> ALL AMBASSADORS

Roseann Hanson

Founding director, ConserVentures

Roseann leads the charge of a non-profit called Conserventures that organizes the annual event called Overland Expo.  Proceeds from their efforts promote exploration and support community conservation in Mexico, East Africa, and Mongolia.

I am a native of southern Arizona, and grew up in a rural valley east of Tucson, where exploring the outdoors was just what we did—why watch TV when we had thousands of acres of ranchland and National Forest right outside our door? We explored by foot, bicycles, horses, and Honda Trail 90s, and my parents had just two rules: be home before dark, and if you get hurt, make sure it’s by a road so they won’t have to come looking too far for us. That upbringing and the freedom we had is what gave me a real love of exploration and nature.

I studied journalism and ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona, and for the past 25 years I have worked as a conservationist, naturalist, writer, and marketing specialist for non-profits and small businesses. Last year I consolidated all that work into an LLC called ConserVentures. My main focus is now promoting travel and exploration opportunities that connect people to each other and to special places—often through overlanding. I love exploring people's connections to nature, and our roles in conservation through travel, exploration, science, writing, and art. I founded the event Overland Expo in 2009 to bring the world of overlanding to a wider audience in the U.S., and promote exploration and conservation.

I’ve been lucky enough to work all over the Southwestern U.S., Canada, Mexico, and East Africa—my work often involves accessing sites in remote places by four-wheel-drive, sometimes by myself. I’ve logged thousands of miles alone in Kenya and in northern Mexico. This work has lead to my being named a research fellow at the University of Arizona’s Southwest Center, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

I met and married Jonathan Hanson (who is also a native Tucsonan) in 1984, and together we’ve explored three continents and have authored over a dozen natural history and outdoor books, including the Southern Arizona Nature Almanac and San Pedro River: A Discovery Guide. I’m proud to say our Ragged Mountain Guide to Outdoor Sports won the 1997 Outdoor Book Award and our 50 Common Reptiles was cited for Interpretive Excellence by the National Park Service in 1997.

For relaxation, I’m a lapidary and metalsmith—I’ve sold my work in galleries throughout the West (as Desert Rose Design Studio), but right now I’m just doing it for fun or on rare occasion for special commission. I cut and polish stones and create jewelry from silver, gold, copper, and found objects.

I also love living and working off-the-grid, with solar and wind power. We’ve got a wonderful property 45 miles from Tucson, just north of the Mexico border, and it’s very special.

.........................................................

What activities or projects are you working on? Was there a specific incident or occurrence that got you involved, causes, special interests?
I’m lucky in that my passions became my work, and my work is my passion. I work on many projects at once—right now I’m working with several conservation efforts in East Africa that are very interesting. One is bringing the global climate change issue to a very local level by being the voice for community conservation efforts in the South Rift Valley, where the largely intact savannah ecosystems provide enormous benefit ecologically to the planet as carbon sinks. Climate change would drastically affect the balance of ecology there. I’m also working with several grassroots conservation efforts in northern Mexico on jaguars and ocelots. I’ve loved cats since I was 8 years old, and now I get to work on conservation of cheetahs, lions, leopards, ocelots and jaguars—that’s very special to me.

And of course Overland Expo.2011 is already gearing up, with the huge success of 2010 we just couldn’t stop. 

Any major travel plans?

I’ll be heading to Kenya in September for an international conference on biodiversity and climate change, and in October Jonathan and I are leading several “Sonoran Safaris” to jaguar reserves in Mexico. We will also be putting together at least one adventure safari in East Africa in late 2010 or early 2011.

In the fall I also need to squeeze in a solo trip to Queretaro, Mexico, on my motorcycle, for language class. I had to postpone it from this winter.

What travel philosophies have you developed for yourself? Are there any do's and don'ts, definite musts, etc?

My travel philosophy is to approach each trip like opening a book that I’ve never read (or if I’m returning to a place I’ve previously visited, like re-reading a favorite book). There’s this wonderful sense of anticipation and excitement: what’s going to happen, what will I see, who will I meet, what will be their stories? And so, unless the trip has specific work objectives, I don’t actually like to plan much, because I prefer to just see how each day unfolds. I think people miss a lot by having schedules . . . ironically. It’s also not very relaxing!

Another important philosophy to me involves exploring our (human) roles in conservation through travel, exploration, science, writing, and art. I think it’s all connected. Humans were originally nomads, and we shared our experiences visually and verbally.

A definite “do” I would share with people: do go now, while you can, and don’t wait until you are older or “can afford it.”

A definite “don’t”: don’t be afraid.

Is there anything particular in your gear set that you absolutely will not leave behind, can't do without?

I would hate to be without my journal.

Or a fridge. :-)

What Equipt products do you enjoy? Are there any that peak pique your interest?

I really like the Frontrunner Wind Cheetah rack on my Land Cruiser. It was so light I could lift it myself, and so it doesn’t add a lot of top-weight, which is important to me for safety (I was once run off the road in the Sierra Madres by drug runners, and my truck skidded into a ditch and nearly tipped over—ever since then I like to keep it light and nimble!).

It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it’s named after my favorite animal.

To date: What has been your favorite adventure?

In 1992 Jonathan and I drove our 4WD Toyota truck with a Wildernest camper and 2 sea kayaks all the way north to Inuvik, in the Northwest Territories. We then paddled the boats down the MacKenzie River and out to the Arctic Ocean and along the coast to Tuktoyaktuk. It was amazing.