Meet The Team
We are a team of experienced and dedicated professionals, providing comprehensive travel solutions to our diverse clientele. With over two decades of experience in the travel and tourism industry, our knowledgeable team is proficient in understanding the needs and expectations of our participants. Our team strives to create the most efficient and enjoyable experience for you.
Our Group Leaders
Group Leader
Arturo Amor
​Born in Ciudad Juárez, he moved to Mexico City, where he grew up, studied, and worked. A lover of music, he played in a band and sang in a National University choir. After earning a Graphic Design degree, he spent six years as an Aeromexico flight attendant. He returned to design in 1988, working for clients like the newspaper Reforma and Quien magazine. In 2005, he earned a Master of Arts in the UK before moving to Manchester for various jobs. After freelancing for several years, he joined Geronimo Travel in 2017 and now enjoys sharing his passion for Mexico with international visitors.
Group Leader
Arturo Vetriz
Arturo Vertiz knew from an early age that he wanted to work in the travel industry, focusing on learning English and French in school. Graduating with a degree in tourism and business administration, he worked in the hotel industry before founding his own travel agency. Arturo’s greatest honor was being chosen to manage the housing complex for athletes participating in the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara. As a Group Leader and a Mexican national, Arturo loves interacting with visitors in search of learning experiences.
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Group Leader
Cosme Reyes
Cosme Valentín Reyes Rodríguez is from the state of Puebla, southeast of Mexico City. He has a degree in philosophy and has been privileged to experience both Mexican and USA cultures from a young age. He has always dreamed of traveling the world and meeting new people. The travel industry has allowed him to realize this dream, and he's particularly enjoyed meeting great people who share his passion for education. Gerónimo has been a place that has further made that dream a reality.
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Group Leader
Haydee de Hoyos
Originally from the northern state of Sonora, Haydee de Hoyos learned English through her interest in American television, especially “Sesame Street.” Her affinity for American culture led her to pursue a career in the travel industry with a degree in tourism and business form the University of Guadalajara. Haydee has worked for Geronimo for more than 20 years and served as a Group Leader on programs focusing on art, culture, history, the environment and Mexican cuisine, developing an encyclopedia of knowledge of all things Mexico.
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Group Leader
Lorena Gonzalez
As a tour guide, she has participated in television projects and Latin American programs promoting tourism in her state. In 2012, she moved to Mexico City after meeting her husband during one of these projects. She has also worked as an English teacher for elementary school children, which led her to pursue a master’s degree in Educational Sciences. Since childhood, she has practiced sports such as karate and swimming, and she now enjoys going to the gym. As a child, she also learned to play the violin. Today, she is a wife and the mother to her son. During the pandemic, she discovered her talent for crochet and wire crochet jewelry, which she still practices. She has many dreams, but her main focus remains on her work and her family.
Group Leader
Luis Nuñez
Luis was born and raise in Mérida Yucatán in the middle of a family dedicated to archeology, art, culture, and teaching. He study a career of tour guide between 1991 and 1994 with acreditation of the University of Yucatán and the Secretary of tourism of México. He has been tour guiding in almost all México and other countries. His hobbies: Music, Mountain bike and diverse sports like olimpic lifting weights and martial arts, where he won several medals. He has been working with Gerónimo Travel (Road Scholar) since 2001-2002. Enjoying the history and the nature of his home land and the Mayan Culture.
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Group Leader
Maria Teresa Peniche
Maria Teresa Peniche, who prefers to be known simply as “Teri,” is a highly regarded addition to Geronimo’s Road Scholar staff. Teri pursued a career in higher education, preparing school curriculums designed as well as teaching English in secondary education. After retiring, Teri’s vast knowledge of Mexico’s history and culture paved the way towards her becoming a Group Leader. Blessed with a caring disposition and a great desire to share her love of her country, Teri’s capacity for sharing her considerable knowledge is unrivaled.
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Group Leader
Matt Brown
Matt Brown has been a birding enthusiast from a young age! In elementary school, Matt taught birding ID to his fellow classmates. He went on to study psychology at Syracuse University before moving to Arizona in 1998 to pursue his passion of bird watching and bird leader. Locally, Matt has worked for the Nature Conservancy, Patagonia Lake State Park, Road Scholar and local birding and butterfly festivals. Since 2002, Matt has owned the Patagonia Birding & Butterfly Company offering custom birding and butterfly programs.
Group Leader
Roberto Lopez
Born in Cerocahui, Chihuahua, in 1962, he began school at six and moved at 12 to continue his education. He started construction work at 15, then mining at 18. At 20, he married Angélica Torres, with whom he had three children: Javier, Alejandro, and Ana Edith. In 1990, he studied English in Arizona before becoming a guide for Cochise College's tourism agency in Copper Canyon. In 1994, he moved to Creel for his children's schooling, simultaneously studying tourism to become a certified General Guide. He has continued his career with the same agency, now Geronimo, where he also shares his knowledge of local animals, flora, and fauna.
Group Leader
Steve Marlatt
Steve has a bachelor’s in Wildlife Management and a master’s in Environmental Education. He first worked in a variety of positions in research, range and recreation for New Mexico Game and Fish, the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. He then switched gears to work with another type of wildlife and spent the next 27 years teaching Middle School science! He recently retired so that he could spend more time hiking, backpacking, mountain biking and birding in his long-time home of Southeast Arizona.
Our Field Support Staff
Assistant Group Leader
Alejandra Rojas
Born in Puebla, Alejandra holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable Regional Tourism Management and is currently pursuing a PhD in Pedagogy, focused on the interpretive and educational role of tour guides. She studied at the National School of Anthropology and History to become a certified general guide and began her career in 2010 in the Riviera Maya as a naturalist, introducing visitors to Mexico’s marine life while swimming with whale sharks. Passionate about biocultural interpretation and leisure as a tool for human development, she sees guiding as a bridge between people, nature, and heritage. Her work blends academic insight with field experience to reveal the human stories and cultural landscapes that define Mexico. She enjoys birdwatching, playing the piano, and painting with watercolors.
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Assistant Group Leader
Georgina Lukini
Georgina Lukini was born and lives in Mexico City. She studied Communication Sciences, holds a Master’s degree in Scriptwriting, and has formal training in photography. Her professional career has developed in both advertising and medical photography, where she has been working as a freelancer for several years. In 2017, she joined the team at Geronimo Travel, combining her creative background with the travel industry. She spent a year living in England, an experience that shaped her personal and professional outlook.Passionate about film, music, and sports, Georgina is known for her artistic eye, versatility, and strong commitment to every project she takes on.
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Assistant Group Leader
Gustavo Vertiz
Coming Soon...
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Assistant Group Leader
Jennifer Skinner
As a third-generation Chicana from Douglas and Tucson, Arizona, Jennifer Skinner grew up in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands, where the land and its vibrant cultures sparked her curiosity about history, community, and tradition. Her experiences as a world traveler and learner inspired her to earn a degree from the University of Arizona, pursuing environmental education and Mexican-American cultural work. For over 10 years, Jennifer has worked in food service, education, and as a visual artist, centering her Chicana culture while studying Mexican and Indigenous histories and integrating them into her culinary, artistic, and educational practices.​​​
Assistant Group Leader
Josh Bechtold
Josh is a lifelong learner and avid world traveler with a passion for connecting education and exploration. He grew up in Pennsylvania, where he studied Spanish and journalism, before moving to Tucson, Ariz., and earning a master’s degree in education. An enthusiasm for language acquisition has been a constant thread in his journey. One of his most enriching experiences was studying in Spain for a semester during college, which deepened his appreciation for global learning and connection. At Geronimo, Josh brings this curiosity and global perspective to help create meaningful travel experiences for participants.
Assistant Group Leader
Juliette Cowall
Juliette brings a lifetime of learning - and the dedication to learn more. Professionally, she has held various titles, including editor/writer, customer service, and seamstress, all of which have sharpened her organizational skills. Juliette has lived in different environments, from the winters of the midwest and northeast to the forests of the northwest and to the desert southwest. She enjoys meeting new people, challenges, hiking, and workshops of every type.
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Assistant Group Leader
Marina Torres
Born in Mexico City, Marina studied Economics and built a strong career in the public sector, working for over 25 years in areas such as budgeting and tourism. Since 2016, she has served as an assistant Group Leader with Gerónimo Educational Travel, supporting a variety of programs throughout Mexico. Passionate about travel, Marina loves meeting new people and exploring different cultures. In her free time, she enjoys music and reading.
Assistant Group Leader
Michael Zambrano
A California native of Mexican decent has made it his life mission to experience all that travel has to offer. His childhood was spent venturing into Mexico on family roadtrips where he learned the true meaning of adventure. As an adult he rode his bicycle on a solo trip across the United States camping along the way for over two months. With a bachelors in Environmental Studies he is passionate about respecting the earth as we enjoy all it has to offer. He has never missed an opportunity to learn, engage and grow while dancing through life.
Assistant Group Leader
Pat Lee
Pat Lee has a degree in physical education from Arizona State University. She's also a certified veterinary technician and an equine massage therapist. She's always had lots of animals: horses, dogs, cats, etc. Pat has always been interested in fitness and nutrition. She worked at the Willcox School District as a physical education teacher for middle school and then elementary school. She loves the outdoors and hiking. She had a hiking club at the middle school, taking kids on hikes once a week in the summer and once a month during the school year.
Assistant Group Leader
Sharon Goldwasser
Sharon became an avid birder and naturalist while a student at UC Santa Cruz. After working as a field biologist for several years, she moved to Tucson for graduate school in ecology where she studied song mimicry by Lesser Goldfinches. After completing her master’s degree 1987, she rerouted her career into education, bringing her love of science to thousands of middle school students. In recent years, she has rekindled her birding passion and is excited to share knowledge of birds and ecology with Road Scholar participants.
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Assistant Group Leader
Yarima Barrera
Yarima was born in Yucatán, she graduated as a Certified Tour Guide in 1994 and has dedicated her life career to sharing the historical, cultural richness of Mexico. She enjoys Hiking and cycling exploring natural trails and visiting Indigenous communities to learn from their traditions and gastronomy. Her Passion is to Travel around the World and her greatest motivation is to connect people with the living history of each place and highlight the beauty of cultural diversity.
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