The AdventureWomen Service Team: Peace of Mind During Your Travels
At AdventureWomen, we are committed to making sure your trip goes as smoothly as possible, from your first call with us to when you are on the ground exploring, and even upon your return. Our service team, comprised of four incredible Adventure Managers, is there for you every step of the way. They can answer all your questions about packing, flights, visas, and trip details. Our team takes the time to get to know every guest to ensure that you have an amazing trip. We all truly care about your experience and love connecting personally with each one of you.
Meet our Adventure Managers!
Mary Jacey
Adventure and Ambassador Manager
Mary’s passion for travel started at age 12 when her family moved to the Middle East, living as ex-pats for several years. The experience opened her eyes to the world. She traveled extensively with her family exploring new countries, encountering different cultures, and meeting new people.
Enjoying the experience and learning of new cultures is what excites Mary the most. Her travels worldwide have taken her to over 20 countries with
memorable experiences that include a camel ride to the Pyramids in Egypt, rug shopping in Istanbul, a wedding in India, zip-lining in Costa Rica, and living with family in France for a year during college. Fast forward to today, where she is raising an adventurous family and has embarked on many AdventureWomen trips. Favorite family trips include Alaska, ski trips to Utah and California, and exploring the many National Parks the US offers.
“The best part of my job is when a guest returns home and reaches out to us to book a future adventure with another guest they met on the trip. I love how our trips create connections with others!” – Mary
Gail McCullagh
Adventure Manager
Gail’s adventurous spirit took hold when she shouldered her first backpack at the age of 8. Raised on Cape Cod, summer vacations with her family meant getting as far away from tourist-packed beaches as possible and embarking on ever-more remote backpacking trips – eventually even to the wilds of Alaska.
Gail learned at an early age that exploring nature and pushing comfort zones strengthens bonds and solidifies relationships. For years she instructed experiential outdoor leadership workshops for adults and worked with at-risk urban youth introducing many of them to hiking and camping for the first time. Some of Gail’s most enduring friendships are the crew of women who surrounded her in her 20s and shared her passion for the outdoors. Studying abroad and exploring Europe by rail sparked a love for travel, but the real introduction to global adventure came when Gail moved overseas to work in international development. Fly fishing in Mongolia, hiking around mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan, and skiing in the mountains of Kosovo, she loved living and working around the globe. Gail now resides in Cambridge, still braves the tourists on Cape Cod, and is so lucky to work with fellow adventurers at AdventureWomen!
“I love chatting on the phone with our guests. I love hearing about where they live, they work, and all the places they’ve been! Truly inspiring women!” – Gail
Jennifer Jeffrey
Adventure Manager
Jennifer’s curiosity and excitement to explore the world and experience diverse cultures dates back as long as she can remember. Jennifer has made it a lifelong practice to say ‘Yes’ to every opportunity that comes her way to push her beyond the comfort of the familiar, and broaden her
scope of understanding through travel – from participating in a French exchange program in high school, to exploring Europe by rail with friends in her 20s, to traveling solo for a month throughout East Africa in her 30s.
Having visited 17 countries and stepped foot on four continents, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the place that captures Jennifer’s heart like no other. From trekking to see mountain gorillas and chimpanzees in their natural habitat in Uganda, to hearing elephants topple acacia trees in the night while sitting by campfire light with the Maasai in the Kenyan bush, these experiences have made her lifelong dreams come true. But it has been the human connections, being immersed in the spirit of community and ‘Ubuntu,’ that has had the greatest impact on Jennifer.
Jennifer has a background in film/video and still photography as well as Social Work. She is passionate about issues of social justice, diversity, and the immeasurable educational value of cultural exchange. Jennifer believes deeply that travel, and the human connections made along the way, change a person in ways that ripple out when they return home, so person-by-person, we can create a more connected, compassionate, inclusive world. Jennifer is delighted to be able to support women adventurers on their own journeys of growth and evolution.
“My favorite part of my job is supporting guests who are stepping out of their comfort zone to travel somewhere they’ve always dreamed of going. In my own experience, the trips that I was most scared to take were the ones that changed my life, in the best ways! I love having the opportunity to help people work out the details, and feel supported, so they can focus on getting excited for their adventure!” – Jennifer
Stella McKew
Adventure Manager
Stella was born in Wyoming but called Saudi Arabia home for 19 years. Having explored her way through over 50 countries, her wanderlust was
instilled in her when young. Her mother, a true gypsy at heart, started and ran her own art school in their Arabian home for nearly 15 years, and spent any time off traveling and visiting art museums, taking Stella with her wherever she went.
Stella spent a year after high school backpacking around Western Europe, volunteering in El Salvador, and working at a school in Botswana. She has been on organized educational and adventure-based trips to South Africa, Nepal, Ecuador & the Galapagos, and Russia. Her heart, though, lies in the Bavarian region of Germany and Austria, from her happy memories of visiting the Christmas markets there as a child.
Stella’s love for customer service began in the office of a whitewater rafting company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where she worked for five summers. She has also served as an assistant brewer at a small brewery and as a florist at a women-run flower shop. She is excited to be a part of another group of incredible women, and to assist in other women getting out in the world to experience and explore.
“As a new member of the AdventureWomen service team, I have yet to find an aspect of my work that I don’t enjoy. The best part so far, though, has been getting to know and being part of a team of like-minded women who all work diligently to provide women unique, personal, and hopefully life-changing experiences.” – Stella