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Member Spotlight: Allison Yates of Greenheart Travel

Meet Allison Yates of Greenheart Travel – a non-profit organization that provides eco-friendly and cultural immersion programs that aim to change people’s global perspective through travel. 

Allison is a member of our Chicago chapter and a program coordinator for Greenheart Travel’s short-term and high school abroad programs. Prior to working at Greenheart, she studied, worked or lived in Argentina, Spain and Australia and traveled to over 35 countries.

In this Q&A, Allison shares more about the impact traveling can have and the challenges of today’s tourism industry.

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How was the idea to create Greenheart Travel born?

Greenheart Travel was born around 15 years ago to round out our cultural exchange programs, as Greenheart International (our umbrella organization) has been bringing people from all over the world to the USA to study, work, and intern here since our inception 35 years ago.

Our travelers don’t just travel for the sights, they travel for a change.

All of the staff at Greenheart Travel have lived abroad themselves, so we all really value what cultural exchange means and its ability to change lives. Our mission is “Travel for a Change” and we aim to give our travelers the tools to make sure they’re more than a tourist, they’re a world citizen.

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How does your organization change the way people travel?

First and foremost, Greenheart offers language and cultural immersion – all our programs are designed to allow our travelers to feel as close to being a local as possible. Stemming from Greenheart International’s mission to connect people and planet, we also see travel as more than a life-changing personal experience. While that piece is crucial, we are also aware of the way travel impacts the host community and the environment.

We encourage our travelers – whether they are studying abroad in high school, doing a short language-learning program, or teaching abroad – to reflect deeply about the culture they come from and how those influence their worldview and behavior.

Travel isn’t always comfortable – we’re confronted with different perspectives and customs that may go against everything we thought to be true.

That’s not easy, and it’s not always fun, but we want our travelers to channel those situations into questioning their beliefs and engaging in conversations that teach us more about ourselves and the world around us. Then, travel has the power to create a better world.

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What is the impact of traveling to people and communities?

For the travelers themselves, travel done purposefully can transform their worldview and even allow them to have more meaningful and inquisitive interactions with folks back home. Returned travelers usually embrace their home communities with newfound curiosity and appreciation.

And for the host communities, we have seen evidence that travel can sometimes do harm to local communities.

Greenheart Travel’s programs aim to minimize that negative impact as much as possible, and instead instill a sense of respect and duty in our travelers.

We have amazing stories of building relationships for life, such as our participants returning year after year to visit their host families, or our high school abroad students returning to the country to study at university and eventually live long-term.

We have seen wonderful cross-cultural relationships blossom and local youths find mentors, as one of our teachers in Colombia did for his baseball players. The impact – much like anything in life – can be positive or negative, all depending on the way we go about it.

What are the main challenges that you aim to overcome with Greenheart Travel?

One of the main challenges we aim to overcome (beyond creating global leaders by providing meaningful experiences that transcend just enjoyment)is access to travel. There are many people who are interested in travel and who could benefit from cultural exchange but unfortunately do not have the means to do so or have other barriers holding them back.

We award yearly First Time Traveler Scholarships and have special resources to demystify travel and the preparation process.

We hope to inspire the next generation of travelers, including those who have never left their home country before, to experience somewhere new through cultural exchange.

How can other tourism professionals make the positive change you promote?

Other tourism professionals can encourage travelers to step off “the veranda” (a reference to Anthony Ogden’s 2008 article) by encouraging travelers to participate in programs that put them as authentically close to the host community as possible.

Sometimes they’ll live more modestly than they do in the U.S., or will be more confused than ever during a chemistry class taught in Finnish rather than English.

Encourage them to push through the uncomfortableness.

Because we’re not trying to replicate life back home, are we? If we were, why would we even be traveling?


Connect with Allison on Travel Massive and follow her on Instagram


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