Team & Board

Executive Director

Soraya Shattuck

Soraya has led the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund (ATCF) since its founding, growing the organization into a global force for grassroots conservation. Under her leadership, the ATCF has funded dozens of community-led initiatives that protect natural and cultural resources around the world. She also serves on the board of The Conservation Alliance, where she brings her expertise in international conservation and advocacy. Whether climbing, skiing, or mountain biking, Soraya lives her belief that travel must be a driver for protecting the planet.

Membership & Engagement Manager

Kerry Newton

Kerry leads efforts to grow and strengthen the organization’s community of members. With a passion for adventure travel and environmental conservation, Kerry cultivates meaningful partnerships, enhances member engagement, and drives initiatives that support the ATCF’s mission to protect the wild places that make adventure travel possible. Her work focuses on fostering collaboration among industry leaders, increasing member involvement, and ensuring sustainable impact through conservation funding. In her spare time, she enjoys mountain biking, hiking in the Green Mountains, and getting ready for the next season (ohhhhh New England).

Board of Directors

STEVE BARKER

WILD PLACES
CYNTHIA DUNBAR

REI ADVENTURES
NORIE QUITOS

COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST
CHRIS NOBLE

COVERMORE
SHANNON STOWELL

ATTA
CHUNNIE WRIGHT

LAW OFFICE OF CHUN T. WRIGHT
AMIT SANKHALA

ENCOUNTERS ASIA
NICOLE ABBOT

WILDERNESS TRAVEL
GORDON SEABURY

TOAD & CO
DEIRDRE CAMPBELL

TARTANBOND COMMUNICTIONS LTD.
MARIA JOSÉ ANDRADE

TIERRA DEL VOLCÁN

VOLUNTEERS

GIO PALATUCCI

Gio Palatucci is a seasoned creative marketing strategist with over a decade of experience shaping brand and social media strategy for travel, tourism, and hospitality organizations. During her tenure at Sparkloft Media, she built and led the agency’s Strategy Department, developing insight-driven creative approaches that helped destination marketing organizations and travel brands connect with global audiences. Gio led award-winning work for clients including Brand USA, South African Tourism, and the German National Tourist Office. Her early grounding in sense-of-place storytelling continues to guide her work today—bringing together data, narrative, and digital innovation to create meaningful, immersive brand experiences for travelers around the world.
NICOLE MELANCON

Nicole is a freelance travel writer, content creator, and digital strategist at GLP Films with a passion for sustainable travel and storytelling that began after a life-changing trip to Nepal in 2010. The plight of the people she met compelled her to join a growing movement of dedicated journalists, content creators, and humanitarians striving to raise awareness, funds, and impact change fueled by the collective power of our online presence and voice. For the past 14 years, Nicole has worked with a variety of nonprofits and social impact organizations sharing their stories on her blog which focuses on sustainable, adventure travel and social good. She recently dove into freelance journalism and has been published in National Geographic, BBC, Toronto Star, and more.
NETANYA TRIMBOLI

Netanya is an influencer marketing trailblazer, with more than 15 years of experience in the travel industry. As an early adopter of influencer marketing, she helped launch and grow the practice over a decade ago for the nonprofit, Hostelling International USA. While there, she became deeply rooted in the travel influencer community and went on to host and organize the White House Travel Blogger Summit on Study Abroad & Global Citizenship and the UN Peace Postcard Project, as well as led dozens of activations each year. Over the past 5 years, she transitioned to the agency world, where she's led 7-figure influencer campaigns for Fortune 500 companies and enjoys working with any and all travel clients who come her way.