Tropical Adventures was born in 2005 out of the founders'
personal experiences of immersing themselves in the culture of
Costa Rica, learning the language, sharing perspectives with
locals and fostering personal and cultural understanding of the
people and community through service and volunteering.
Scott Pralinsky and Isaac Garcia didn’t set out to “save the
world,” but yet to make a difference in the lives of one person
at a time.
Pralinsky says, “When we started out, we really didn’t know
what we were doing. We just knew that we wanted to do something
to help out our own community. Once we started doing research
and getting out to meet all the individual communities and
families and hearing their stories it was really hard to figure
out where to start. There was so much need out there and, of
course, we wanted to help everyone. But we just started one
school at a time, one family at a time. And before we knew it,
things took off like crazy. Now we look back just a few years
later and it’s unbelievable how many people we have helped and
how many of those people we consider to be part of our family.
It’s the best ‘job’ I’ve ever had in my life.”
Garcia, who grew up in Costa Rica, adds, “In addition to the
great feeling of knowing how much we’re helping the people,
animals, and the environment here in Costa Rica, I don’t think
we knew the extent of the impact the program would have on the
people who come to volunteer. Besides the sheer beauty of the
country itself, I think people are really blown away by the
authenticity, warmth and generosity of the Costa Rican people.
Almost 100% of our volunteers leave in tears, having made new
friends for life. And a good majority of them come back to
visit. It’s really like we have created a big, international
family. I love it!”
Scott Pralinsky, is co-founder and Executive Director of the
Tropical Adventures Foundation. His previous experience includes
13 years designing and teaching courses to the US Air Force and
being a subject matter expert in the area of international
crisis response. Outside of his work with the government, Scott
also consulted privately for senior executives and board members
on merger and acquisition issues for various international
corporations, including Smith Barney and Time Warner. Now a
Costa Rican citizen, Scott has lived in Costa Rica since 2004
and holds a graduate degree in Spiritual Psychology from the
University of Santa Monica.
Isaac Garcia is co-founder and Director of Volunteer Services
of the Tropical Adventures Foundation. He holds a bachelors
degree in Political Science from the University of Costa Rica
and an MA in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa
Monica. In 2003, after specializing in public policy hoping to
learn more about possible solutions for addressing some of Costa
Rica’s economic and social issues, Isaac began working for the
Minister of Security, specifically with the Department of
International Cooperation. In this position, he worked with
national and international foundations to create and execute
economic and social projects. Isaac loves his work with Tropical
Adventures and enjoys his time traveling and with his many
animals on his farm.
Project Coordinator
Roberto Guzmán was born right here in
Cartago and was raised in Alajuela. He holds a degree in Biology
from the National University of San José. In January 2008, he
decided to leave his science days behind him and is now studying
for a masters in Business Administration. Roberto is the
friendly voice on the other end of the phone (and computer) who
helps each of our volunteers prepare for their trips before they
arrive. We're very proud to have Roberto on our team and welcome
him warmly.
Mauro Herrera is from right here in Paraíso where our
headquarters is. He studied Travel and Tourism in the nearby
town of Cartago and then worked as a tour guide and Spanish
teacher at La Flor, one of our projects situated in the Central
Valley region. Now he’s moved to the Caribbean Coast and works
as our volunteer coordinator for all the projects in the Puerto
Viejo area.
Ricardo
Osorno has lived in the region of Guanacaste all his life. Since
graduating from from the Hispanoamericana University with a
degree in Advertising, he’s clocked up several years’ experience
working freelance in the advertising industry. He’s now our
Volunteer Coordinator for the beautiful region of Guanacaste
located in the Pacific Northwest. He'll be your Volunteer
Coordinator if you choose one of our projects in this beautiful
region. His smile is infectious, he loves his job and he is
anxious to welcome you to his beautiful country.
Travel Coordinator, Susan Schuetze, comes to us by way of Canada. Having worked most her life in hospitals, Susan has always had the "travel bug" and has been visiting Costa Rica for over 10 years. She feels one of her greatest accomplishments has been raising her two daughters, not only to be bright young adults, but also instilling in them a love of travel. After volunteering with Tropical Adventures in 2007 with the Indigenous Bribri Tribe, Susan decided to make Costa Rica her home. Susan loves helping to plan exciting itineraries for visitors to Costa Rica and ensuring every detail of their visit is well taken care of.
Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others.
Danny Thomas