Janice McDonald - tour leader.  An accomplished writer and television producer, Janice is an avid traveler having visited all 7 continents and more than 70 countries. Janice is the President of J-Mac Productions, an independent production company which is the offspring of passions developed while working with CNN for 20 years.

Janice has traveled the world, producing videos which include a documentary from a trip to Antarctica with the late, legendary Jacques Cousteau and coverage of the Hong Kong Handover in 1997. She works with numerous media outlets in developing marketing, training and commercial materials. Clients include the Travel Channel, ABC, NBC, Fox News and MTV. Her articles have appeared in Travelgirl Magazine, the Christian Science Monitor, The Sunday Paper, CNN.com, Atlanta Style and Design Magazine and Points North Magazine. She has had 8 Emmy nominations and has won numerous awards for educational television production. She is a member of the Atlanta Press Club, the North American Travel Writers Association and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Carol Huntington - tour leader.  Carol has been on 12+ AFS trips over the years.  She has been a ray of sunlight to each of those groups.  She has a passion for seeing the world and experiencing new cultures.  Having traveled to over 60 countries and all 7 continents, she continues to pursue her dream, while working for the past 25 years in the banking industry.  Her goal is to build relationships, problem solve, and keep clients happy.  She genuinely cares for people and is cool under pressure.  These are great qualities for the business and the travel world. 

During a recent sabbatical, Carol coordinated and lead a once in a lifetime journey around the world, visiting 13 countries! Carol's excitement to discover new things is complimented by her unique ability to get along with and relate to people of all backgrounds.  She has a deep understanding of new and seasoned travelers with a knack to inspire all. Carol is all about the experience:  from seeing the world, to skydiving, to trekking with the Gorillas in Rwanda, to making new friends, there's a lot to do out there!

Debra Harrell  - tour leader.  Everyone says they love to travel, but I believe that Debra's passion for such nearly exceeds mine!  Her enthusiasm is contagious and this, along with her business background and world travel experience, gives her a compressive understanding of the entire travel industry.  She is an excellent tour leader. 

Her background includes a degree in psychology (she understands people!) Later was a general manager of a hotel for several years and now serves as Senior VP of a high profile real estate development firm in California with over 120 employees under her direction.  Speaking personally on her character, Debra is a genuinely friendly person with compassion and understanding of all.  

After extensively traveling through Europe, Debra found AFS.  She has now enjoyed over six AFS trips.  She understands and shares our vision.  Some of her travel highlights include hiking the Great Wall, hot air ballooning over Krueger park, rafting Vic Falls and waking up at 5am from her Sahara desert tent to be greeted by 30 costumed camels beckoning for a ride.  She has partaken in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, danced at Oktoberfest in Germany and even smoked a hookah in Istanbul.

Kevin Washburn grew up in a small town in upstate New York.  With a yearning to “see the world”, he joined the army which provided a 3 year active duty tour in Europe.  He excelled as an honor graduate and entered the Drill Sergeant Academy, a perfect pre-requisite for a trip leader! (Don’t worry, he never yells.)  He later joined US Airways and graduated top of his class in Flight Attendant School.  Later he joined Southwest Airlines based in Chicago.  He loves his profession which allows him to travel and meet people from all walks of life.

Kevin’s hobbies include cooking and baking (his cookies are nearly famous.)  He is also a fitness buff and is a personal trainer in his spare time.  He has been on several AFS trips and shadowed me, taking notes to learn firsthand what it takes to successfully lead an AFS group.  He has a passion for travel and loves to share it with others.  Kevin said, “I’ll go anywhere you need me Suzy!”  Afghanistan?  No, he’d be the only one.  But that’s the exact foundation AFS needs and we’re certain you’ll enjoy his enthusiasm.

Deborah Arneson  - tour leader.  An accomplished lecturer, writer, and educator, Deborah’s passions are health and travel. With 30 countries and 5 continents under her travel belt and along with her studies in Ayurveda taking her abroad 6 consecutive years, Deborah combines her expertise in the world of health and nutrition along with incorporating age-old, simple and effective remedies into her private practice.

Deborah is a renowned author and lectures nationally educating the medical community and  general public on the many myths and misconceptions in the world of health and healing. Health editor of "Today’s Chicago Woman Magazine", Deborah humorously clears away the cobwebs on topics such as the downsides of stress, hormone imbalances and simply put, the how to’s of sound, vibrant living. As a producer of the Health Quest cable show over the past 12 years, she has been an advocate for all those in the field of healing arts, bringing health and wellness to thousands!

Deborah has been on many AFS trips as well as leading her own groups to India. Suzy describes her in one word, “effervescent” adding that her passion and enthusiasm for life is infectious to those around her.

He has extensive background in marketing and sales working as a rep for a large audio visual company the past 20 years and AFS has benefited greatly with his addition to our team.  He graduated from Northern Illinois University with a degree in communication and has traveled to over 45 countries on 6 continents.