Academic Treks College staff and advisors will support students throughout the study abroad process from their headquarters in the U.S.A. Enrollment advisors can assist you with program choice, applications, financing, credit transfer approval and travel arrangements. All of our programs have a Program Coordinator onsite who provides orientation to the location and culture, academic advising and support, as well as logistical support and guidance during travel.

Marine Biologists

Dr. Imogen Hoyle – Academic Programs Director
Dr. Imogen Hoyle works for Academic Treks College year-round as our College Academic Programs Director, and she can be found out on the ocean during the summer leading trips. Since joining our team in 2008, Dr. Hoyle has led our newest college programs, Tropical Marine Biology and Shark Behavior and Conservation. She obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in marine biology from the University of Plymouth, and her PhD from the University of Bristol in England. She has publish several scientific papers in the area of marine science and has presented scientific findings at numerous conferences worldwide. Imogen started sailing at the age of 12 and began teaching sailing at the age of 16. She learned to dive at 14 and immediately knew it would be a lifelong affair and profession! Originally from the UK, she has now made her home in the U.S.A. 

Robert Ellis - College Professor
Rob has been working in the outdoors with teenagers for the past nine years during which he has taught with the Ocean Institute, Catalina Island Marine Institute, Longacre Expeditions, Astrocamp, the University of California at Santa Barbara and Broadreach’s Academic Treks.  He has been a staff member on our Caribbean Marine Reserves, Dolphin Studies, Shark Studies and Marine Biology Adventure programs.  When Rob is not working for Broadreach and Academic Treks he is an adjunct professor of oceanography at Fullerton College in southern California and he also teaches courses at Santa Ana College, Long Beach City College and Irvine Valley College.  Rob has also done education and outreach work for Ocean.com and the National Marine Sanctuary Program.  Broadreach and Academic Treks is absolutely thrilled to have Rob back as a part of our team.

Spanish Professor

Dr Michelle Gravatt - College Professor
Being from a military family, Michelle has lived everywhere from North Carolina, California and Virginia to Rhode Island, South Carolina and Alabama. Michelle attended Auburn University where she earned her BA in international trade and Spanish and her MA in Hispanic studies. She then went on to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to earn her PhD in Spanish. Currently, she is a Spanish Instructor at UNC and has been teaching classes at the university level for the past eight years. Michelle was drawn to Broadreach and Academic Treks because of her love for the environment as an interactive classroom. Michelle has done just about everything in her travels – whitewater rafting, scuba diving, camel trekking, horseback riding, surfing, sailing and swimming with dolphins! Last summer she had a blast leading our Immersion Guanajuato program, and she looks forward to another great summer of learning, adventure and immersion with her Academic Treks students in Mexico!

Primatologist

Elissa Krakauer - College Professor
Elissa comes to Academic Treks with extensive experience in teaching and primate studies.  A professor of biological anthropology, she specializes in primate behavior and evolutionary theory. She has led high school community service trips in Guadeloupe, has taught extensively at universities in the Boston area, has published article on primate behavior and led a group of college students on a primate behavior program at Ometepe Biological Research Station in Nicaragua. This fall she will work as a preceptor in the Expository Writing Program at Harvard University, teaching science-themed writing courses for freshman. She believes there is no better way to learn than by immersing yourself in an experience. She wants her students to know, “We will work hard and have an incredible time. Be prepared to learn about primates, but also to embrace every new experience you have. The next adventure is right around the corner.”

Sailing Skippers

Warren Perry
Warren works in athletics and aquatics as a personal trainer and sports science instructor at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University. He grew up in eastern North Carolina hunting, fishing, camping and playing in the outdoors. Warren graduated from UNC, where he also earned his Master’s in teaching. He then went on to earn a Master’s in exercise and sports science at Eastern Carolina University and is pursuing a PhD in Sports Sociology from NC State. As an undergrad, he focused a lot of his time on swimming and sailing, and also began mentoring and working with youth programs, which led to his interest in teaching.  A US Coast Guard licensed captain, Warren has spent summers teaching sailing and captaining trips for camps in North Carolina and is excited to spend this summer teaching sailing to Broadreachers in the Caribbean!  His message to his students: “I want you to gain knowledge and wisdom about life on the sea in a safe and exciting way, developing your self-confidence, character and cooperative skills.” 

Andy Schell
Andy is a sailboat delivery captain and freelance writer that splits his most of his time living in either Stockholm, Sweden or on his sailboat Arctutus in Annapolis, Maryland. He writes a monthly adventure travel column for “Transitions Abroad” as well as sailing columns for “All at Sea” and “Spinsheet” magazines. He has traveled far and wide, and along the way he has volunteered at a sea turtle conservation center in Costa Rica, studied for a semester in Australia and traveled extensively through Fiji and New Zealand. He also crewed for two seasons aboard the schooner Woodwind in the Chesapeake Bay, teaching sailing to adults and teens alike. In the near future, he would like to sail his boat around the world. He loves cycling and running, and has competed in several triathlons, marathons and road cycling races. Last summer he taught sailing on our Underwater Discoveries program, and he looks forward to great adventures with his crew this summer on the Arc of the Caribbean! His message to his students: “Live in the moment during your adventure, and take advantage of every possible opportunity, whether it’s a 4am sunrise hike or a chance to eat a different kind of food. Talk to people. Notice the differences from your home country. Expand your mind. Take pictures and write a journal – the memories will last forever.”