FestivalSeekers Team

From slopes to hiking trails, for over 20 years Jim Barr (aka Doc Pow) has been exploring the Pacific Northwest of North America, on both sides of the Canadian Rockies. Jim shared his adventures as a travel writer, TV producer and mobile developer in almost all forms of traditional and new media,becoming an expert on the slopes, resorts, cities and everything in between.

"I get to introduce the world to some of my favourite places in Western Canada. Even better, I get to do it with an outstanding team of correspondents who help educate and inspire snow and festival seekers to get out and explore. In 20 years of reporting and producing content about this region it continues to amaze me. The opportunities in this part of our world are endless."

Michael Bednar is an award-winning travel and documentary photographer recognized internationally for his work, which explores humanity's relationship with our environment, and how that relationship in turn shapes our culture. He has been bestowed with numerous awards, including Best Photojournalism of the Decade by Asian Geographic, the Lucie Award for International People Photographer of the Year and the Northern Lights Award for Best Canadian Travel Photography. Michael studied and worked in forestry, fisheries and wildlife prior to becoming a professional photographer.  His photographic work combines his love of travel, appetite for adventure and knowledge of the natural world with the joy he derives from connecting with people of diverse cultures and walks of life. Michael revels in sharing his experiences and his passion with others.

Since the ripe old age of 6 weeks, Kieren has been camping, road-tripping and exploring. Some of her favorite things to do are hiking, cycling, climbing, snowboarding, sledding, canoeing, and paddle-boarding. 

Her speciality is any adventure that involves a challenge. Whether it's cycling across Canada at the age of 20 to raise funds for Prostate Cancer Canada, or converting a school bus into a mobile home (Skoolie) for a 6 month road trip around North America, Kieren likes to think up the ridiculous, and make it a reality. 

Elizabeth Chorney-Booth is a Calgary based-freelance writer. A former music journalist, Elizabeth now focuses on matters of food, arts, and travel and her work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, WestJet Magazine, Avenue, The Calgary Herald and many other print and online publications. When she's not writing about her various adventures Elizabeth is in the kitchen creating recipes as one of the faces behind the revamped Best of Bridge series of cookbooks. She lives with her husband and two children, who have gotten used to jumping in the car and setting off to discover new and exciting things in Western Canada and beyond.

A lover of all things outdoors, Abby is a splitboarder, hiker, adventurer, photographer, writer and year-round snow seeker. She’s living life one adventure to the next with her dog by her side. When she ventures in front of the camera Abby is sponsored by Arc'teryx, Smith Optics, G3gear and Karakoram. 

Kenton de Jong is a 24-year-old travel blogger from Regina, Saskatchewan. A lover of history and culture, Kenton has traveled around the world only to discover his favorite place is right back home here in Canada. He now travels Western Canada discovering history, making memories and sharing his stories with the world.

As assistant editor at Seekers and a freelance travel writer, Elves roams the world looking for the odd, the unusual, the inspiring and the great travel stories but admits when there is sun or snow - that's the best story of all. Recent writing credits include; The Globe and Mail Drive, The Calgary Herald travel section; Canadian Running, Canadian Cycling, and WestJet Magazines. Her "other job" is director of operations for a wind energy company. Her favourite stories can be found on her website Joanne Elves - on the go

Ricky Forbes is the driver for one of North America’s top professional storm chasing teams and also an accomplished web designer, freestyle snowboard coach, dirt biker, snowmobiler, and overall an adventure seeking adrenaline junkie. With his roots in Saskatchewan Ricky grew up snowboarding, dirt biking, and playing hockey. After high school he went on to graduate from the University of Saskatchewan completing his Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in Finance. Following University Ricky tried the suit and tie gig for a couple years and decided it wasn’t for him. His life is now dedicated to pushing the limits, pursuing adventures and living life to the fullest.

Award-winning writer and photographer Kristen Gill produces content for various publications, such as The Guardian, Seattle Times, Adventure Travel News, Travel Weekly, and more. Featured as a travel expert on MSN, CBS Travel, and BBC's: The World on NPR and PRI, she is a Board Member of Travel Massive Seattle (www.travelmassive.com) and a Founding Member of the Adventure Angels (www.adventureangels.org).

Lisa is a Calgary-based writer recently re-joining the freelance world after a seven-year stint as a lifestyles reporter at the Calgary Herald. Recent credits include WestJet's Up!, Powder, Western Living and Swerve Magazines. She also writes the Spirited Calgary cocktails column in the Calgary Herald. Kadane is excited to be once again writing about her passions of skiing, festivals and travel - now with two young kids in tow - and looks forward to helping Seekers expand its family-friendly content offerings.

Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Sheri is the owner of This Birds Day (thisbirdsday.com), an online magazine for Canadian women that shares tips, trends and inspiration for living life with style. Armed with a passion to explore every part of Canada, she shares her travel experiences through her freelance writing. Sheri is frequently sought out by media for her expertise and has appeared on a variety of television morning shows and newscasts.

Steve MacNaull lives in the Okanagan, the land of champagne powder snow, mild winter temperatures and sensational downhill skiing at Big White, Silver Star, Apex and Mount Baldy resorts.
He waterskis on Okanagan Lake in the summer and downhill skis in the winter.
He's the business and wine reporter and columnist at the Kelowna Daily Courier and also traverses the world to produce travel features for syndication in Canadian newspapers such as the Toronto Sun, 24 Hours Vancouver, Winnipeg Free Press and 24 Hours Toronto.

Lisa Monforton was a confirmed winter-dreading flatlander living in Southern Ontario, before moving to Calgary just more than a decade ago. Since the first time she experienced the Rockies in winter, clipping on skis at Nakiska, she wondered why she hadn't done this a lot sooner. She was quickly cured of her winter-weariness and has come to appreciate Alberta’s longest season. Lisa is a long-time journalist, and most recently was the travel editor at the Calgary Herald for the past 10 years. She continues to write freelance for a number of publications. When she’s not travelling, or skiing, she enjoys the peace of snow-shoeing, hiking, cycling and camping.

Debbie Olsen is a writer, traveler, photographer, and adventurer. She writes a regular travel column for the Calgary Herald and has contributed to 9 Fodor's guidebooks about Alberta.

Dave Quinn is a Kimberley, BC-based freelancer who divides his time between skiing, outdoor education, teaching avalanche courses, and slogging it out in the office.

Jody Robbins is an award-winning travel writer and the voice behind Travels with Baggage, cited as one of Canada's best travel blogs. Her first book: 25 Places in Canada Every Family Should Visit will hit the shelves in spring 2017, to coincide with Canada's 150th Birthday celebrations. Follow her adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Alex is an adventurous thrill seeker with a passion for music. In middle school, Alex found his passion for music in the form of playing guitar, but with the help of his Grandma Jean he quickly evolved into a talented musician who was able to play half a dozen instruments. Alex is a passionate social media marketer who strongly believes in building and growing communities online and being close to his audience. He has had the pleasure of working with companies from Victoria to Montreal.

National Geographic Traveler, The Huffington Post, the Vancouver Sun and many other media outlets rely on Mark's first person content to help drive audience interest to destinations around the world.

An accomplished editorial and commercial photographer, Aaron Theisen has contributed to numerous regional and national sports and lifestyle publications, including Powder, Backpacker, British Columbia and Northwest Travel & Life. Aaron is co-author of Day Hiking Mount St. Helens (Mountaineers Books) and sole author of the forthcoming Day Hiking Western Montana's Glacier Country. 

Karen Ung is married to her backpacking sweetheart and is a mother and lover of maps, mountains, and mochas. With her Geography degree and experience leading hikes and backpacking trips in the Rockies, she is full of ideas on where to go and what to do. The mission of her blog, Play Outside Guide , is to provide “everything families need to know to get outside and have fun.”  

For 137 days, Chris travelled across Canada producing daily social media short-form videos on the progress of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, working with the Canadian Tourism Commission, Coca-Cola and The Royal Bank of Canada. Now Chris is one of Canada's leading video and social media producers. Chris joins Doc Pow, Dan Wilberg and Kris Wedgewood.

Paula is based in Calgary and grew up skiing the ski resorts of Alberta and B.C. She's a leading PR consultant, freelance writer and photographer. She regularly contributes to the Calgary Herald, Vancouver Sun and other Postmedia News Networks. No stranger to the ski and travel industry, Worthington previously managed media relations for various Western Canadian ski resorts and also worked on the marketing team at WestJet. She covers "off the beaten path" stories and runs a travel story website, www.wanderswild.com.