Kendra grew up just outside Chicago, where she spent most of her time in the pool swimming and playing water polo. Family trips sparked her love of travel, including dog sledding in Yellowstone, whitewater rafting in Montana, biking down Haleakala Crater in Hawaii and annual road trips to Kiawah Island, South Carolina, to kayak through the marsh, scan the beach for seashells and hunt for alligators (the safe kind of hunting, of course).

After graduating from Santa Clara University in 2008, Kendra moved back to Chicago, but several years later headed west to Colorado in search of adventure and sunshine. Today, Colorado is home, alongside her husband, daughter and son. She spends as much time outside as possible, amping, hiking, biking or running.

A semester abroad in Spain sparked a love of travel, and she’s been adding to her bucket list ever since. In 2015, she went cage diving with great white sharks off Mexico’s Guadalupe Island. In 2018, she explored Nat Hab’s Base Camp Greenland. In 2019, she headed to Churchill, Manitoba, to hang with polar bears and arctic wildlife. And in 2022, she checked off a few major dreams in one trip: sitting with mountain gorillas in Uganda, spotting the Big Five in Kenya and watching the Great Migration in Tanzania on our Ultimate East Africa Safari.

Kendra is on a mission to experience as many unforgettable adventures as possible. Past journeys include trips to Peru’s Marañon and Ucayali Rivers, Alaska’s Denali and Katmai national parks, and Mexico’s San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja. And she looks forward to continuing to explore new destinations.