Leana Hardgrave

I am an experienced Marketing Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the education and non-profit industries as a highly effective marketer and communications expert. I am highly skilled in business cycle and predictive analytics, event planning, designing, customer service, public speaking, writing, editing, and much more.

In addition to my experience and education, I have a passion for traveling and learning about the incredible and wonderfully diverse cultures around the world. My desire to learn more about the world has taken me to over 30 countries. I have learned more from the kindness of strangers and swapping stories than any education and work experience could ever dream of teaching me. I have felt the tug of a little girl's hand on my shirt, begging me for water that I couldn't give, and I have experienced communities with "nothing" who were more generous than I would have believed possible. I believe that the stories I have heard, the despair and great love I have seen, and camaraderie I have felt have all helped me to understand and tell the stories of others. I believe that the way for any organization to stand out, spread their message, and make real change is through the power of their storytelling.

I hope to tell your story someday.

Why Travel?

Published on 20th July 2018

Just like the Black Pearl, to travel is freedom. Travel requires planning, maybe some tickets, and certainly a little bit of money. A great adventure may even require perseverance, getting kicked out of your comfort zone, and knowing that anything can happen, but that isn't what travel is. What travel really is, is freedom.

It is the freedom to explore and allow anything and everything happen. You are free to be yourself; free to experience every emotion; free to taste new things, smell new smells, walk new paths, meet new people, and enjoy anything and everything you have been too afraid to try or do before. You are free to just be...or be anything you want.

We don't travel to stay the same; we would stay home for that. We travel to escape life (or let life not escape us...), routine, obligations, and sometimes even to escape ourselves. We travel to create the space for change (even if it is just a change of scenery) and growth.

*A note on ships: If you ever have the opportunity, take the time to travel by ship. When you spend days crossing the ocean, you get a new appreciation for just how large and beautiful the world really is, and just how small you are. It has a beautiful way of shifting your perspective on your life; I recommend you make the opportunity.

Why Travel?

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