Patrick Ziemnik
Jackson Paul
Wanjiru Chabeda
Patrick began his career in experiential education managing Harvard’s First-Year Outdoor Program while a student. After graduating with high honors from the social studies department, Patrick continued his passion for social enterprise and community service as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Massachusetts. He brings his strong leadership skills, love of the outdoors, hearty laugh, and years of experience as Mongolia Country Director to our operations in Tanzania.
Coming from his hometown of Karatu, Jackson has been working for us for three seasons with our Gap Year students and summer Culture in the Crater program. Serving as our volunteer project manager on the program, Jackson’s boundless energy, passion for working with students, and commitment to creating great experiences are profound. He loves to read books, travel, watch movies, and play soccer. Jackson is fluent in Swahili, English, and his tribal Iraqw.
Wanji is a project manager for a marketing company in her hometown of Nairobi, Kenya, and began leading Rustic Pathways programs in the summer of 2012 in Tanzania. Educated in South Africa, her marketing and public relations experience makes her an excellent communicator and facilitative leader. An athlete as well as a savvy marketing professional, Wanji was a member of the 2005 and 2006 Kenya National Hockey Championship Teams.
Bryan Haggerty
Yutthana Sangtiengnan
Timothy Gillespie
Bryan studied philosophy at Saint Michael’s College before moving to Southeast Asia where he has lived and worked for more than a decade. Prior to joining Rustic, he spent several years teaching at Chiang Mai University and volunteering for an NGO that advocates for ethnic minority groups in the region. Bryan speaks fluent Thai and Lao, has managed our Thailand operations since 2008, and currently splits his time between Southeast Asia and New England.
Born in Mae Sariang, Yut has been part of the Rustic family for more than a decade. A native Karen speaker with a kind-hearted nature, Yut manages dayto-day operations at the Rustic Pathways Children’s Home, one of our largest initiatives in the region. He also takes time to mentor each of the children who live at the Home. Yut makes sure Rustic students get to see Thai hospitality in action, welcoming them to his childhood home and teaching traditional Karen weaving.
Tim graduated from Frostburg State University’s Parks and Recreation Management program, and spent much of his youth in America’s backcountry. Having led wilderness expeditions in the Appalachians, the Rockies, and throughout Asia, he has spent years living at the Rustic Pathways Children’s Home. Tim now oversees all service initiatives and village development plans in Southeast Asia including our Come With Nothing, Go Home Rich program.
Manitchaya ‘Jib’ Hemuthai
Keegan Kennedy
Erin Murphy
An Udon Thani native and university graduate, Jib holds a Thailand national guide license from Chiang Mai University. She has risen through the ranks over the years at our Thailand headquarters, and now manages logistics at our Ricefields Base and the Ricefields Hotel. Jib is also helps run many of our Gap programs throughout Southeast Asia. Jib is Wilderness First Responder certified. She has a real heart for animals and owns three cats, two dogs, and five rabbits!
Keegan has been teaching, studying, and researching in Thailand for the last nine years. Originally from northern California, he completed his master’s thesis on the effects of forest fires on floral and fungal communities. Keegan is fluent in both written and spoken Thai and Lao, and brings his deep knowledge of Southeast Asia’s eco-systems, history, and cultures to Rustic Pathways operations year-round. He now manages all of our Gap Year and Group programs in the region.
Prior to joining us, Erin spent three years in Thailand teaching business English at Khon Kaen University where her love for all things Thai began. Erin manages programs at the RP Children’s Home where she enjoys practicing Thai. Erin also works with our groups department to help customize program curricula for schools traveling to Southeast Asia. Erin holds degrees in sociology and economics from Notre Dame and a master’s in education from Harvard.
Lauren Anderson
Angelica Calabrese
Scott Mathews
Lauren holds degrees in Spanish and economics from Emory University. After six years overseeing Rustic Pathways service projects and operations in Costa Rica, she now manages our Alumni Association. Lauren facilitates the continuation of student involvement in Rustic Pathways, organizing a multitude of events and opportunities. She receives parent and student stories with great enthusiasm, and is genuinely motivated by the projects that our students take on each year.
In high school, Angelica traveled with us and fell in love with travel and cultural exchange. While studying anthropology at Yale University, she led service learning trips to Uganda where she began to understand the potential these programs have to create positive impacts in host communities and facilitate personal growth. She now draws on her studies as an anthropology major and extensive leadership experience as she leads programs and develops our core Gap Year curriculum.
A Seattle native, Scott earned a BA in international relations from Tufts University. He started his career in financial services and consulting before his passions for travel and experiential education brought him to Rustic Pathways. Forward thinking and creative, Scott works across the organization to strengthen our operations and has dedicated himself to fully developing our financial aid department to make our programs accessible to as many students as possible.
Tanzania Country Director
Thailand Country Director
Thailand Logistics Manager
Alumni Association Coordinator
Tanzania Program Manager
Rustic Pathways Children’s Home Director
Southeast Asia Gap Year Manager
Gap Year Curriculum Designer
Tanzania Program Leader
SE Asia Regional Service Manager
Southeast Asia Program Manager
Financial Aid Manager
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