Agent Biographies
Jacky Keith
Jacky started traveling at the age of 12, flying alone for the first time from the UK to Paris to visit her pen pal. No such thing as “unaccompanied minor” in those days! Thus began the life of travel to – at last count – over 100 countries. She joined Esplanade in 1965 when it occupied offices on Charles Street, near the famous Esplanade on the banks of the Charles River.
Her early travels in the 60's and 70's took her to the Ancient World, the Middle East and Asia. She has bought a picnic lunch for 25 people in rural Iran, ridden a motor bike in Bali, an elephant in Botswana, a camel in Egypt, a horse in the Andes, and driven a VW in Ethiopia. These incredible experiences helped earn Jacky the honor of being named to the original list of 100 Most Powerful Women in Travel by Travel Agent Magazine.
Her worldwide travels have given Jacky some rare opportunities such as dining with Chief Buthelezi in Durban, with President F. W. deKlerk in Johannesburg, and at Madame Sadat's house in Cairo. Jacky has given lectures at the Explorer's Club in Washington and is a member of the Travelers Century Club and ASTA.
Jacky is happiest working on the most challenging request for a truly out of the ordinary adventure – so pick her brain – she will readily share years of knowledge and give you a trip you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
Kit Schultze
Kit joined Esplanade Travel in 2006 as Manager of the Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific Department. She has traveled extensively throughout Australia and the South Pacific as well as living for over a year in New Zealand. Kit is a certified Aussie, Kiwi and Tahiti Tiare Specialist. Kit also had the honor of being chosen as one of the Top 30 Under 30 Travel Agents by Travel Agent Magazine.
She had the good fortune to grow up in a family that believed in home-education and in learning from people and experiences as well as from books. Kit caught the travel bug very early in life traveling with her parents around the United States racing harness racehorses and on numerous trips to Mexico. It was these early years that instilled in her an interest in different people and cultures and a love for travel she has not outgrown. Prior to joining Esplanade, Kit ran her own business for twelve years during the summer months and in the off-seasons she traveled around the world.
Kit has been lucky enough to travel to 46 US
Jill Potash
Keeping it all in the family, Jill has been working with her sister, Jacky, since the early 1980s. Starting out in marketing, Jill has enjoyed managing the Africa Department for more than 16 years. She and her husband travel to Southern Africa regularly and will be escorting a small group in August 2012. Jill is often heard telling her clients "you will not go to Africa just once" - and it usually proves to be true.
Growing up in England, traveling around Europe was easy. Whether skiing in Chamonix and Zermatt or barging in France, Jill was introduced to other cultures early in life. When asked her favorite city in Europe, Helsinki is at the top of the list.
Jill and Rick also enjoy cruising, whether it's on the Zambezi, Spice Islands of Indonesia, Tahiti and the South Pacific, or the West Indies. Being on the water is always relaxing and a wonderful way to see sites often difficult to access by land.
When not in the office, Jill works from her home in Northern Vermont surrounded by dairy farms and maple trees. Her husky mix, Sam, is always up for a hike in the surrounding woods and riding their 6 year-old colt, Dakota, is a favorite way to spend time enjoying the countryside.
Amanda Bossi
Who knew that waking up early every morning to watch cartoons in Spanish before going to Kindergarten would lead to a life-long love of South America? Amanda’s love of the continent started at that point and continually grew over the years. She is fluent in Spanish after more than 10 years of study and a year spent living and teaching in the Spanish countryside bordering with Portugal. She is also conversant in Portuguese. With her language skills and knowledge of many of the continent’s different cultures she can travel through South America with ease, and wants to help others discover the wonders of the most geologically diverse continent on the planet.
Amanda started traveling overseas during high school, and has not stopped since. Whether she is haggling at a Moroccan street bazaar, taking a flamenco class in Spain, or sipping a capirinha on Copacabana Beach, she never tires of travel. When not engaged in planning trips for others to her favorite places, Amanda likes to practice cooking new dishes, work on her photography, and attend hip hop and belly dance classes.
Suzanne Hall
Suzanne graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in International Studies and has lived abroad in both France and Ireland.
As Esplanade's Visa Specialist, she brings with her the consular perspective of the visa process, which she gained as an intern at the Consulate General of Ireland in Boston and San Francisco. Should your travels require a visa, she would happy to assist you.
In her spare time she loves to cook for friends and family and relive some of her favorite travels through food! She is most happy sitting in the bleachers at Fenway Park or tapping her feet along at a concert.
Ksusha Levkovich
Some of Ksusha's most favorite childhood memories are those of her family's annual summer vacations, which began when she was just 6 years old with a trip to Germany, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. From trying sips of red wine in Greece at the ripe age of 7 and exploring the Egyptian pyramids to celebrating her 10th birthday in Italy and spending 6 months studying in Paris, Ksusha knew that her life would not be complete without exploring all that the world has to offer. She has visited over 22 countries and now has her sights on Australia and Southeast Asia.
In addition to being Esplanade's Document Specialist and working on the company's website, Ksusha spends most of her time being a hands-on mom to her 3 year old son Maks and her daughter Sasha, born last December.
Harvey Soolman
When he is not involved with more exciting ventures, Harvey finds time for bookkeeping and accounting and has been at Esplanade since 2006. Harvey's creative side has written 4 full length stage plays, of which 2 have been produced, and a few short one-act plays. He recently completed his first (as yet unpublished) novel, "Learn to Duck, Newark Phelps", about a rookie private investigator who gets in way over his head. A sequel is already in the works.
He is very active in the Boston baseball scene where he manages JM Force in the top-rated amateur Boston Park League and umpires extensively in high school, youth and adult leagues in the area. He published the Baseball Rules Index used by Major League Baseball and Professional Umpire Development schools.
He travels with an eye on history and enjoys seeing places and things more than lying in the sun. Harvey was in heaven to sit by himself in the bleachers of Chicago's Wrigley Field on a cold winter's afternoon, and his favorite local escape is Halibut Point in Rockport, MA, where it feels like the end of the earth to sit on the large, flat rocks at the ocean's edge.
Sharon Blodgett
Sharon has worked in the travel industry for 32 years, and has been Esplanade’s West Coast Sales Representative for the past 12 years. Among her favorite destinations are Greece, where she has made 21 trips and Africa, where she has gone on safari 15 times.
In addition to designing itineraries for individual clients wishing to travel in Africa and Greece, Sharon leads one of our scheduled safaris each year.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information regarding one of Sharon’s scheduled tours to Africa or Greece.