Meet Your Guides - Adele
Adele Nandan
Hello!! I am Adele Nandan, one of your guides, and the Chief Experience Officer for The JoYOUs Journey. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am that we are taking this journey with YOU. My love for travel and creating transformational experiences started at a very young age.
As the youngest daughter of immigrant parents, we often traveled back and forth to India, got in the station wagon (yes this dates me), and drove across the U.S. visiting friends and family and discovering the country, and when time and money allowed, my parents took us on surprise vacations outside of the country. As I grew older, my curiosity to learn about other people, cultures, and countries fueled me to explore the world further. My first “real” job was as a manager for American Airlines, where I took full advantage of my flight benefits and traveled whenever I could. After the devastation of September 11, I moved into private aviation where I sharpened my skills in providing exceptional customer service. In 2008, I came across my dream job with a large philanthropic organization. I was in charge of creating memorable travel experiences for people who wanted to help those living in poverty in the developing world and at the same time travel as their host through these amazing countries. This job changed my life and I discovered my true passion. Who would have thought I could travel the world, create trips for others, and serve those in need all in the same job?
It was during this time, that I not only deepened my love for travel, but my courage was tested and I discovered that I enjoy serving people. I was traveling to parts of the world I never dreamed of, taking people into some of the poorest areas of the world all while making sure my groups were happy, safe, and able to process the poverty that was in front of them. I was a guide, a protector, an entertainment director, a counselor, and a friend. The funny thing about all of this is that no matter what lay ahead, I was never scared. As you get to know me, I have a fierce love for my family and I would have never considered living too far away from them. But as this road began to unwind, I left my family behind and moved to Rwanda. I was traveling back and forth to East Africa for almost 70% of the year over 8 years and at the time, it just made sense. I knew this is what I was meant to do and I loved serving others in this capacity.
I am back in my hometown of Chicago now and have 20 years of experience specializing in global non-profits and producing world-class global trips and events. The biggest blessing that has come out of this is the lasting relationships I have built around the world that help me to create these transformational experiences. Over the years, I have seen how these trips can truly change one’s life and it became my mission to provide these life-changing opportunities to others. I know that if you embark on this adventure with us, as the Chief Experience Officer, I will make sure you are challenged, you are pushed to find your worth in this world, you will take the courageous step to travel with us and in the end, you will discover YOU.
