Meet The Dream Team
Meet Explorer Chick Nicki Bruckmann
Nicki is the Founder of Explorer Chick, a breaker of American Dreams, and the Head Instigator of SHE-nanigans. She did that whole Adult thing for a while – bought a house, got married, worked a promising corporate career. Turns out she didn’t fit that mold very well, so she broke that American Dream in 2014...
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Meet Explorer Chick Lauren Beatty
Lauren is an Explorer Chick Guide, with a passion for adventure ‘in the great wide somewhere’. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Lauren has also lived in Georgia, Louisiana, and Kentucky- she loves exploring new places and meeting new people! Lauren graduated from Georgia State University with her degree in...
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Meet Explorer Chick Mandi Smith
Mandi is our lead Destination Specialist of the Explorer Chick Mini Adventures. Her days are filled keeping her busy family thriving in this beautiful crazy world. She loves hiking, kayaking, and fishing with her two very active boys. She is also magic in the kitchen capable of whipping up an epic breakfast with just...
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Meet Explorer Chick Amy Mixell
Amy is the Senior Destination Manager for Explorer Chick. With her knack for organization, detail, and customer service she is the point-woman for communicating with you, your guides, and our partners. If you have a questions about a trip, Amy is your gal! She calls Cincinnati home and loves to explore with her...
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Meet Explorer Chick Kirstie Mullikin
Kirstie is an Explorer Chick Guide who loves scrambling up mountains and dancing on top of them. Hailing from May’s Lick, Kentucky, she’s a graduate of the University of Kentucky carrying a B.S. in Horticulture, Plant, and Soil Sciences. She developed her love for the outdoors and hiking by spending most of her...
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Meet Explorer Chick Erin Halliwell
Erin is an Explorer Chick Guide who is always thinking about her next adventure. She is an avid traveler who loves to explore new places internationally and domestically both solo and with friends. She has visited nearly 30 countries and lists South America as being a favorite destination. One of her most epic...
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Meet Explorer Chick Jeannie Panchal
Jeannie is an Explorer Chick Guide who considers herself a nomad, having lived in four countries and 11 states. Currently residing in Anchorage, AK after a sporadic decision to move from Portland, OR during a pandemic. She follows her heart fiercely and quit a career in pharmaceutical sales to travel the world for six...
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Meet Explorer Chick Kelsey Doolittle
Kelsey is an Explorer Chick Guide who loves discovering every corner of the world. Originally from California, she now calls Columbus, Ohio home, and you can find her most weekends hiking hollows and chasing waterfalls around the Midwest. She loves to appreciate the beauty in the small things outdoors, finding...
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Meet Explorer Chick Lindsey Terrell
Lindsey is an Explorer Chick Guide that has spent the last decade travelling around the country looking for whatever adventure can be found. From working on an oyster farm on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska, to hiking the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut, she can find fulfillment everywhere. When Lindsey’s not...
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Meet Explorer Chick Karen Kaylor
Karen is Director of Events and Day Tours. She works behind the scenes on your Explorer Chick Mini Adventures. A long-time traveler with Explorer Chick, she has been interested in being more involved with the company from the start. She got hooked at West Virginia Wild 2017 and became an ambassador shortly thereafter....
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Meet Explorer Chick Marquis Matson
Marquis is the SEO lead for Explorer Chick, finding ways to connect badass adventure women to this badass company. She takes care of content strategy and organic traffic, meaning that every word on this website was first planned by her. She first became a digital nomad in 2015, leaving the US to go on a permanent...
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Meet Explorer Chick Savannah Tuttle
Savannah is an Explorer Chick Guide with a passion for meditation on foot. In 2015 she became a long-distance hiker, walking from Key West to Maine on the Florida Trail and Appalachian Trail. This experience changed her life in many ways, instilling deep gratitude within her for the simple things in life. Since then...
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Meet Explorer Chick Janie Allen
Janie is an Explorer Chick Guide who loves to explore the Red River Gorge! She grew up in Cincinnati, OH where she spent her childhood hiking, camping, canoeing, and playing in creeks. She decided to follow her heart and ended up at Appalachian State University where she studied Recreation Management and Outdoor...
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Meet Explorer Chick Christina Bruno
Christina is an Explorer Chick Guide who loves reconnecting with herself in remote wilderness, deserts, mountains, rivers, and different cultures. Being a professional snowboarder, Christina has traveled all over the United States, Canada, and New Zealand challenging herself through freeride competitions and chasing...
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Meet Explorer Chick Ashley Delehunt
Ashley is the Guide Manager for Explorer Chick. She has been a guide in wilderness therapy and travel abroad programs and has accumulated over 1,000 professional field days as a guide. Needless to say, she’s got an eye for what it takes to be a successful guide. Ashley has a BA in Adventure Education from Fort Lewis...
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Meet Explorer Chick Kayla Lamb
Kayla is an Explorer Chick Guide with a passion for rock climbing and exploring the outdoors. She is a rock climbing coach, route setter, illustrator, and naturalist. She calls Birmingham, AL home, however, Kayla has been living her best van-life having traveled and lived in North Carolina, Arizona, Tennessee, and...
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Meet Explorer Chick Jessica Urton
Jessica is an Explorer Chick Guide who, with her three amazing daughters, stepped out on a journey to search for kindness, love, sharing, and peace in this world. We have news for you, they found it! They found it on the trails, caves, under the water, and hanging from the edge of cliffs. Jessica’s message is to...
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Meet Explorer Chick Jayme Vance
Jayme is an Explorer Chick Guide who is passionate about getting people outdoors and firmly believes we can all always benefit from more time spent in nature! Her love for the outdoor community and lifestyle started during summers in college doing trail work for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Her pursuit for...
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Meet Explorer Chick Anna Banks
Anna is an Explorer Chick Guide who is fueled by adventure sports! She calls the Appalachian mountains her home, settling down in Boone NC. Anna studied Outdoor Education and Sustainable Development at Appalachians State University. She also spent time in New Zealand at ARA Institute of Canterbury studying Outdoor...
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Meet Explorer Chick Steph Ray
Steph is an Explorer Chick Guide who deeply cares about getting people outside and exploring our connection to nature. She started guiding in 2010 leading kayak tours on Lake Superior, and from there she was hooked. Steph has guided international visitors on backpacking trips in the Southwest, instructed adaptive...
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Meet Explorer Chick Ashley Butler
Ashley is an Explorer Chick Guide who found her strength in the mountains. Lead by curiosity and two willing legs she left her very small Ohio town to first explore Red River Gorge, KY. Solo backpacking in the Gorge was her introduction to the wilderness. Not only did she build up her hiker muscles, through backpacking...
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Meet Explorer Chick Hannah Wilson
Hannah is an Explorer Chick Guide who lives for climbing, camping, painting, and hot yoga. She has been a wilderness guide since 2013 leading trips for NOLS and wilderness therapy programs. She’s led mountaineering trips in Patagonia, rock climbing courses in Arizona, and has been backpacking all around New...
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Meet Explorer Chick Kat Porter
Kat is an Explorer Chick Guide nicknamed the “energizer bunny”. An outdoorsy extrovert, Kat thrives on bringing energy and sharing adventures. Kat has worked as a part of the climbing industry for over a decade. As a competitive rock climbing coach, Kat has trained athletes at the national level. She also holds her...
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Meet Explorer Chick Kara O'Dea
Kara is an Explorer Chick Guide who loves to get out of her comfort zone! She calls Columbus, OH home and has hiked hundreds of miles in Ohio, but considers the Red River Gorge her happy place. She spends much of her time in KY hiking, stand-up paddleboarding, and backpacking. She discovered her love of the outdoors in...
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Meet Explorer Chick Steph Kelly
Steph is an Explorer Chick Guide who is always ready for adventure, and the next cup of coffee. She grew up in the rural Midwest, surrounded by animals and nature in her own backyard which inspired her to be the creative and confident outdoorswoman she is today – except these days that “backyard” is endless!...
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Meet Explorer Chick Leah Wzientek
Leah Wzientek is the Digital Marketing Associate with Explorer Chick who loves over saturating in natural hot springs, putting sombreros on saguaros, and munching Cheetos on the trail. She has a degree in Civil Engineering from the University at Buffalo, but she retired from a short engineering career to chase the...
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Meet Explorer Chick Ida Garcia
Ida is an Office Admin helping to make all of your Mini Adventure Day Trips run smoothly. Born and raised in the Philippines she has travelled to many of the beautiful spaces that her country has to offer. As a competitive swimmer who spends so much of her time in chlorinated water, being back in nature or surrounded...
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Meet Explorer Chick Emily McDonald
Emily is the Digital Marketing Manager at Explorer Chick. She has a bachelor’s degree in English and communications, and she loves getting to help connect women to the outdoors through storytelling and media. While her home base is Florida, Emily has been nomadic for the last five years. She’s lived in...
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Meet Explorer Chick Dannah Nilay
Dannah is an Office Admin taking care of all of our Explorer Chick with guest services, reservations, and assisting our Destination Managers. She calls the the Philippines home where she is currently finishing her post-graduate studies at the University of the Philippines in Business Management. She loves to chase the...
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