ANNA KAYES

The College of William and Mary, B.A., Anthropology, B.A., Environmental Policy

While at William and Mary, Anna studied Maya Archaeology and played on the varsity soccer team. Anna studied abroad in Guatemala, where she camped in the rainforest and joined excavations at several Pre-Classic Maya sites in Tikal National Park. After graduation, she worked as a research and curatorial assistant in the Department of Archaeology at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., before moving to India and Thailand for a year to teach English. While volunteering in India, Anna lived in a Tibetan Buddhist children’s community where she ran a youth soccer program and worked with community members to build a soccer field in the local village. She also began a girls’ soccer team at a high school in Thailand, coaching the team through the school’s first tournament in over a decade. During her time in Asia, Anna spent time traveling through Nepal, Cambodia, and Laos. She now lives in Vermont and works full time for Putney Student Travel. She directs programs in Iceland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Thailand. Anna has twice led Putney’s Community Service program in Dominica as well as our Cultural Exploration Thailand and Cultural Exploration Iceland programs.

MAC WOODS

Kenyon College, B.A., Biology, Concentration in Environmental Studies, Fordham University, M.S.T., Adolescent Education

While at Kenyon, Mac developed an interest in the outdoors and international travel. Through his academic pursuits in biology and environmental studies, Mac traveled to Ecuador to study rainforest ecology and conservation. After this rewarding experience, Mac spent two years in New York City as a high school science teacher before deciding to take time to travel to the South Pacific, rock climbing and backpacking his way through New Zealand and Australia. He has led international gap year programs to Central America, South America, and the South Pacific. Mac is an avid outdoor enthusiast and is excited to explore the last frontier in Alaska this summer. He is fluent in Spanish and is knowledgeable of indigenous languages in the South Pacific. Mac now works as a counselor at an alternative high school in Portland, Oregon, where he specializes in job placement and post-secondary education pursuits. Mac has led Putney’s middle school programs in Costa Rica and Australia.