Sandy Shannon2001
Sandy ShannonHead of Adventure Operations - Europe, Asia, Latin America & Polar Regions
Growing up in the Midwest, Sandy got her first taste of international travel on a two-week high school trip to Europe. She continued this interest in foreign affairs at Ohio University, where she majored in International Business, Marketing and French. While there she studied abroad in France and, after graduation, traveled to Australia and New Zealand, getting her adrenaline fix by bungee jumping over canyons and shark diving in the Great Barrier Reef. Still trying to decide what to do with her life she spent some time in the Peace Corps in Mauritania, West Africa, teaching the locals business skills, but more importantly, learning to ride camels, pick bugs out of her food and the importance of never shaking hands using your left hand! (Don’t ask.) After returning to the states, she decided wanted to live in a more “outdoors” environment and packed up and moved to Colorado, where she found herself a job at Natural Habitat Adventures. She took a brief hiatus to backpack around SE Asia for nine months, meditating, climbing volcanoes and exploring beach-side hammocks all over the coast. Back at Nat Hab, she again continues to indulge in her love of nature and travel by exploring places like Uganda, Antarctica and the Galapagos Islands. Some of her other adventures include trekking in Nepal’s Mt. Everest region to ward off evil spirits at the Mani Rimdu festival, searching for Snow Leopards in the Himalayas of Ladakh, India, and walking with brown bears at Nat Hab's Alaska Bear Camp in Lake Clark National Park. In her free time she enjoys hiking, reading, live music, happy hour with friends and forever looking for that next adventure.