Meet our amazing leader team headed to Nepal this summer: Brooke and Dan!
BROOKE BALLA is a new leader with Global Routes who is currently working as an Overseas Educator in Portland, Oregon. She is no stranger to guiding international educational programs, as she has led four semester programs abroad. She holds a teaching credential, which has used as a vehicle to meet all kinds of students and teachers in public, private, and traveling school sectors all over the world. An outdoorswoman at heart, she has led countless wilderness trips as a backcountry trekking and rafting guide, and currently lives in Prescott, Arizona. Her interests include planning trips to explore the desert, spend time with the community, and practicing Anusara yoga.
“Some of my fondest memories have been shared with students from semesters past. Harvesting maize while singing songs in the local dialect, dancing at the summit of Mount Ngauruhoe, enjoying s’mores around the fire with our host families, meditating in the rice terraced mountains of Vietnam, playing soccer in costumes with the local kids, photographing golden temples at sunrise …we are in for a inspiring five weeks in Nepal!” –Brooke Balla
DAN SHAFTO is looking forward to leading his third trip with Global Routes/Windsor Mountain, this time to a new and exciting destination where he is looking forward to exploring its vibrant culture and the Nepali language. Dan brings to the program a wealth of leadership experience as a teacher, developer of educational materials, and backcountry hiking and raft guide. He loves to swim, practice yoga/meditation, and garden, and is learning to play the guitar.
“Throughout my professional and personal life, my passion lies in guiding people of all ages out of their daily lives and mindsets and empowering them to become lifelong explorers of humanity’s cultural richness, responsible stewards of the earth’s environmental wonder, and compassionate caretakers of themselves and everything that surrounds them.” – Dan Shafto
