Who We Are: Staff and Volunteers

NEYSA BUDZINSKI
Naturalist

Neysa began learning about the natural world from an early age from her father, a botanist, and her mother, an avid gardener and animal lover. She loves nothing more than to comb the wild for her favorite medicinal plants and then show them to anyone who will listen and look. She thrives on traveling to places that have proud ancient cultures and excellent food. Her favorite thing about traveling, besides eating and gawking at architecture and art, is meeting people along the way -- usually in hostels. She loves to create, dabbling in photography, origami, and knitting, as well as the fine arts.

Neysa currently resides in the Bay Area because she enjoys the culture and diversity that it offers, but would love to eventually end up in a cabin in some place not worth a bomb.

GREG LAKE
Naturalist

Greg Lake has worked for Hostel Adventures since 2007. He received his Bachelors degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon, and has also been certified in Environmental Education by the University of Washington. He is currently in graduate school, working towards an MBA in Sustainable Enterprise from Dominican University of California, located in San Rafael.

Originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, Greg's work/living experiences have led him through Southern California, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, and New Jersey; he currently lives in Marin County. 

MEGAN SEELIE
Speakers Bureau

Megan Seelie is a native Ohioan who learned the awesome power of her passport at the age of 15. Since then she has lived on sailboats in the Bahamian Islands, traversed the Australian coast in her Volvo, lived the high life in Thailand (a few times), spent some time in Central America, seen most of the United States, and traveled overland through China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. Her solo journeys include moving to China, backpacking across Japan and Europe, and trekking through New Zealand.

She recently hitchhiked from Anchorage, Alaska, back to San Francisco, the city she now calls home. When Megan is not traversing the globe she spends her time surfing, cycling, freelance writing, and graphic designing.