About

Backstage with Mike Shinoda at Projekt Revolution - 2007

For most of my life, all I wanted to be was a professional musician. I've been playing in bands since I was fourteen but I felt like I had truly made it as a rockstar when my band was invited on tour with Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance in 2007. Playing for thousands of people was an unforgettable experience but most impactful was seeing how demanding the lifestyle of the rockstar was: being on the road 300 days a year was a difficult way to live.

Moray, Peru in 2009

My band's fame was fleeting and we broke up 2009. I took a trip to South America with my brother to cheer myself up and came back with a new passion: Cultural Immersion. The way that I felt when I was speaking with someone from a different culture, sharing some part of their tradition or even eating their food was as engaging as being on stage for me. Obtaining my Master's degree in Public Diplomacy was helped me formally understand the use of culture to promote dialogue and understanding between nations, organizations and people.

I moved to South America with the idea of becoming a Rockstar Diplomat: a wandering minstrel connecting cultures through music and travel. In 2010 my brother and I started a social enterprise, a hostel in Medellín Colombia designed to promote the city's most authentic cultural experiences.

Open Mic Night in Medellín Colombia

In addition to practicing Sustainable Tourism, we developed weekly programming that created cultural immersion opportunities for both Colombians and foreigners through activities such as Language Exchanges,  Open Mic Nights, Karaoke Nights, Free Salsa Classes, Concerts, Cooking and International Cinema.

My experience starting a sustainable business in Latin America led me to enroll in an MBA in Sustainability where I have recently finished consulting projects in Geotourism, Resilient Agriculture and Community Engagement. This website documents my interests as they relate to Cultural Immersion, Public Diplomacy and Sustainable Tourism.