light on some of the world-changing stories that pass through the Club’s hallowed halls. 

Bonus: sometimes membership in the Club means you get to hold Megalodon teeth in your bare hands, sit on Apollo-era lunar rovers while dressed to the nines, or marvel as ballerinas dance to Tchaikovsky with the world’s preeminent explorers watching on (Apollo astronauts included).

I'm thrilled to “invite” you into the Club through these snapshots from the Explorers Club Annual Dinner weekend.

xo

Rachel

Rachel Produces New Google Project

After a successful partnership in 2023 producing Google Cloud’s live event Exec Forum, Rachel was brought back to help creative agency MAS + client Google Cloud produce an invite-only, C-suite forum on AI from a Fortune 5 perspective: Leaders Circle 2024, an offshoot of Google’s NEXT conference in Las Vegas. For this event, Rachel Content and Show Produced three live keynote sessions totaling nearly five hours of talent-driven programming, featuring speakers such as Katie Couric, Andre Agassi, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, CEO and Co-Founder of DeepMind Sir Demis Hassabis, and Alphabet & Google CFO Ruth Porat.

click here FOR INTEL on Google Cloud next!

Rachel Featured in USA Today

When USA Today decided to round up top travel creators and feature them in a Top 10 travel destinations list, they knew Rachel should be in the mix! Read on to learn one of Rachel’s favorite (somewhat surprising) travel destinations:

Places to go in 2024: Let these top 10 travel influencers inspire you

Rachel Shares Spring Travel Tips on KATU ABC 2

To gear up for spring travel, Portland’s KATU ABC 2 asked Rachel to pop by and share pro tips with its audience for planning a warmer-weather getaway.

WATCH: Spring travel tips

Rachel Moderates Book Launch at Powell's Books

Rachel sat down to talk adventure, purpose, life, and love with author Nikki Vargas at Portland’s Powell’s Books on Saturday. The nation’s largest bookstore—plus one of Oregon’s biggest tourist draws—Powell’s is an icon. So, it was an honor for Rachel to moderate a book launch talk for Fodor’s Travel editor and travel industry friend Nikki. Check out press photos below, and get to know the book, Call You When I Land, here.

Rachel Pens Peru Expedition Piece for Hemispheres Magazine

Following her canoe expedition through the Peruvian Amazon, Hemispheres Magazine—United Airlines’ in-flight magazine, enjoyed by millions of readers both in-flight and online—enlisted Rachel to share her experience through its’ early 2024 Sail Away package.

READ: 10 Adventurous Boat Excursions to Take in 2024

Rachel Wins GOLD in the reFocus Black & White Photography Awards

Rachel’s photography series The Last of the Eagle Hunters has won another award: this time, it’s GOLD in the renowned reFocus Awards Black & White Photo Contest! Rachel is honored that her series continues to resonate with viewers, while also immersing them in the world of western Mongolia’s nomads.

EXPLORE THE IMAGES HERE

Rachel Writes Two New Articles for AFAR on Gulf Shores Orange Beach

Tapping into people’s desire for warm-weather getaways as the weather grows colder, AFAR shared the appeal of Gulf Shores Orange Beach, Alabama, with its readership, enlisting Rachel to write these articles along the way:

• Why This Under-the-Radar Coastal Paradise Makes the Ultimate Spring Getaway

• 12 Reasons Alabama Beaches Are Perfect for Families

Rachel's Crafts Day of the Dead Piece for MO/AD Magazine

MO/AD Magazine tapped Rachel to write up a feature about one of her all-time favorite celebrations: Mexico’s Day of the Dead. Profiling celebrations in the vibrant metropolis of Mexico City, Rachel deep dives into the festivities, and highlights them colorfully through both her writing and her photography.

READ: Mexico City Through the Eyes of the Dead

Rachel's Tahiti Sailing Article is Live in AFAR

This fall, Rachel headed to Tahiti on a pretty cush assignment: documenting the ins and outs of private yacht charter in French Polynesia. Read Rachel’s newest article for AFAR below!

READ: Sailing Tahiti by Private Yacht Is Surprisingly Easy

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PRESS

Rachel Hosts Whirlwind News Media Tour

Going live from nearly 30 news stations back-to-back, Rachel hosted a fun and energized Fall Travel Tips segment that aired all across the U.S. this September. Appearing as a global travel expert is always fun for Rachel, particularly when she gets to share practical tips with others.

WATCH: Getaways & Gadgets to Fill Your Fall

Rachel's Photography Wins in MonoVisions Competition

Rachel’s Mongolian photography series “The Last of the Eagle Hunters” is a winner in the 2023 MonoVisions Black & White Photography Awards.

Both the Winners & the Honorable Mentions (of which Rachel is one) showcase beautiful stories from immensely talented photographers, so it’s a joy for Rachel to share the podium with each of the artists honored. 

Check out all the winners from Rachel’s category -- People -- below:

• 1st-3rd Prize

• Honorable Mentions

Rachel Creates Colorful Colorado Content for AFAR

AFAR has once again tapped Rachel to share travel inspiration with its audience through a colorful summertime illustrated map-cum-article project on the adventure-filled state of Colorado.

READ: WHY COLORADO IS THE PERFECT DESTINATION FOR SUMMER FUN

Rachel Joins USA for UNHCR to Celebrate World Refugee Day

For the third year running, the United Nations Refugee Agency invited Rachel to host its Instagram Live coverage of World Refugee Day. A Refugee Champion for USA for UNHCR, Rachel was honored to facilitate this coverage, hearing first-hand from former refugees Maya and Methusella about their journeys to safety, the communities that welcomed them, and their amazing achievements.

WATCH: USA for UNHCR’s WORLD REFUGEE DAY LIVESTREAM

Rachel Speaks on Connecting Beyond Borders

Rachel helped corporate client ISTS close out Client Appreciation Week with a special virtual speaking session, sharing stories and lessons learned from her countless global adventures, leading attendees in a workshop exercise, and answering questions for an engaging Q&A.

Rachel Attends The Explorers Club Annual Gala

A veritable Who’s Who of exploration greats, The Explorers Club tends to draw an interesting crowd (including Rachel, who’s a Fellow in the Club due to her globe-spanning work). For that reason, The Explorers Club’s Annual Dinner is one of the top social events on NYC’s springtime calendar, gathering adventurers, change-makers, storytellers, scientists, and explorers in one place for a weekend filled with learning and revelry.

Learn about The Explorers Club

Rachel Pens Cozy Colorado Content for AFAR

AFAR has once tapped Rachel to share travel inspiration with its audience through a wintertime illustrated map-cum-article project on the beautiful state of Colorado.

READ: WHY winter shines a little brighter in colorado

Rachel Partners with Glyph to Protect Your Memories

Given Rachel’s extensive production experience around the world, Glyph Tech knew a fitting partner when it saw one. Producing some of the fastest, most rugged hard drives on the market, Glyph is known for keeping your memories safe, so Rachel was delighted to partner with them and share in the power of memory-making (and storing memories along the way).

READ: GLYPH’S FEATURE on RACHEL

WATCH: Rachel’s PARTNER reeL

2022 Year in Review

From Rachel: Cheers to the close of a successful 2022! As another year comes to an end, I realize I haven’t done a very good job of either reflecting on milestones or sharing adventures on here lately. But in the end, it feels rewarding to look back on a year and say, “PHEW,” and also “thanks”—to both community and life itself—for all the adventures experienced & lessons learned.

Below are the 2022 accomplishments of which I’m particularly proud. This year, I:

— Produced all the main stage programming & anthem video content for YouTube's EduCon conference in NYC
— Completed assignments as filmmaker & photographer in places like Mongolia & Belize
— Wrote and published 10-20 articles for clients such as Afar Media covering destinations like Maldives, Oman, Spain, Vietnam, Puerto Rico & Germany
— Completed 30+ media hits as an on-air travel expert for news outlets across the country
— Coached 10 new consulting clients on topics including public speaking, brand-building & TV production
— Engaged in numerous public speaking engagements both IRL and virtually
— Became a published author via the Wanderess book
— Crafted KOL content for brand clients spanning the worlds of travel, fashion & lifestyle
— Connected with fellow storytellers as a podcast and blog guest
— Volunteered for the second year as a Board Member for Ecology in Classrooms & Outdoors (ECO)
— Completed another year as a USA for UNHCR Refugee Champion
— Led monthly financial education sessions for women professionals for a fourth year
— Traveled Italy, Netherlands, CA, UT & PacNW (including baby’s 1st camping trip, complete with cave hike!)
— Snowshoed, hiked & traipsed outdoors for nearly 1500 miles
— And did all of that while raising a new baby / learning how to become a parent.

What a joyful, expansive year it has been. I can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store.

Thanks to each of you for sharing in the journey!

Rachel Mentors "Inside Hollywood" Students

As with every year since 2013, Rachel sat down with Miami University’s “Inside Hollywood” program, and provided insights into her career in storytelling. A mentor to the program since its inception, Rachel has consistently played a notable role in this immersive, three-week program known for granting students access to Hollywood’s sound stages, producers, celebrities, and more. Read on for one of the group’s fun experiences in 2023:

a chat with James Cordon at The Late Late Show