Washington DC, USA

Brown Gal Trekker (Marinel de Jesus) didn’t discover hiking until much later on when she started her career as a lawyer. She’s a first generation Filipina who moved to the U.S. when she was in her teens. Her love for hiking started when she joined Meetup.com as a member which shortly led to her becoming a hike leader for various outdoor groups in the D.C. metro area. Brown Gal Trekker combines her love for mountain trekking with her passion as a budget backpacker/traveler.

As a result, her favorite type of travel is mountain trekking in remote and lesser known regions globally. After over 10 years of being a hike leader and organizer for Meetup, she launched her social enterprise, Peak Explorations, based on the notion of promoting the local tourism in developing countries where mountain trekking is the prominent activity. Peak Enterprise also aims to scout lesser known trails to connect the western world with a much more raw and authentic hiking experience. As such, Brown Gal Trekker scouts these trails herself solo or with a few hiking friends.

Since the inception of her social enterprise, Brown Gal Trekker has managed to identify local trekking companies that embrace the notion of empowering women in the outdoors. To date, Peak Explorations has launched its own Women Trail Leaders program which features female guides and porters worldwide. Brown Gal Trekker believes that the recognition of such women leaders on the trails will only empower more local women in countries like Peru, Nepal, Tanzania, Mongolia and others alike to venture into the world of trekking by assuming roles as guides, porters or even as female entrepreneurs to start their own local trekking company. In that sense, women who have the passion for the outdoors will gain the confidence they need to go for a role that is traditionally dominated by men.

In support of Peak Explorations, Brown Gal Trekker’s blog showcases content that celebrates the experiences of diverse group of women in the outdoors and travel world. One project, Don’t Date a Girl Who Treks, aims to increase the visibility of women in the outdoors by featuring photos and videos of women hikers worldwide via a short film to be submitted to various outdoors film festivals. In addition, the Outdoor Women’s Voices, Women Trail Leaders and Feedompreneurs series on the Brown Gal Trekker blog all aim to inspire readers to travel, hike, start a business or simply pursue one’s dreams.

Brown Gal Trekker’s latest project is her video-podcast series called ON MY WAY! FROM A LAWYER TO A MOUNTAIN NOMAD. The series tackles her ultimate goal of leaving her 14 year career as a lawyer to pursue her dream of being a full-time entrepreneur and a mountain nomad.