Meet Our Most Longstanding Tour Directors

If you’ve ever experienced Odysseys’ small group travel, you likely can attest that our Tour Directors (TDs) are a special, and integral, part of every trip.

The expertise, leadership, and enthusiasm they bring to each tour are essential to the small group travel experience – and it’s one of the reasons we put so much effort into creating lasting working relationships with them.

The following TDs deserve special recognition for the work they’ve done as our longest-tenured leaders of Odysseys small group tours – some for more than 20 years!

Read on to learn about their paths to the travel industry, and also get a few fun facts about their eclectic interests!

Herman Medford: Leading tours with Odysseys since 1999

Residing in San Jose, Costa Rica, Herman’s interests include photography, cooking, and soccer. Drawing on a 37-year career as a tour guide, he leads our Costa Rica’s Natural Heritage tour.

Muriel Gosselin: Leading tours with Odysseys since 2000

Muriel lives in Puisserguier, a small town in the south of France.  In her free time, she enjoys hiking and traveling. She has amassed more than 40 years of experience in travel and leads our Discovering Provence tour.

Ali Dogan: Leading tours with Odysseys since 2001

Raised in Istanbul, Ali now lives in Antalya, Turkey, with his family. His interests include Turkish folk dancing, performing magic tricks, and playing the “saz,” a traditional Turkish instrument. He has worked in the tourism industry since 1980 and leads our Legendary Turkey tour.

Ahmet Memis: Leading tours with Odysseys since 2001

Ahmet grew up in Istanbul and now makes his home in Antalya, Turkey, where he lives with his family.  He counts Turkish history and archaeology among his passions, and has an interest in photography, as well. With more than 25 years of experience as a Turkish Licensed National Guide, Ahmet leads our Legendary Turkey tour.

Anna Gandolfi: Leading tours with Odysseys since 2001

Residing in Azzano Decimo, Italy (located in the northeast Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of the country), Anna counts reading and cooking among her hobbies. A polyglot if ever there was one, she speaks Italian, English, German, French, and Russian. Drawing on more than 30 years in the travel industry, Anna serves as a tour director for our Portrait of Italy and Northern Italy tours.

Ingrid Jerebica: Leading Odysseys tours since 2001

Ingrid makes her home in Italy’s storied capital city, and has a keen interest in Italian history and culture. With more than 25 years of experience leading tours, Ingrid is a Tour Director for both our Portrait of Italy and Southern Italy & Sicily tours.

James McKenzie: Leading Odysseys tours since 2001

An honorary game ranger with South African National Parks, James lives in Pretoria, South Africa. His interests, in his words, include “sharing the love I have for nature, local people, culture, and general knowledge of Africa.” James has worked in the tourism industry for 40 years, and leads our Africa’s Wildlife tour.

Leandro Marandola: Leading Odysseys tours since 2001

Leandro grew up in Rome, and now lives in the countryside just outside the city. His passions include art and history, and, in addition to his 30-plus years leading tours, he has significant experience organizing travel for professional Italian athletes. Leandro leads our Portrait of Italy tour.

Mustafa Ozcan: Leading Odysseys tours since 2001

Now residing in Toronto, Mustafa counts writing (he is a published novelist), teaching and playing chess, and soccer among his interests. With 25 years of experience leading tours, he serves as a Tour Director on both our Canadian Rockies Explorer and Legendary Turkey tours.

As the saying goes, “Experience is the best teacher,” and the Tour Directors listed above have a tremendous amount of experience. We’re thankful that they’ve spent such a significant portion of their careers with us, and that they’ve helped to make us the leader in small group travel.

Interested in upcoming tours with Odysseys? Explore more here: www.odysseys-unlimited.com/