Christine Torrison Mackay
Co-founder and Executive Director
chris@crookedtrails.org

Chris Mackay has been working in environmental education, outdoor recreation, community development, and ecotourism since 1980. She co-founded and directed the Bearfoot Backpacker, offering outdoor educational excursions throughout Washington State. Her love of international travel and the natural world, together with her concern about the negative impacts of tourism on culture and the environment, led her to co-found Crooked Trails in 1998.

Chris holds an M.A. in natural science education from Western Washington University and a B.A. in geography with a minor in biology from the University of Washington. She has worked with youth and adult education in both formal and non-traditional sectors, and has taught at all levels from elementary school to university. Chris sees education as the cornerstone of efforts to protect the natural world and at-risk cultures. Her ability to engage and inspire her audience has made her a popular speaker at clubs, international conferences, bookstores, universities, and schools.

Chris acts as a consultant to a wide range of organizations on issues such as community-based tourism, nature education, international study abroad and community service, and wilderness education. Organizations she has worked with include Tillicum Village, Concordia College, the Shoshone/Arapaho and Makah tribes, North Andaman Tsunami Relief, Western Washington University, and Lakeside High School.

Tammy Leland
Co-founder and International Program Director
tammy@crookedtrails.org

Tammy Leland is a passionate traveler who has spent more than 20 years exploring the world. An outdoor enthusiast who enjoys climbing at high altitudes, Tammy initially began traveling the world as she sought out enticing peaks, visiting remote areas and living with mountain people. Over the course of her adventures, she learned fluent Spanish and discovered the joys of world music and connecting with local communities.

Tammy holds a B.S. in geology from the University of Washington and a master’s degree in environmental education from Western Washington University. Her master’s thesis examined the environmental, cultural, and economic impacts of travel.

Prior to co-founding Crooked Trails, Tammy worked in a variety of positions related to education and the environment. She developed an industry workshop on responsible travel and is an expert on the development and delivery of interactive education programs, international community development, environmentally and culturally sensitive travel, and corporate social responsibility.
As international program director and also a guide with Crooked Trails, Tammy currently spends most of her time in South America.

Liz Truong
Executive Director
liz@crookedtrails.org

Liz was born and raised in the Southeast corner of Washington in a town called Colton – a small, farming town of 300 people. She attended the University of Washington and got two degrees in marketing and psychology. She originally started her career in the sports industry before making the move to the non-profit sector. Growing up in a small town really put an emphasis on the importance of community and giving back. Liz worked for a company called KTBA where she planned and executed over 130 charity events a year before moving on as the Executive Director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. She spent 3 years at MDA before coming to Crooked Trails.

A friend referred her to Crooked Trailsbecause he took a life-changing trip to Peru through the organization and I was looking for a way to do meaningful travel. Her first traveling experience outside the US was to Thailand with the YMCA doing a cultural exchange in the hill tribes where they built an education center and lived with the locals. She’s always wanted to emulate that experience in her travels for the rest of her life, and she found Crooked Trails was doing that. Their mission of educating on different cultures, bridging the world together and peaking interest and understanding in each other through travel really hit home to her. The more she learns about Crooked Trails the more passion she builds towards carrying out the mission and helping to make a difference.

Angela Dollar
Director of Operations & Client Relations
angela@crookedtrails.org

Angela Dollar was born with a severe case of wanderlust.  A Washington native, she has also lived in Hawaii and Alaska, and has traveled through parts of Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Europe.  During her wanderings, she forged deep bonds with several small communities and became aware of the vital need to protect indigenous cultures. She was thrilled to discover the work of Crooked Trails and is proud to be involved in an organization that works on issues so close to her heart.

Angela’s educational background began with lessons in empowerment at an all-girls high school and continued at Western Washington University, where she studied English and foreign languages.  An outdoor enthusiast who enjoys backpacking and hiking, Angela spent six years as a marine naturalist working with the resident killer whale population and other wildlife of Washington’s San Juan Islands.  During this time she was lucky enough to encounter whales almost every day, to the point where she recognized most of the individual animals by sight.  She also volunteered with the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, educating people about safe wildlife viewing practices on the water and assisting with animal surveys and rescues.

Angela is passionate about cultural preservation and sustainable travel, movements that she feels are crucial for our time. She blogs about sustainable travel at Travel with a Purpose.