Genesis of a Traveler’s Alliance
Ethical Traveler is a nonprofit organization, founded to “empower travelers to change the world.” We seek to use the economic clout of tourism to protect human rights and the environment.
The seeds for Ethical Traveler were planted in 1996, when author and journalist Jeff Greenwald—Ethical Traveler’s founder—wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post supporting the boycott of tourism to Burma. In the essay, he called upon the community of travelers to “vote with their wings,” and use their combined power to chastise the military government that had imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi.
In August 2002, at a reading promoting his anthology Scratching the Surface, Greenwald was asked about Burma. A lively discussion ensued, and the idea of a travelers’ alliance to address such global issues was greeted with great enthusiasm. The idea was researched by Krista Haimovitch, who discovered there was no such organization in existence.
An active and respected member of the world travel community for over 25 years, award-winning author of six travel books and hundreds of articles, Greenwald was compelled to direct his passionately humanitarian voice towards creating such a traveler’s alliance. In recent years, Greenwald has been joined by a team of committed others to bring this idea to life.
Ethical Traveler is a project of the Earth Island Institute, based in San Francisco. We maintain our own staff, and a Board of Advisors possessing a broad range of expertise in the fields of travel, environment, economy, health and world policy.
For more details about what Ethical Traveler is and what we do, consult our FAQ page.
The Ethical Traveler Team
Ethical Traveler is a project of the Earth Island Institute, based in San Francisco. We maintain our own staff, and a Board of Advisors possessing a broad range of expertise in the fields of travel, environment, economy, health and world policy.
Core Team
Jeff Greenwald, Executive Director | Jeffji’s Big World
Jeff is the author of nine books, including the bestselling Shopping for Buddhas, The Size of the World (for which he created the World Wide Web’s first travel blog), and Snake Lake (a memoir set in Nepal during their 1990 Democracy Revolution). Greenwald’s features, interviews, and essays have appeared in Wired, Smithsonian, Outside, Craftsmanship, Afar, the New York Times Magazine and NPR’s Snap Judgment. He is also the co-founder and executive director of Ethical Traveler, an international alliance committed to promoting social welfare, human rights and environmental protection in developing-world destination countries. Jeff’s bi-weekly Substack column, exploring his journey with Parkinson’s, has thousands of international readers. See more on his Wikipedia entry.
Gregg Butensky, Technologist | madnomad.com
Gregg is a technologist and human rights investigator, analyst, and advocate – in particular on Burma issues. He is the Operations Director of Kirana Productions and recently served as a Fellow for the UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar [IIMM]. Gregg established a public lending library in the Philippines and is a co-founder of Ethical Traveler. He has spent three years exploring developing countries in West Africa, the Middle East, and most notably South and Southeast Asia.
Natalie Lefevre, Ethical Destinations Coordinator | @natalielefevre
Natalie lives in Belgium, and is the general manager of AlternativePeru.org . Natalie serves as both the Editor of Ethical Traveler News, and as the Director of Research for our annual Ethical Destinations Awards.
Bianca Iriarte, News and Media Editor | LinkedIn
Bianca is an accredited Australian social worker from Sydney, with a deep passion for travel. She has spent the past five years working across multiple sectors, advocating for and supporting vulnerable and diverse communities, often alongside people navigating complex systems and life circumstances. Bianca proudly identifies as an Australian with Uruguayan and Turkish Cypriot heritage, as both of her parents immigrated to Australia in the 1970s. Her multicultural background, combined with her social work lens and love for travel, has fostered a strong sense of curiosity, compassion, cultural humility, and appreciation for diversity.
Karen Blansfield, Ethical Destinations Lead Researcher | LinkedIn
Karen is a professor of literature, writing, and drama, having taught at several universities and online courses. Teaching students ranging from college age to adult learners as well as in foreign countries has fostered an awareness of and compassion for the challenges and struggles so many face. As the author of works on topics from travel to technology, to profiles and essays, her writing has appeared in books, magazines, journals, and other media, including American Way, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The San Francisco Chronicle, and many books, as well as Ethical Traveler News. Her passion for reading, learning, and travel informs her deep curiosity about diverse cultures and ideas.