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.

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A person crouches near the base of a sand dune while aiming a camera offscreen
Twelve travelers and guides pose on a platform overlooking a vast valley below
Many monarch butterflies fly overhead among the treetops
A view of treetops far away where a bird's vibrant feathers make it visible despite the distance
Staff member Debbie Jordan standing behind a conference table decorated with Holbrook-branded signage and handouts
A Galapagos Penguin mid-jump over volcanic rock and seawater
A llama stands on a path with the stone walls of an archaeological site in the background
A woolly monkey balances in the branches of a tree, its limbs outstretched and tail wrapped around a branch overhead
A group of Holbrook staff members pose and smile at the camera outdoors
Multiple people on a forest trail look through binoculars and scopes at something outside the frame
Side view of an adult hippo and calf partially submersed in water
An elevated walkway surrounded by low trees and shrubs with a lake in far background and blue sky with puffy clouds
Staff member Jamie DeVoe poses on an overlook with a volcano and town in the background
Office building with elevated deck and tiered landscaping
Selfie of staff members Kevin Van Dien and Sandy Schmidt smiling
A motmot perches on a tree branch
Upward view of 12 people standing in a circle, smiling down at the camera, with an ornate ceiling above them
A Geoffroy's tamarin sits on a tree branch with its mouth open