Introducing the Alumni Action Team

OG has a wicked, vibrant, incomparable crew of alumni and this year, they’ve come together to truly mobilize our groundswell of backpacktivists from all corners of the globe.

What does this secretive, yet loud, team of travel-crazy volunteers do? They are here to build OG’s first Alumni Network: to bring OG’s afar-flung community together, to get silly, to support new backpacktivists who come into the fold, and be the groundswell of youth activism that OG was named for.

Who are these magical creatures that are at the heart of this movement?

I’m Chris Karnopp from Southern California & the LS Amazon Adventure program in Peru. I’m a Kinesiology graduate and hopefully a future Physician’s Assistant. I’m taking time off of school to do more international volunteer work and to travel a bit. I enjoy short walks on the sidewalk, hearing life stories, music, physical activities, the cosmos, quirky people, not being embarrassed and being a nice person to mean people.

When she’s not making sarcastic jokes, Emmy is busy filling her life to the brim. As this is something dear to her heart, after going to Guatemala with Operation Groundswell in the summer of 2013, she knew this was a match made in heaven. A barista/transcriber/student in Colorado with a bad case of FOMO, she’s excited to continue her relationship with OG and help them change the world.

Julia is a crazy 20 something year old creating a life in Toronto. She spent her summer living it up in Peru and meeting amazing people along the way. When she’s not day dreaming about her next OG adventure, she fills her time working for two arts non- profits, getting her Public Relations certificate and looking for new ways to help Toronto shelters. Julia enjoys all life has to offer and random adventures in Toronto.

We couldn’t be more excited to have such a solid team leading this effort! Stay tuned for more developments of our Alumni Network!