Our Ambassadors completed the Travel Type Quiz to help describe what type of traveler they are. You can take the Travel Type Quiz too!
Traveller Type: Authentic Experiencer
Cat is a wildlife biologist who lives for sunrise hikes with her dog and her camera. You can find her on a quiet trail most weekend mornings with her birding guide and thermos of coffee in hand. Her goal is to get people outside, and with Alberta Parks in everyone's backyards, nature is more accessible than most people expect! Mountains have become the inconic Alberta landscape, but there are so many other rich biomes in the province, like grasslands, canyons, boreal forests; Cat aims to show how beautiful these biomes are in their own way. From meandering daytrips to backcountry camping in the snow, Cat and her dog show off the highlights of these underrated landscapes and the wildlife that lives there.
Traveller Type: Authentic Experiencer
Domonique, her husband Reid, their toddler Aster and their dog Pippin spend as much time as possible exploring the Alberta outdoors together. Dom and Reid eloped in one of Alberta's parks in 2019 and even named their daughter after the lake they backpacked to for it. These days they do it all - hiking, backpacking, trailer and tent camping, fishing, hunting, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and a lot of meandering down trails with Aster lately. To them, nothing beats the memories made as a family when you're exploring nature together. They hope to inspire other young families to get outside and see what this beautiful province has to offer!
Traveller Type: Authentic Experiencer
I'm originally from Czech Republic and have been exploring the Canadian Rockies since 2014. I've always loved mountains but didn't really hike much until I got my dog and found out that she wouldn't walk in the city but has no problems to hike for hours in the mountains. And that's when we've started to spend as much time in the mountains as possible. You can find us hiking year-round and when conditions are right we also enjoy skijoring. Hoping to inspire other people with dogs to hike safely, know and follow the rules and enjoy these beautiful mountains with their best friends!
Traveller Type: Authentic Experiencer
Karen is a mother and a lover of maps, mountains and mochas. With her Geography degree and experience leading hikes and backpacking trips in the Rockies, she is full of ideas on where to go and what to do. Since 2013, she has been sharing “everything you need to know to get outside and have fun" on her outdoor adventure and travel site, Play Outside Guide. Find her and her family on the trails - hiking, biking, or cross country skiing - or on the water!
Traveller Type: Free Spirit
I'm an interpretation and communications professional that loves to take every opportunity I can to explore Alberta's parks and protected places. I work for national parks full time, but find myself exploring provincial parks just as often. Ask my friends: I cannot drive from point A to B without exploring a provincial park that's on the way. I'm based in Hinton Alberta and have travelled this amazing province from north to south, east to west. Especially during the past few years, I really appreciated the important role of parks to my physical and mental health and I'm sure you did too. My family and I are looking forward to getting to know Alberta even better through the opportunity to be an Alberta Parks Ambassador and look forward to sharing our photographic journeys with you.
Traveller Type: Authentic Experiencer
Lucy is a lifelong lover of nature, wildlife and the wilderness. After her first visit to Alberta she was hooked on the beauty and diversity from the badlands and prairies to mountain peaks and everything in between and moved west less than a year later. Lucy enjoys camping, hiking, cross country skiing, birdwatching, and paddling in Alberta's amazing parks with her husband Tim, their son Leon and their dog Arrow. She hopes to spark a similar love of the outdoors in others, especially those also learning to adventure with young children. When she's not exploring the outdoors, Lucy works for a wildlife conservation organization and creates nature-inspired artwork.
Traveller Type: Authentic Experiencer
Mandy Johnson is an avid outdoorswoman, making her home in Canmore, Alberta. In addition to Nordic walking, she enjoys snowshoeing, alpine and cross-country skiing, cycle touring, mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, geocaching, outdoor photography and of course, camping! Mandy has has spent 50 years in the related fields of fitness, health, recreation and tourism. She is presently the owner/operator of Active by Nature, leading guided hikes and teaching Nordic walking in Canmore and Kananaskis. But 2023 is a transition year for this new senior citizen, who is planning to retire from guiding at the end of the year. Mandy is delighted to join the team of Alberta Parks ambassadors as doing more of those outdoor pursuits is exactly what she plans to do more of this year. She has been eager to explore the many wonderful Alberta Parks other than her usual Kananaskis Country haunts. Becoming an Alberta Parks Ambassador is a perfect match for her at the perfect time. Mandy likes to tell people: "I believe we were born to be active, by nature and when we are active in nature, it can bring profound joy, a sense of accomplishment and wonder, in addition to dramatically improving health or maintaining optimal health.
Traveller Type: Authentic Experiencer
During the week I work for the City of Edmonton's Urban Forestry Department as one of many tasked with the maintenance and health of the city's urban forest. Off work hours and weekends, you can find me travelling around the province to the many provincial and national parks. I enjoy camping, hiking and I'm always in search of breathtaking photos of the landscape, wildlife and the night sky. My recent passion has been bird wildlife photography and capturing the many species that call Alberta Parks home.
Traveller Type: Cultural Explorer
Tyler is originally from Saskatchewan but has called Calgary home since 2006. He is a teacher with the Calgary Board of Education and his passions lie within the outdoor and physical education fields.
He is on the Executive Board of the Global, Environmental & Outdoor Education Council (GEOEC), which is a subcommittee of the Alberta Teachers' Association. They are tasked with providing timely and meaningful professional development to teachers across the province. He is also the volunteer Outdoor Editor with the Calgary Guardian. He’s in charge of reporting everything that makes Calgary’s enormous backyard an adventurer’s dreamland.
In his free time, he enjoys numerous outdoor activities, such as hiking, mountain biking, paddling, camping, cross-country skiing and snowboarding. He also loves team sports, traveling, photography, spending time with good friends, and being at home with his wife, his boys, and his dog, Rome.
