In partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior – International Technical Assistance Program (DOI-ITAP), I provided on-the-ground support for trail system development in Greenland’s Arctic backcountry. The work focused on enhancing connectivity with the Arctic Circle Trail—a 165-kilometer wilderness route between Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut—by collaborating with the municipal trails team to scout and mark two new connector routes, enabling a mostly off-road start for long-distance hikers. I contributed to improved wayfinding, mapping workflows, and signage strategy, and conducted a full trail reconnaissance in the Sarfannguit Nunaat UNESCO World Heritage landscape to assess feasibility, visitor safety, and cultural interpretation. Alongside local partners, I co-developed a 21-kilometer loop trail near Sisimiut that connects to the popular UFO Trail and supported long-term planning for signage and maintenance. The work supported sustainable recreation, improved trail access, and strengthened local trail planning capacity as Greenland’s outdoor tourism sector continues to grow.

As a Fulbright Scholar in Chile, I collaborated with artisanal beekeepers and leading botanists to help design an ecotourism experience rooted in the ecological and cultural richness of the country’s unique flora and honey-producing landscapes. Based in a pollen analysis lab at la Universidad Católica de Chile, I focused on linking technical pollen data to an emerging national honey atlas while outreaching to beekeeper associations to support the production of value-added, certified monofloral honeys. I also contributed to the design of a network of visitor experiences along La Ruta de la Miel—the Honey Road—centered on the concept of terroir: the idea that honey’s flavor reflects the specific plants, soils, and climate of its origin, allowing visitors to connect with the landscape through distinct honey varietals. I lived and traveled with migratory beekeepers as they followed Chile’s diverse bloom cycles, and this experience later informed my own small honey venture, Sweet Bertha’s. These relationships and insights continue to shape my work connecting food systems, landscape, and place-based storytelling.

It’s hard to sum up my time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nicaragua. I served as a high school business educator, co-teaching and co-developing an entrepreneurship curriculum in collaboration with the Nicaraguan Ministry of Education. I worked across five classrooms in three rural towns in the municipality of Achuapa, and partnered with a local sesame cooperative to explore value-added products. My wife and I were among the first same-sex couples to serve officially as Peace Corps Volunteers anywhere in the world—an experience that shaped us deeply. We spent two years immersed in the rhythms of a rural community, filling our lives with conversation, art, music, food, slow travel, and shared learning. It remains one of the most meaningful chapters of my life.

I attended graduate school in Norway at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in Ås, where I was part of an interdisciplinary and international Agroecology program focused on food and farming systems. Working closely with a cohort of students from across the globe, we explored the social, ecological, and economic dimensions of agriculture through field-based learning and systems thinking. Our capstone project involved a deep-dive into the food system of a single Norwegian municipality, where we collaborated with local farmers, policymakers, and community members to analyze challenges and propose strategies rooted in agroecological principles.

Right after college, where I studied international studies, I had the opportunity to live in Bhutan with my immediate family while my dad worked at the national hospital in the capital, Thimphu. Still relatively new to the internet and television—both introduced in 1999—Bhutan was cautiously navigating its place in a rapidly globalizing world. I spent four months volunteering with Kuzoo FM 90, the country’s first youth-led independent radio station, and spent my days working shoulder to shoulder with Bhutanese peers who were just as curious about Beyoncé as I was about traditional Bhutanese music. Together, we explored the fundamentals of radio production, storytelling, and journalism in a country finding its voice in new media. The experience led me to an internship with public radio and eventually to working as a freelance reporter, producing stories that aired on stations across the United States. I was also hired by the Smithsonian Folklife Festival the following year to work with Bhutanese carpenters to build a temporary traditional temple on the National Mall in Washington, DC.