Profiles of BootsnAll Staff Members

Sean E. Keener: Director of Boots

Sean exposing himself to new experiences

Sean grew up in Chicago, Illinois and began his journey in 1994 with a year of study at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. His studies and travels there inspired him as he met travellers from all over the world. He quickly learned that a holiday can be more than 1 week next to the pool in warm weather. Following his return to Chicago and graduation from University, he departed 1996 on a whirlwind tour of England and Scotland with 3 Australian friends.

He has since continued his journey alone through countries such as Ireland, France, Greece, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, India, Nepal, Tibet, Kazakstan, and his native United States. Sean is known for his limitless enthusiasm, voracious appetite for learning, an uncanny resemblance to Silent Bob, and a habit of exposing his bollocks in public places. Sean's boots are "Dexter's" and have proved amazingly resilient to the point of having to be re-soled, twice.

Sean hopes to continue his travels in the near future, but for now will have to be content watching and reading about others. He dreams of someday sailing around the world, stopping at ports for months on end, reading, discovering, and learning from people without time and money constraints (Don't we all!).

Sean's BootsnAll Membership Profile | Sean's Blog

Chris J. Heidrich: Director of N'All

Look at all the pretty colours!

Chris is from Brisbane, Australia and began his journey in 1996 with some friends on a trip to Chicago to pick up Sean, and then on to England to see the Euro '96 football tournament. Thus began a steep learning curve as he realised the folly in trying to haul 4 pairs of shoes wherever he went.

Since then, he has lived and worked in Edinburgh, Scotland answering telephones; Stoke Poges, England as a guinea pig for clinical drug tests and as a bartender (mandatory for Aussies in the UK); and Gardiner, Montana as a breakfast cook for scary looking guys that spoke in grunts.

So what does N'All mean? These days Chris takes care of BootsnAll's design needs. Most everything you see on BootsnAll has passed through his hands so you know who to email if it's broken or you simply can't find what you're looking for! In carrying out his role, he's gained a new appreciation for the colour spectrum but still can't understand who comes up with the names on paint swatches. I mean, come on, Joyful Lilac?

Chris' BootsnAll Member Profile

Jessica Spiegel: Staff Writer & Resident Italophile

Jessie studying hard at Italian

All Jessica's boots have stiletto heels, so she thinks it was her wit and charm (and those bags of Snickers bars) that got her this job. Whatever works.

Though she moved cross-country three times with family as a child, it wasn't until college that Jessica finally got her first taste of overseas travel. She toured Australia and New Zealand with the college choir and then spent a semester in the UK, with side-trips to see some of the European relatives. It was when she first navigated Paris' Metro alone that she felt truly independent.

There was a lull in Jessica's traveling lifestyle after college, as her non-profit jobs didn't allow for much in the way of expendable income. She got lucky enough to meet (and marry) someone whose travel goals were the same as hers, and luckier still that he made a good living! Together they've made several trips to Europe, including chasing the Tour de France, eloping in Scotland and many trips to Italy. They've been studying Italian since 2001 and hope to move there soon so they can buy Italian shoes directly from the source.

Jessica's an avid amateur photographer (is that an oxymoron?) and once sang for a rock band. Her singing is now limited to places like the shower and car, though if you have the misfortune of sitting near her desk you're likely to hear a little bit of humming.

The Italy Travel Guide is where Jessica spends most of her time, although she also maintains the travel inspiration site, Why Go, and she contributes to just about any site they'll give her access to.

Jessica's BootsnAll Community Profile
Feel free to contact Jessica: jessica at bootsnall dot com

Dave Keener: BootsnAll Expert on Everything

Dave just knows stuff

Dave's name pops up around the BootsnAll sites with some regularity, and with good reason. He's our numero uno customer service rep, and (as the saying goes) he's forgotten more about travel insurance and Eurail than most of us will ever hope to know. If you've got a question about the products or services offered by BootsnAll, Dave's the man to talk to. And if you're not in his time zone, don't worry - he doesn't sleep much. He's likely to answer the phone before the roosters are even awake. (Not that we have roosters in the office, of course.)

Feel free to contact Dave: dave at bootsnall dot com

Roger Wade: Staff Writer & Only BootsnAll Employee With a Top-40 Hit

Roger at Michu Picchu

Roger had been a veteran of two major Europe trips with his family by the time he reached his 9th birthday, and he felt he was seasoned and prepared enough for a solo trip to Southeast Asia at the age of 10, but cruel parents and draconian airline policies kept him grounded for many years to come. He's long since forgiven his parents, but not the airlines.

After mixing up a variety of careers in the entertainment business in his native Los Angeles with a long stint as a managing editor at the Daily Racing Form in New York City and later Phoenix, Roger was interested in entering the travel field but was unsure exactly how to go about it. In 2004 he began researching for a Round The World trip he planned to start at the end of the year, and he found his best resource in BootsnAll.

His full year on the road included visits to over 20 countries, bringing his lifetime bragging total to over 40, and he capped it off living in Amsterdam while working as a freelance entertainment writer. After returning to New York City he plotted a move to Portland, Oregon, which just happened to be the home base of the BootsnAll Travel Community he'd grown so fond of over the years. Stars aligned and now Roger works as a writer and editor for BootsnAll, with the Amsterdam Travel Guide and Belize Travel Guide being two of his favorite ongoing projects.

Roger's BootsnAll Community profile

Hayden Thompson: Adventure Spruiker

Hayden at Crater Lake, OR

Adventure Spruiker Hayden was introduced to travel - at the young age of ten - when his grandparents took him to England and France to meet the rest of his family. Since those early days, he has been struck by the travel bug, getting into new adventures along the way. After living in South East Asia for eight months and a year in Southern California, he moved back to Oregon, the state he calls home. He now lives in Portland and is working two jobs for BootsnAll Travel Network: one is organizing once-in-a-life-time adventures, the other is helping more people become BootsnAllers as the Marketing Coordinator.

Now Hayden is trying to decide where to travel next. Even though his first love is Thailand and South East Asia, he has seen the light of moving to other regions of the world, to get to know first hand what they are all about, and the adventures that they offer. Next on the places-not-to-miss list is going to be somewhere in South America, likely it will be Argentina and Bolivia. Who can pass up good beef and wine?

If you have any questions about Thailand, want to talk scuba, food, Portland or sustainability send Hayden an email: hayden at bootsnall dot com

So, there you have it. These guys think BootsnAll is worth being a part of. What about you?

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