Profiles of the 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

Donovan Pacholl: Adventure Travel Specialist

Donovan laughs with the locals in Tanzania

A native Oregonian, Donovan is BootsnAll's adventure travel guru, helping travelers organize active, small group adventures - treks, expeditions, rafting, and safaris - in far-off locales around the world. Africa is his specialty. Donovan updates and maintains Mt. Kilimanjaro Logue and is always looking for other people who want to join one of BootsnAll's upcoming adventures.

At the age of 27, Donovan embarked on his second journey to Tanzania, East Africa. There he established his own roots and began the start-up of a local office for an American based non-profit organization, the International Mountain Explorer's Connection (IMEC). His goals were to help educate and clothe the porters of Mt. Kilimanjaro - the highest, most climbed, mountain in Africa.

Additionally, Tanzania proved a training ground in adventure travel for Donovan. Just outside his doorstep, 6,000 feet up on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, was an untouched forest full of wild life as well as the warmth of the Tanzanian culture. This he shared with handfuls of foreign tourists who flocked to his mountain lodge, for a taste of the culture and the adventure he provided them.

His creative ability to both make an adventure out of what might be considered a normal experience, as well as to make more out of an outrageously risky adventure, has propelled him into some of the most unexpected times of his 33-year-old life.

Feel free to contact Donovan: donovan at bootsnall dot com

Jessica Spiegel: Community Manager, Italophile & Resident Rockstar

Jessie studying hard at Italian

All Jessie'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 Jessie 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 Jessie'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 someday so they can buy Italian shoes directly from the source.

Jessie'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 concert.

In addition to managing BootsnAll's amazing online community, Jessie also maintains the travel inspiration site, Why Go, and writes for the Italy Logue and Cycling Logue, and for just about any site they'll give her access to.

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

Mika Lepisto: BootsnAll Do-It-All Buck-Stopper

Mika during his BootsnAll Indoctrination

Mika was born in Finland to a jet-setting father and a Yankee Mum. Pops carted the family around so much that before Mika could even remember anything, he'd been to just about every place in Western Europe and a few places stateside. After moving to the US in '87 with about as much say in leaving his friends as carry-on-baggage has, his travel saga continued with trips all over this biatch. East coast, west coast. He's been back and forth - lickitty split.

A brief and spontaneous New Years 2006 in Jamaica has Mika all the more focused on spending more time traveling around tropical places, especially those with clear blue water - preferably in a sail boat. Places on the hit list include Belize, Honduras, Cuba, and just about any other tropical island out there. He wants to do it soon, before Greenland melts and raises the ocean level and they all go away.

What's he do here at BnA? Just about whatever we tell him to that even interns refuse to do. Jack of all trades but master of none, Mika gets his hands dirty with behind-the scenes tech stuff while also managing the Gear Store and Travel Gear Blog. One day he hopes to climb up the corporate ladder into a position as a full time employee.

Feel free to contact Mika: mika at bootsnall dot com

Hayden Thompson: 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 with the adventure guru, Donovan, 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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