Years ago in Chiang Mai, me and other volunteers from the elephant rescue organization I worked at would go out for drinks together at the end of a long day.

Over sweaty Leo or Chang beers, we’d strike up conversations with travelers and they’d share their upcoming plans.

Visits to Karen Long Neck Villages (bad).

The Chiang Mai Night Zoo (bad).

Tiger Temple (bad).

Riding elephants (bad).

With each plan shared, I could feel my entire body tense. I had so much information I was ready to dump on them. The exploitation. The paltry wages and lack of citizenship. The abuse. The drugging of tigers. The breaking of elephants.

Ethical travel beginnings

I was an encyclopedia of everything not to do in Thailand, thanks to my work at the organization. And, all I wanted was for this information to fall on ears of people who would listen.

I learned pretty quickly that none of them would. Especially if I led with what their decisions were causing to these people and animals.

Suffice to say, no one listened in the early days.

Looking back, those moments are what led me to Vegans, Baby and to Altered Atlas. 

It just took a hell of a long time to get there.

I lived in Thailand for three years, and in that time I watched many a well-meaning activist push people further away from change. They’d show up angry instead of curious. Attacking instead of listening. Judgmental instead of welcoming. Within the first month of living in Thailand, I had learned this was not the way to get someone to change their minds about anything.

So, I began to observe and soak in lessons taking place around me. The biggest of which was the founder of the organization and her approach with people. She was warm. Let people speak. Spoke kindly. And spoke her truth in a way that could leave people in her vicinity in tears.

A few years later, back in the U.S. and overcome with compassion fatigue and PTSD, I didn’t know what to do to continue my advocacy for animals. I was going vegan, but I wanted to do more. But, I knew I wanted to do it the way the founder had done in Thailand. 

I moved to Las Vegas and launched Vegans, Baby as my activism. The goal was to show people that if I could go vegan, so could they, and that vegan food was good. I wanted to make veganism approachable and accessible, not shame people into doing it. 

And, that’s exactly what I did.

The journey to change

In the span of a few years with Vegans, Baby in action and working with diners, restaurants and leaders in the community, the city’s vegan dining scene grew by 400 percent. And, it was all done via making change through our good ol’ taste buds.

At the same time, I remained involved in my world of travel and tourism, continuing my work advocating for more responsible travel, and educating people on greenwashing. I spent years watching claims of sustainability really mean nothing for than marketing jargon. 

I saw people repeat the same tired trips over and over again, plucked directly from old blog posts. Flocking to places that desperately needed a reprieve from mass tourism.

Over the years, as I’ve evolved and grown, I’ve drifted towards beyond just being vegan, I’ve become an extremely conscious consumer and vote with my money. I’ve wanted others to move that direction, too.

So, just like how I created Vegans, Baby to nudge people adopt a more vegan lifestyle starting with food, I created an offshoot of Vegans, Baby to nudge people to adopt a more conscious lifestyle that benefits all living beings and the planet through travel. 

Meet Altered Atlas

Altered Atlas is my ethical luxury travel planning company I’ve spent the last year building. Today is its first real day in existence and I’m so excited to share it with you.

Altered Atlas designs custom itineraries and small group journeys for travelers who want five-star travel and to make a positive impact where they visit.

I created it so no one would have to choose between a trip that does good versus a trip that is luxurious.  them. The tagline is Luxury Travel for Good, and I mean that literally: every hotel, guide, and operator on an Altered Atlas itinerary gets vetted against a published standard before it makes the cut.

How partners are vetted

Altered Atlas adapted the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s criteria and the vetting frameworks used by groups like Regenerative Travel’s Agency of Change. Every property, guide, and operator gets scored across five categories: local ownership and economic benefit, environmental practice, community and cultural engagement, labor and welfare, and climate commitment.

A partner needs to score adequate or higher in every category to make it onto an itinerary. 

If any partner uses single-use plastic with no phase-out plan, has credible reports of labor exploitation or unsafe conditions, or any Indigenous-owned or Indigenous-themed experience operating without documented community consent, they’re not being used.

Because greenwashing is the norm these days (ugh why), it’s easy for a hotel to slap “eco-friendly” or “sustainable” on their website. My job is to check it to see if it’s true.

As for dining, every restaurant and hotel has to have plant-based options that are preferably locally-sourced. 

Altered Atlas service menu

Custom ethical itineraries start at $299, and each is custom curated based on the travelers. There are signature group journeys and retreats which start at $1,200. I also lead hosted small group trips myself, including the South Africa journey I’m now running for the third year. Plus, there’s a growing set of pre-made itineraries ready to book with zero planning fee, starting with South Africa.

For travelers who want more ongoing support, there’s the Atlas Inner Circle. It’s an annual membership that includes complimentary custom weekend itineraries, monthly hotel shortlists for a specific place, unlimited hotel perk checks, and more.

I also have basic travel services like hotel bookings and flight bookings, simply to make life easier.

Start planning

If you’ve been waiting for a conscious luxury travel advisor to save you time, stress and research, and want a trip handled from planning to returning home, that’s Altered Atlas.

You can’t grow without making change. That’s been true for me since Thailand, and it’s true for this company too. 

Join us

Follow Altered Atlas on Instagram and join the Facebook group where I share tips, exclusive offers, destination highlights and so much more. Download your free guide to conscious luxury travel.