Oct 16, 2012 | root_ks8kzico

Stephanie Kowacz

Job title: Chief Operating Officer (COO) Worked at Holbrook Travel since: 1992 Born: Florida

Stephanie holds a degree in accounting from Webster University. She and her two daughters and husband Daniel love spending family vacations in Costa Rica. She says she has a special love for countries of Central America because there is so much diversity to discover - so much that she could spend her whole life exploring and still not see everything. One of her most memorable travel experiences was when her colleague Laurie McLaughlin was chased by a large male seal in New Zealand. Stephanie still hopes to visit Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda or Rawanda one day to see one of the few remaining mountain gorillas. Her hidden talent is creative writing, and she dreams of writing a novel.

Up Next...

Large group of people gather for birding

Learning, Connecting, and Birdwatching at the Belize Birding Festival

Guest post by Holbrook Ambassador Debbie JordanEarlier this month, I was honored to represent Holbrook as the keynote speaker at the fifth annual Belize Birding Festival. Way down in the southeast co

A person walks on a dusty dirt road with a herd of goats in the background

Photo of the Month: November 2025

Above: On the way to see baobab trees at sunset on the red dirt roads in the bush of Madagascar, we stopped as the young goat herders crossed directly in front of us, looking like majestic figures in the sunlit, dusty glow. It felt like the scene of a movie, and this photo captured the feeling of that moment perfectly.

eBird Trip Reports: South Africa

Want to know which species other Holbrook travelers have seen on their birding trips to South Africa? Check out these eBird trip reports shared by past groups to see their checklists and get an idea of what you might encounter on your own birding expedition.