Agent Biographies
Jacky Keith
Jacky started traveling at the age of 12, flying alone for the first time from the UK to Paris to visit her pen pal. No such thing as “unaccompanied minor” in those days! Thus began the life of travel to – at last count – over 100 countries. She joined Esplanade in 1965 when it occupied offices on Charles Street, near the famous Esplanade on the banks of the Charles River.
Kit Schultze
Kit joined Esplanade Tours in 2006 as Manager of the Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific Department. She has traveled extensively throughout
She had the good fortune to grow up in a family that believed in home-education and in learning from people and experiences as well as from books. Kit caught the travel bug very early in life traveling with her parents around the United States racing harness racehorses and on numerous trips to Mexico. It was these early years that instilled in her an interest in different people and cultures and a love for travel she has not outgrown. Prior to joining Esplanade, Kit ran her own business for twelve years during the summer months and in the off-seasons she traveled around the world.
Kit has been lucky enough to travel to 46
Jill Potash
Keeping it all in the family, Jill has been working with her sister, Jacky, since the early 1980s. Starting out in marketing, Jill has enjoyed managing the Africa Department for more than 16 years. She and her husband travel to Southern Africa regularly and will be escorting a small group in August 2011. Jill is often heard telling her clients "you will not go to Africa just once" - and it usually proves to be true.
Growing up in England, traveling around Europe was easy. Whether skiing in Chamonix and Zermatt or barging in France, Jill was introduced to other cultures early in life. When asked her favorite city in Europe, Helsinki is at the top of the list.
Jill and Rick also enjoy cruising, whether it's on the Zambezi, Spice Islands of Indonesia, Tahiti and the South Pacific, or the West Indies. Being on the water is always relaxing and a wonderful way to see sites often difficult to access by land.
When not in the office, Jill works from her home in Northern Vermont surrounded by dairy farms and maple trees. Her husky mix, Sam, is always up for a hike in the surrounding woods and riding their 6 year-old colt, Dakota, is a favorite way to spend time enjoying the countryside.
Amanda Bossi
Who knew that waking up early every morning to watch cartoons in Spanish before going to Kindergarten would lead to a life-long love of South America? Amanda’s love of the continent started at that point and continually grew over the years. She is fluent in Spanish after more than 10 years of study and a year spent living and teaching in the Spanish countryside bordering with Portugal. She is also conversant in Portuguese. With her language skills and knowledge of many of the continent’s different cultures she can travel through South America with ease, and wants to help others discover the wonders of the most geologically diverse continent on the planet.
Debbie Petrone
Harvey Soolman
When he is not involved with more exciting ventures, Harvey finds time for bookkeeping and accounting and has been at Esplanade since 2006. Harvey's creative side has written 3 full length stage plays, of which 2 have been produced, and a few short one-act plays. He recently completed his first (as yet unpublished) novel, "Learn to Duck, Newark Phelps", about a rookie private investigator who gets in way over his head. A sequel is already in the works.
He is very active in the Boston baseball scene where he manages Towne Club in the top-rated amateur Boston Park League and umpires extensively in high school, youth and adult leagues in the area. He published the Baseball Rules Index used by Major League Baseball and Professional Umpire Development schools.
He travels with an eye on history and enjoys seeing places and things more than lying in the sun. Harvey was in heaven to sit by himself in the bleachers of Chicago's Wrigley Field on a cold winter's afternoon, and his favorite local escape is Halibut Point in Rockport, MA, where it feels like the end of the earth to sit on the large, flat rocks at the ocean's edge.
Sharon Blodgett
Sharon has worked in the travel industry for 32 years, and has been Esplanade’s West Coast Sales Representative for the past 12 years. Among her favorite destinations are Greece, where she has made 21 trips and Africa, where she has gone on safari 15 times.
In addition to designing itineraries for individual clients wishing to travel in Africa and Greece, Sharon leads one of our scheduled safaris each year.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information regarding one of Sharon’s scheduled tours to Africa or Greece.