Travel's Best Family Adventures Advisors 2015

Bruce Kirkby, Writer, Photographer and Host of "Big Crazy Family Adventure"

Bruce Kirkby’s journeys have taken him to more than 80 countries, including the wildest and most remote corners of the planet. He has crossed Iceland by foot, traveled by horse through Mongolia, been shot at in Borneo, and been taken hostage in Ethiopia.

Bruce is a weekly travel columnist for The Globe and Mail. He is the author of 2 best-selling books, Sand Dance: By Camel Across Arabia's Great Southern Desert and The Dolphin's Tooth: A Decade in Search of Adventure, and his work appears regularly in publications including The New York Times, Canadian Geographic, EnRoute and Time. He has contributed monthly photo tips to WestJet’s in-flight magazine for more than 6 years, and National Geographic chose his images to be among the best adventure photography of the decade.

As the host of a prime-time reality show No Opportunity Wasted, Bruce fulfills his mission to help people confront and overcome personal fears to accomplish the seemingly impossible. Bruce and his family will be featured in Travel Channel’s upcoming series Big Crazy Family Adventure.

Rainer Jenss, President and Founder of the Family Travel Association

Rainer Jenss is the president and founder of the Family Travel Association. He was a vice president and 13-year veteran of the National Geographic Society. As publisher of National Geographic Kids from 2002 to 2008, he helped transform the publication into the most widely read consumer magazine for children throughout the world.

During his family’s around-the-world journey in 2009, Rainer reported for National Geographic Traveler’s award-winning Intelligent Travel blog, which was recognized as one of the top 25 family travel blogs by Babble.com in 2011 and 2012. He recently took on the role of family travel correspondent and curator for AFAR.com. After traveling to more than 60 countries, Rainer has become a dedicated family travel advocate who understands how important travel is to every child’s education and how it can be used as a learning tool

Nancy Schretter, Family and Multigenerational Travel Expert

Nancy is the founder and managing editor of the Family Travel Network and the president of Beacon Group Holdings Inc. She spent several years traveling with her family to destinations both domestic and international. Her family adventures have included sailing and snorkeling around Australia's Great Barrier Reef, hiking in South America, kayaking and trekking across glaciers in Alaska, horseback riding and fly-fishing at ranches, and volunteering in communities throughout the Caribbean.

As an award-winning writer and editor, Nancy has been featured in USA Today, American Way, Redbook, Family Circle, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, Leisure Group Travel, Courier, Travel Weekly, TravelAge West and many other print and online publications. She has appeared as a family travel expert on television for the Today show, CNN and NBC News.

Nancy is a consultant and frequent speaker at travel industry conventions, conferences and events. She's also the founder of Together for Good, an organization that promotes giving back as part of the travel experience.

Heather Greenwood Davis, Travel Journalist and Founder of GlobetrottingMama.com

Heather Greenwood Davis is an award-winning writer and intrepid traveler who isn’t afraid to bring the kids along for the ride. In June 2011, she, her husband and their then-6- and 8-year-old sons took off on a yearlong trip around the world. They visited 29 countries on 6 continents along the way. The trip gained them recognition as National Geographic Traveler magazine’s Travelers of the Year.

Today, the family hasn’t slowed down, tackling everything from short road trips to several-thousand-mile flights. Heather continues to share her solo and family adventures and tips as an advisor on the Family Travel Association board and a Family Time columnist for Traveler. Heather’s work has been featured in a host of print, online, television and radio channels, including O Magazine and TravelChannel.com. Her blog, GlobetrottingMama.com, encourages families to see the world 1 neighborhood at a time.

Keryn Means, Family Travel Writer and Blogger for WalkingOnTravels.com

Keryn Means is a Philadelphia native living life as a freelance writer outside Washington, DC, surrounded by her 2 little boys and her husband. When not dragging the men in her life across the globe, Keryn is writing for her award-winning blog, Walking on Travels, a site that gives hope to today’s active parent who doesn’t see kids as a roadblock to travel, but as an excuse to get out and explore.

Keryn has laughed at the naysayers by taking her family across the US, Mexico and Canada and to far-off lands such as China, Hong Kong and Japan. She’s also crisscrossed Europe on her own. Keryn loves to encourage families to take that first step out the door, because that can sometimes be the hardest step to explore the world that awaits.