Meet the Team

Heather Bond is the creator and owner of Bond Ftness and Adventures in Santa Barbara,  California, where she is lead adventure and body guide. She is the author of a inspiring yet gripping book, Athena Rising-A Memoir and a sought out motivational speaker. 

In September of 2019 Heather was selected to be on an international Competitor Relations Logistics Team for The World's Toughest Race, the Eco-Challenge, which was held in Fiji. You can watch the 10 part docu-series on Amazon Prime Video.

Heather's service work and introduction to non-profit organizations started at the young age of 13 when she was issued a special work permit to start training as a C.I.T. (counselor in training) at the Goleta Girls Club in Santa Barbara, California.  She was later hired by Girls Inc. Of Greater Santa Barbara as one of the assistant gymnastic coaches. In recent years Heather has been a mentor to the youth for the “Take Your Daughter's To Work” day program. Her passion for serving others runs deep.

Heather had the honor of earning one of the selected positions as a fire fighter with the Los Angeles City Fire Department, one of the highest trained departments in the world. Prior to this Heather was a honorary Type 1 Hot Shots with the United States Forest Service, and while she wasn't fighting fires she was helping operate the Smokey Bear program with the inner city youth.

In the early 2000's Heather launched Adventure Odyssey Quest. These 2-3 day journeys were designed for women only. The adventures included, hiking, rappelling and other fun outdoor activities. Glamping at it's best. 

Heather has over two decades as a multi-certified fitness trainer and nutrition coach, not only for private clients, but also has volunteered her time at her local Santa Barbara high schools as a pre-season strength and conditioning coach. She also developed a specialized 6 week course called the 5Elements Academy for elementary schools.

Heather co-hosts with the Santa Barbara Teen Sports radio show. 

Heather's passion for serving others inside and outside of her community is a driving force behind Trekking Ambassadors.  

Her favorite quote is a snippet of one of J.R.R. Tolkien's; "Not all who wander are lost."

Joseph Escobar adopted an expeditionary spirit from an early age living to take on life’s challenges by combining discovery, adventure, the environment, team spirit, travel and sport. He is a seasoned endurance athlete and vows endurance sports helped him maintain a balanced body and mind.

 In his professional life, Joseph is a Founding Partner at Paley Advisors, a business executive and entrepreneur with over 20 years of general management, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions experience. In September of 2019, he was chosen to work for The World’s Toughest Race, Eco-Challenge Fiji as part of the Competitor Relations and Logistics Team sponsored and aired by Amazon Prime. This race was an epic global adventure race consisting of 66 teams challenged on varied and spectacular terrain for an 11-day expedition pushing competitors to search their limits.

While working in Brasil in the late 1990’s, Joseph’s adventure racing passion fueled the start of the first ever adventure race in South America. Based upon the highly successful multisport endurance competitions, Expedition Mata Atlantica was born. His goal as one of the International Race Directors was to combine an adventure sports competition with responsible use of backcountry lands, all while promoting a positive environmental message. The Leave No Trace principles were guidelines for all of these events.

Joseph’s community volunteer and educational service work for non-profit organizations began in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois where he worked inspiring change for the Big Brothers Big Sisters program as a mentor for children and their families. Simultaneously, he volunteered his time to work for the greater Chicago community in food kitchens distributing and serving family meals. 

While attending college, he was involved with the Golden Apple Foundation by raising awareness and participating in charity raising events by running in various races as a Team Golden Apple Member. More recently, he volunteers at the Boy and Girls Club of Laguna Beach, the Ocean Institute beach cleanups, as well as the Organization for Autism Research  (OAR). He is a member of the Grassroots Advocacy Network, educating the community and raising awareness for autism policy issues to support positive change. His deep enthusiasm to work for a cause stems from his idealistic beliefs of solving social problems, to promote peace and nurture civic participation. 

Joseph holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance from the University of Illinois and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He is also fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. 

His favorite quote to live by, “Why be ordinary, when you can be extraordinary.”

Joseph has joined the team of latter-day adventurers for Trekking Ambassadorst to make a difference for a selfless cause and through these inspirational journeys to help him to identify and connect with others globally where humans are the exception not the norm. 

From a young age Amy Rhodes has been passionate about helping and serving others in various capacities. With a Masters in Psychology/Counseling and a degree in Criminal Justice, Amy retired from a career with the Florida Department of Corrections. 

While on active status with the department she worked with violent male offenders in both security and with the mental health side. Amy determined the competencies for specific individuals throughout the court and trail sentencing process. 

Amy is very proud of her mentorship with the Gainesville Police Department where she helped develop and run the inner city youth mentorship program. For over a decade of her life she has been a “Big Sister" with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program.

 Like many caregivers, Amy experienced a myriad of her own negative self-care issues, from divorce, failed relationships, alcoholism and tobacco use resulting in her becoming morbidly obese. With life threatening repercussions and hospitalizations, Amy had to make hard choices. In 2014, she earned her sobriety from alcohol and in 2017 complete tobacco cessation.

 Amy now thrives and lives her passions by serving others as a professional cycling and hiking guide. She also is an amazing holistic healer. Amy likes to encourage others to give back, to take responsibility for the direction of their lives, to be kind, to get assistance when needed, and above all, to know that we can overcome even the greatest of challenges

Amy is a great exsample of what it means to always have something to give back to others less fortunate.