Being a Catalyst for Change
Designing exceptional experiences that benefit people, animals and the environment. Without anyone missing out.
You shouldn't have to choose between an extraordinary luxury trip and an ethical trip. They co-exist.
We're redefining conscious travel for a luxury market
Conscious travel has a reputation problem. It is frequently sold as a concept that implies that a traveler has to choose between the best version of a trip and one that treats people, place and animals Altered Atlas was created on the simple premise that you should never have to compromise.
And, that's a big part of what keeps travelers from truly embracing making a positive impact where they go. It's too hard. Or too frustrating. Or not what they were looking for.
That's why Altered Atlas exists.
It's built on a simple premise: you should never have to choose between the best version of a trip and one that treats people, place and animals well.
And, that's what we do. Every single thing on an itinerary is intentional, from the hotel to the restaurant that's sourcing their produce from their own garden to the tour led by a local.
I learned this the hard way.
Years ago, working in animal welfare in Thailand, I saw firsthand the training and abuse elephants endured in the name of tourism. I wanted everyone to know the reality of elephants who ended up as captive working elephants instead of being free.
But, despite sharing the facts (and the frustration and outrage), it didn't make an impact.
I burned out on that approach. I watched as my mentor brought about change in an approachable and effective way, without making people feel bad or judged. The more tourists who opted to observe elephants versus engage with them, the more I understood that utilizing a more gentle way of educating people could lead to more ethical and compassionate behavior.
After returning to the US, I incorporated that method of interaction which served as a catalyst for change in Las Vegas, where I ran my first business, Vegans, Baby. My work was successful in leading to the adoption learning about and embracing a compassionate lifestyle. In the time I was there, vegan dining increased by 400%, and my efforts played a large part in that.
I held vegan menu launch parties, launched the first acclaimed Vegan Dining Month in cities across the country, partnered with the James Beard Foundation to curate dinners, and more.
This method continues today in every trip Altered Atlas builds.
Altered Atlas' goal is to craft an exceptional experience where no one feels like they missed out or compromised their values. It's making change by setting positive examples of what luxury travel can be ... something that benefits communities, the land, people and animals.
And that is how Altered Atlas was born.
Just like with Vegans, Baby, the goal is to make change by showcasing the good. Altering the atlas means altering the way people travel and experience the world, and altering what a trip leaves behind for the places people visit. Travel can be a force for good, or a force for bad and right now, the Earth and its inhabitants desperately need positive change from all of us.
You don't need to have it figured out already.
Altered Atlas is built for travelers who care about the world and have not necessarily made the connection yet between caring for the world and how their travel can play a role.
And, it is also built for travelers who know they want to make a positive impact and have their travels align with the way they live their lives at home.
We work with both, happily.
Nobody is asked to change how they live to book a trip with us.
Our goal is simpler: we design a well-run, well-intentioned trip so you can see what that feels like. Your experience will speak for itself.
I'm the founder of Altered Atlas. I had a successful career in public relations until 2010, when I quit it all to go and travel the world and write about it. A few years later, I ended up in Thailand, where I spent nearly three years working with one of the world's leading elephant conservationists. While there, I was exposed to the realities of elephants (and other animals) being used in tourism, spent time traveling across Southeast Asia investigating the realities of animal tourism, the human/elephant encroachment, and even went undercover to document abuse.
In 2016, I relcoated back to my former home of Las Vegas where I founded a specialty dining and travel media company that changed the city. Over the span of several years, I worked directly with restaurants and chefs to grow the vegan options in town from a handful to hundreds.
I also launched my first food tour, which Travel + Leisure named one of the top nine vegan tours in the world. In addition, I built an annual citywide dining month celebration which expanded to additional cities across the US in its 8 years.
My work introduced me to incredible partnerships with the James Beard Foundation, Life is Beautiful, and Alluring Africa, where I was their exclusive vegan curator for a South Africa safari experience. In its two years running, it was recognized by Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, and Fodor's.
I've also been a judge for the James Beard Awards and curated a Climate Week event in NYC for an evening featuring Vice President Al Gore.
Today, I bring together my passion for traveling and making change to Altered Atlas. In Las Vegas, I suggested amazing food that people would love that just so happened to be vegan, and now I've expanded on that and curate travel you'll love, that just so happens to make the world a better place.
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