For any of us who have had the good fortune to travel outside of our own country, we have gotten the opportunity to see and participate in a culture different from our own. The beautiful thing about travel is how it benefits our psyche and understanding of the world- it unites peoples and ideas that may have never been united before. It also, unfortunately, causes a burden to the balance in some cultural and environmental systems.

My decision to become a part of iJourneyGreen was based on this: Travel is an amazing gift we have been given- whether personal travel or travel that allows our companies to grow and reap the benefits of connections with other countries. If we, as a culture, and as a global communiy, start to offset some of the damages that have been created through travel and other merging of cultures, there is hope that a counterbalance can occur. It is that simple: If we help others in need, if we are accountable for any burden to ecosystems we have created, we as one global family thrive and live more harmoniously together.

I, and the people and the places that benefit from iJourneyGreen, thank you for your interest and support in our organization.

With highest regards and light,

DeNae D'Auria
President, iJourneyGreen

Leadership and Staff:

  • Jessica Finley »

    Jessica is the Executive Director and co-founder of iJourneyGreen. Her delight in travel began at a very early age and has proved to be an unvarying passion in her life. She was lucky enough to spend her junior year abroad in Sevilla, Spain which allowed her ample freedom to travel and see the beauty of Europe (between classes of course). After graduating from Scripps College, she traveled back to Europe, this time to Florence, Italy to work and experience more of the amazing European continent. After returning to the United States with many great stories, but without a clear life direction, she went on to obtain her MA in Communication Management from the Annenberg School of Communication at USC. It was her experience at USC, where she studied communication and social change that led her down a path that would (after a few twists and turns) assist in founding iJourneyGreen. When not looking towards her next big travel adventure, Jessica is usually found outside, running, walking her dog, or hiking in the beautiful San Diego sunshine.

 

Board of Directors :

  • Chris Tharp »

    Chris Tharp is a co-founder of iJourneyGreen and currently works as a Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley. Chris worked for Goldman Sachs, & Co in New York, Tokyo and Chicago where he specialized in operations finance, and later for the Private Wealth Management group focused on high net worth clients. Chris has a B.A. in Marketing from Arizona State University. Chris has traveled to 26 countries and has been to nearly every U.S. State. Some of his most memorable travel experiences include being escorted through the Rafah crossing point in Palestine, kayaking on Quadra Island, riding a bike through Southern Bohemia, running down the Snake Trail of Masada, trekking through Angkor Wat, Cambodia, and sitting atop the many temple complexes in Tikal.


  • Andrew Byrnes »

    Andy is a clean energy warrior dedicated to the expansion of renewable energy in the national grid and the evolution of new clean generation technologies. His experience in project development and clean energy offsets, working with both start-up agencies and international energy companies, provides a comprehensive understanding of clean energy and a full appreciation for the opportunities available to iJourneyGreen and its partners as they consider international programs and projects to support. 

    Andy led development efforts for an 800 MW wind energy project with Spinnaker Energy and helped develop a pipeline of wind, solar, and biomass projects in the US and Mexico. As an associate director for Renewable Choice Energy, Andy partnered with leading utilities and carbon offset projects to provide for the clean energy requirements of multiple Fortune 500 corporations. He is now pursuing a PhD in materials science with a focus on new photovoltaic technologies in an effort to “make solar energy cheaper than the I-pods it’s charging.” 

    Together with his beautiful wife, Patricia, Andy is an avid runner, hiker, skier, dancer, traveler, volunteer – a run of the mill environmentalist. Andy spends his free time dreaming of his previous life as a bellman/novelist and hopes to someday make a solar-powered airplane.


  • DeNae D’Auria »

    A graduate of Bastyr University, DeNae D'Auria integrates the principles of tribe, community and nature into her work as a business consultant. She is a gypsy at heart and continues to grow, learn and enrich her life through travel. Visiting Uluru and Kata Tjuta in Australia, hiking the Kalulau Trail and surfing Hanalei Bay in Kauai, seeing the old architecture of Europe, camping in the Rocky Mountains of Canada, as well as going on safari in the bush of South Africa have been some of the highlights of DeNae's travel. DeNae resides in beautiful Boulder, Colorado.


     

  • Kevin Jackson »
    Kevin has led many worldwide expeditions, including multiple ascents of Aconcagua in Argentina (the highest peak in the Americas), and Mt Whitney (the highest mountain in the continental United States). Kevin is an expert on Patagonia, Chile; Aspen, Colorado; Anchorage, Alaska; the canyons of Arizona, and Vancouver Island, British Colombia. Kevin is a NOLS certified Wilderness First Responder and is ACE Certified in First Aid and CPR. He also holds a Wilderness Health and First Aid Certification from the Red Cross. Kevin holds an MBA in operations management as well as a BA in logistics and supply chain management.