LAURA DUNMIRE, Director

Laura has a passion for learning about the world through travel and providing impactful experiences for youth. Her extensive travel experience has solidified her love of learning about people, history, and cultures through traveling.

Along with this enthusiasm for travel, Laura brings her background in youth development to the RLT team. Over the past 15 years as a summer camp director, Laura combined her love of working with kids with a dedication to getting kids outside in nature. She is passionate about the power that these life-changing experiences can have in shaping youth into future leaders. Outside of the office, Laura loves spending time with her husband and four young kids and enjoys planning family trips that incorporate visiting state and national parks.

Laura is the Director of The Road Less Traveled and looks forward to leading our team through another successful summer.

You can call or email Laura anytime with any questions: 773.342.5200; laura@theroadlesstraveled.com

OLLY CAYLESS, Director of Student Recruitment and Marketing

Olly joins the team from the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales, UK, as our Director of Student Recruitment and Marketing. Olly brings a passion for outdoor adventure travel along with experience working in youth development within the outdoors. Olly studied at a university in Cardiff, focusing on the psychological impact outdoor residential experiences have on children and young people. Olly has worked within the outdoor travel industry since a teenager. Starting as an adventure activity instructor in Wales, he then spent several summers as a camp counselor and village director in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Before joining The Road Less Traveled team, Olly helped look after the sales and marketing for a UK-wide charity running outdoor adventure trips for children. Olly is excited to be able to help provide meaningful experiences for children in the outdoors, getting them unplugged and switched onto nature. Outside the office, Olly enjoys coaching kayaking to kids in his local hometown and getting into the hills and mountains of Wales with his partner Tegan, his dog named Mouse, and his cow named Morticia.

You can call or email Olly anytime with any questions: 773.342.5200; olly@theroadlesstraveled.com

NICOLE SMART, Director of Admissions

Nicole grew up in the Chicago suburbs and spent many summers traveling to Scotland with her extended family, playing soccer, and camping throughout the Midwest. In 2017, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology and Certificates in Global Health, Environmental Studies, and Leadership. During her Junior year at UW, she studied abroad in China, focusing on environmental conservation and global health. As Vice President of Fundraising for UW-Madison’s Global Medical Brigade, she helped manage trips to Nicaragua and Honduras to organize free healthcare clinics for low-income communities.

After graduating, she moved out to Colorado to experience west coast skiing at Vail. She worked for Vail Mountain Safety, creating a safe mountain community and providing basic first aid for injured skiers. During her time out west, she hiked her fair share of fourteeners, skied throughout Colorado and Utah, and led a 2-month road trip through 20 states and 30 National Parks. She is a strong supporter of travel, learning from new cultures, and loves to share those passions with younger students. After living in the Caribbean in St. John’s, Antigua and learning all things sailing, surfing, and diving, Nicole is our in-house dive expert! She has extensive travel experience and has adventured through Italy, Scotland, Alaska, and Belize just this past year. Nicole finds she is the happiest when she is on the road, exploring new places and sharing these moments with friends. Nicole joins the team as our Director of Admissions and looks forward to helping you and your family through our thoughtfully designed Admissions process.

You can call or email Nicole anytime with any questions: 773.342.5200; nicole@theroadlesstraveled.com

MORGAN SANDEN, Director of Logistics

Morgan grew up in a suburb of Chicago, IL. As a youth, he spent as much time in nature as possible. He spent three Summers traveling with The Road Less Traveled: twice in the Rocky Mountain West and once abroad in Norway. These experiences were pivotal in developing his passion for travel and adventure. He went on to study Recreation Resource Management at The University of Montana.

For a decade, Morgan worked for The Road Less Traveled as a Trip Leader, helping facilitate life-changing travel experiences for hundreds of students. He is passionate about connecting people to the places in which they live and travel. He has experienced firsthand and seen in others the benefits of travel, service, and adventure. Morgan continues to bring this passion to his work with The Road Less Traveled as Director of Logistics.

Outside of the office, Morgan spends most of his time with his spouse and dog. Together, they enjoy camping, hiking, and climbing in the American Southwest. Morgan is rarely without his camera. He has a passion for travel photography, wildlife photography, and astrophotography. Morgan is the Vice President of the Desert Rivers Audubon Society, where he shares his passion for birding and environmental education & stewardship with others.

You can call or email Morgan anytime with any questions: 773.342.5200; morgan@theroadlesstraveled.com

VICTORIA GOLDEN, Director of Finance

Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Victoria moved to Chicago to pursue theatre and teaching. Along the way, she ended up freelance bookkeeping for theatre companies and discovered a passion for accounting and financial literacy. In addition to accounting for small businesses, Victoria has worked as a real estate agent, market research consultant, escape room creator, stage manager, and camp counselor! At the heart of it all, she loves working with people, making sense of numbers, and improving processes of all shapes and sizes.

Victoria has always loved to travel - her top trips include the Camino de Santiago (walking over 500 miles from France to the western coast of Spain), Hot Springs National Park, camping in Iceland, and 2 cross-country Amtrak trips. These days she's focused on traveling domestically, with a goal to hit all 50 states by 2028. In her free time, she loves board games, trying out new pizza recipes, and spending time with her wife and dog (both at home and on the road).

You can call or email Victoria anytime with any questions: 773.342.5200; victoria@theroadlesstraveled.com

AMY LISBERG, Intake Coordinator

Amy grew up in Minnesota and has always loved living near the water. She spent five summers attending a residential camp in Wisconsin, and another five years working for the camp. Amy has had the amazing opportunity to travel extensively with her family, both domestically and internationally. She and Laura Dunmire traveled to Costa Rica together with Amy's family when they were in college. Amy went to Colorado College, where she earned her degree in psychology. She lived in Denver for four years, but recently moved back to Minnesota to be closer to the lakes. She completed her master's degree in marriage and family therapy where she specialized in childhood mental health, hoping to someday bring her love for working with kids and teens and for the outdoors together. Amy continues to enjoy exploring the outdoors and traveling, and can almost always be found next to her Golden Retriever, Paxter!

You can call or email Amy anytime with any questions: 773.342.5200; amy@theroadlesstraveled.com

KATE GOLDEN, Travel Coordinator

Kate grew up in the northern suburbs of Chicago, and spent nearly every spring break in southwest Florida. But it wasn’t until a trip to New England as a young teen that she was bit by the travel bug. With dozens of trips across the country and a few abroad under her belt, including solo road trips to national parks and eloping in the mountains of Montana, travel coordination comes naturally to Kate, a fan of detailed itineraries and wonder filled destinations. 

Kate’s background is in higher education administration, and with a masters degree in Student Development, she enjoys working with teens and young adults as they navigate the peaks and valleys of life! 

When she’s not at work, you can find Kate trying a new restaurant in her current home city of Chicago, enjoying coffee shops in new cities, or curling up on the couch of her cabin in Vermont with her wife and dog. 

You can call or email Kate anytime with any questions: 773.342.5200; kate@theroadlesstraveled.com

ALICIA NIJAK, Student Recruitment and Marketing Coordinator

Alicia has worked for Summer Camps since 2006, with various programs nationwide. She has dedicated her career to youth development, service, and the outdoors.

Alicia grew up in Northern Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. She studied Organizational Communication and Information Systems. After college, Alicia worked for adventure and youth programs in Pennsylvania, Alaska, Western Caribbean, California, Peru, and Colorado! She has been an instructor, managed program development, and most recently served as a Camp Director. Alicia values the life-changing impact these programs can have on children and teens. She is excited to talk with current and future Road Less Traveled families to plan the perfect summer experience for their teens.

In her personal life, Alicia likes to spend time with her husband, son, and dog. She loves traveling, backpacking, and running triathlons. 

You can call or email Alicia anytime with any questions: 773.342.5200; alicia@theroadlesstraveled.com

BRIAN GLICKMAN, Hiring Director

Brian fell in love with working with kids and spending his summers outdoors after attending and working at North Star Camp in Hayward, WI for 13 summers. He also caught the travel bug when he spent a semester abroad in London. Since then, Brian has traveled to 38 countries and 42 states in the US. Since joining the RLT team, Brian helps with leader recruitment and staffing.

You can call or email Brian anytime with any questions: 773.342.5200; glick@theroadlesstraveled.com

ANDY SHLENSKY, Owner and Managing Partner

Andy purchased The Road Less Traveled from Jim and Donna in early 2020. Andy has dedicated his life to working in youth development and is passionate about providing meaningful opportunities for young people, to equip them with the skills needed to make positive change in the world.

Andy is also the owner and director of North Star Camp, a premier traditional boys camp in northern Wisconsin for 8 -15-year-olds, as well as the owner and partner at Bubbles Academy in Chicago, an arts-integrated early childhood development center and preschool for children 0 - 5. Andy works closely with several non-profit organizations including the Camp for All Kids Foundation, Four Star Fellowship, and Whole Child Arts. Andy also serves on the Government Relations Board for the American Camp Association and the board of the Midwest Association of Independent Camps.

Alongside his passion for youth development, Andy is an avid traveler and enjoys experiencing new countries and cultures with his daughter Laney.

Andy's experience in child development, experiential education, and love for travel drew him to The Road Less Traveled. "The mission, values, and high-quality programming upon which The Road Less Traveled was founded create positive experiences that endow future generations with the confidence, character, and life skills to go out and make a difference in the world."

You can call or email Andy anytime with any questions: 773.342.5200; andy@theroadlesstraveled.com