The Ace Camp Team
Ace Camp TOUR DIRECTORS are detail oriented, confident, creative, enthusiastic and are chosen for their easy going and personable characteristics. They are outgoing, quick thinking – laugh-a-lots who love to travel. Their lives are devoted to taking the path less travelled. They embrace the unexpected and are people you would like to get to know better. 
MARY FINLAYSON first came onboard for the workshop in Seattle, Washington. She took the bus from Vancouver, B.C. grabbed a taxi to the house and the first thing she said when she arrived was "What can I do?". On the last day of the workshop Mary was writing out taxi pick-up times for the participants, cleaning the kitchen and helping pack up the workshop supplies.
She will go above and beyond for you and always with a smile and infectious laugh. Mary has been to six Ace Camps helping with Sabrina Ward Harrison, Lisa Congdon, Tif Fussell and Geninne D. Zlatkis. She has just returned from Sweden after spending time with Camilla Engman. I think what cinched the deal with me was when I asked her to drive my car back from Oregon and she said yes even though she only learned how to drive a manual transmission in the week leading up to our departure. The car arrived safely back to Vancouver with a full tank of gas ready for me to take back to Whistler after returning from Morocco. Mary Finlayson is a Vancouver based artist. She has a BFA in painting and printmaking, and a graduate degree in Art Therapy, as well as an Education degree specializing in Art from the University of British Columbia. 
Los Angeles expat NATALIE WAKALOPULOS and author behind the blog THE TRAVEL STYLIST, reports on one-of-a-kind, independently owned businesses and their passionate owners who are highly influenced by the cities they live in, big or small. her visual style and research gives each stylish city guide a distinctive and authentic feel, with experiential travelogues on special places she loves. whether you're a local or you're traveling to a city for the first time, these guides encourage travelers to look beyond the basic hotel and popular restaurant.
She was born to motivate the travel ambassador in every one of us - devouring local eateries, imbibing delicious drinks, losing yourself in the city streets, and asking your way around until you find the best standout gems a city can offer. Natalie is a savvy shopper who lives in New York City and our guide in Marrakesh, Morocco. She is also pretty darn good at singing African songs she doesn't really know the words to. 
In 2009, ANGELA RITCHIE founded Ritchie’s Ace Camps in order to deliver an authentic travel experience to travelers who craved learning, adventure and desire to meet creators and leaders they admired. Ritchie’s Ace Camps is fast becoming a leader in educational travelling workshops for people who want to focus on learning and on cultural interaction.
The Ace Camps have been held in locations all over the world - Sweden, Iceland, Canada, United States, Morocco, Mexico and more with participants gathering to learn from as far away as Brazil, Argentina, Europe and Africa.
Angela is an adventurer and has worked as a hotel manager, server, bartender, ski coach, office manager for an arts council, events organizer and caterer. Angela went to school for something that has nothing to do with what she is doing now – she also studied interior design from The New York School of Design.
image credit: Anastasia Chomlack