Alexis Bonoff
Alexis earned a degree in Latin American Studies from Fairhaven College, Western Washington University. She has lived in Nicaragua, Dublin and Prague and spent a year teaching English in Chiang Mai, Thailand. With the Bainbridge Ometepe Sister Island Association (BOSIA) she has been a guide for groups of high school students on a cultural exchange program. In Nicaragua she also worked with Si a la Vida, an NGO that provides education and rehabilitation to street kids. Currently, Alexis teaches adult ESL at a language school in Seattle. A native of the Northwest, she loves to be out on the water or deep in the mountains. In her free time, Alexis can be found at the local library or swapping tall tales with other travelers.

Emily Affolter
Emily Affolter’s passion for international travel and exploration was born at 11 years old, when she and her family had the opportunity to sail around the world on Semester at Sea.  She graduated from Scripps’ College in Claremont, CA with degrees in Hispanic Studies and Humanities. During her Junior year abroad, Emily worked with a progressive women’s organization and taught English in a local prison in Estelí, Nicaragua.  She returned to Estelí to carry out ethnographies for her thesis on Feminism in Post-Revolutionary Nicaragua. Since college, Emily has both worked for Crooked Trails’ Yachaqui Wayi center in Northern Peru, and guided in Cusco.  She has spent many summers leading kayaking, backpacking and sailing trips in the San Juan Islands for the YMCA.  Currently, she teaches Spanish to 1st-3rd graders at a public school in Seattle. Travel helps to satisfy Emily’s curiosity, as she is constantly looking to see the world in new ways.  Emily loves being involved with Crooked Trails!

Todd Parks
Todd Parks is an avid naturalist, spending most of his time in the woods of the Pacific Northwest tracking animals and studying birds and native plants.  He has studied with the famous naturalist John Young and has taken many courses at the Wilderness Awareness School.  A Spanish speaker, Todd has a great fondness for South and Central America.  Todd’s enthusiasm and love of people have made him a popular guide for Crooked Trails.

Dan Travers
Dan Travers has been with Crooked Trails from the very beginning, focusing primarily on program development, he has also guided for Crooked Trails in Thailand, India and Peru. Recently, after a month in Iran, Dan began researching the Middle East for future CT travel program destinations.

From his home base in the Pacific NW, Dan has been an avid climber and traveler through over 40 countries on 6 continents. Trained as a Wilderness First Responder, conversational in both Spanish and French, he is a strong believer in Crooked Trails’ message of cultural sensitivity. He keeps (reasonably) fit playing lacrosse and soccer while also Randonne skiing and scrambling the peaks of the Cascade Mtns. His other interests include sustainable construction (www.recraftllc.com) and an ongoing historical research adventure in the Peruvian Amazon jungle (www.theriversraneast.com).