Our Team

As a college student, Sandy Brown developed an interest in languages and history. He brought that background to his years as a United Methodist pastor in Washington State, but there was always a gnawing interest – to explore the world. He began small, with church trips to the Holy Land, then Egypt, then Turkey and then Italy. After walking the Camino de Santiago in 2008, Sandy was hooked on long-distance walking as a way to satisfy his travel bug. As he walked routes that lacked adequate guidebooks, he shared his love of pilgrim walks by writing guidebooks for Cicerone Press. In 2016 he established Pilgrim Paths with a focus on group walking tours so he could help people experience the joy he'd found in group life on the Camino. See more info about his books at www.sandybrownbooks.com.

Now Sandy is one of the world’s foremost pilgrimage guidebook authors, with his Cicerone guidebooks based on his more than 14,000 kilometers on pilgrim trails in Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain, the UK and the US. His popular guidebooks cover the Via di Francesco, Camino de Santiago, the California Missions Trail, and the Via Francigena and his deep knowledge of the routes serve as a storehouse of information for planning the itineraries and then walking with participants on Pilgrim Paths walking tours.

Our Concierge Service is headed by Rocky Brown-Nieblas, an experienced camino pilgrim who has worked for over 20 years as a professional Spanish-English interpreter. Rocky compiled the extensive accommodation database for the Sandy’s Cicerone Camino de Santiago guidebook and through that effort keeps in contact with over 1,200 hostels, hotels, hostales, and casa rurales in Spain. Rocky has walked the Camino Francés and Camino Portugués coastal route.

In our European walks and cycle rides we collaborate with Giovanni Ramaccioni of Hike and Bike Italy. Giovanni is a certified wilderness guide with a special interest in the anthropological aspects of flora and fauna. He speaks five languages and has guided group adventures in Europe and North Africa. Swimming, hiking and biking are his favorite pastimes, and he loves good food and wine. “I’ll never be able to stay behind a computer,” says Giovanni. We are delighted to feature him as guide for each of our Italian pilgrim walks.

Mark Goodman, a retired Episcopal priest with a passion for history, astronomy, hiking, and cooking. Mark's journey through spirituality and pilgrimage has been enriched by his walks on the Via di Francesco and Via Francigena with his wife, Dawn. With a deep connection to St. Francis, Mark brings a wealth of knowledge and a heart full of adventure to our Pilgrim Paths family. Join Mark as he shares the mysteries and spiritual aspects of pilgrimage with you.

Colorado native Beebe Bahrami is a writer and anthropologist with a lifetime passion for walking, exploring, immersing in cultures and landscapes, and gathering and sharing their stories. Fascinated by what makes us human at our deepest levels, shetrained in languages, biology, anthropology, archaeology, history, art history, folklore, myth, and ritual. A pivotal moment in her life was learning about the Camino de Santiago as a college student in Spain and taking her first initiatory treks and explorations across Spain, France, and Portugal. During herdoctoral studies she specialized in the anthropology of religion and conducted fieldwork in Iberia and Morocco. During that time she became immersed in the universal power of pilgrimage as a deeply transformative rite of passage. Before becoming a fulltime writer, book author, and independent scholar, Beebe was a university professor, an archaeology magazine editor, an ethnographic consultant, and a researcher for a medieval European tapestry art dealer. Her books include The Way of the Wild Goose, Café Oc, Café Neandertal, Moon Camino de Santiago, and The Spiritual Traveler Spain, all based on her research and life on and near the trails of the Camino. Her work also appears in BBC Travel, the Pennsylvania Gazette, Wine Enthusiast, The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Archaeology, The Bark, Bon Vivant, Michelin Green Guides and National Geographic books. She is also a Smithsonian Journeys Expert on some trips to France and Spain.

Beebe’s primary focus is pilgrimage and unearthing the many layers of a place and people, especially in France, Spain, and Portugal, but also in Morocco, England, Cornwall, and Germany. Her homebase when in Europe is southwestern Francefrom where she is often on a pilgrimage trail, walking, exploring, talking with locals, and gathering stories, lore, folktales, and insights. Beebe speaks Spanish and French and some Farsi, and is working on Occitan, Gallego, Portuguese, andEuskara. She loves discovering hidden secrets in Romanesque and Gothic churches, unearthing folktales with deep mythic elements of a culture and geography, learning from locals, andattuning to and learning from the wild world as much as fromthe cultured. As a Pilgrim Paths host, she is profoundly excited to share all this and more.

Joyce experienced the transforming power of pilgrimage in 2016 after walking two months on the Camino Francés. Since then, she has walked almost 1700 miles on the French and Portuguese routes. 

For over fourteen years Joyce has enjoyed service as an active member of American Pilgrims on the Camino. She served as a co-chapter leader in Denver, and offered workshops and presentations at local and national conferences. Her favorite roles have been blessing first- time pilgrims in local shell ceremonies and helping pilgrims integrate the lessons of the journey upon return.  

As United Methodist clergy Joyce led parishioners on pilgrimages to Israel and Spain over the years, so it seemed natural to retire recently to follow her passion to accompany others in the joy of pilgrimage as walking adventure.  

A seasoned pilgrim, Joyce enjoys helping others navigate the daily rhythms of the Way with its promptings to grow in body, mind, and spirit. 

Joyce earned a Master of Divinity and Master of Christian Education from Garrett Theological seminary. A Michigan native, she lives with her family in St George Utah where she explores the nearby trails of Zion National Park.

Based in Venice for over 40 years, Gillian has explored Italy’s landscapes, from the Dolomites to coastal trails, with unparalleled passion and expertise. Her extensive knowledge and contagious enthusiasm make her the perfect guide for our Great Hikes of Europe series. Join us for unforgettable adventures with Gillian at the helm!

Laura Harris is a counselor and traveller who fell in love with group outdoor adventure in her twenties leading wilderness expeditions for The Voyageur Outward Bound School. Her passion for personal growth and understanding led to three decades of psychological/spiritual studies and retreats in the US, Europe and Asia. She became enthused about pilgrimage twelve years ago after a life changing month on the Camino de Santiago. She now dedicates a portion of every year to walking pilgrim routes which have included the Camino Frances and Portugues, the St. Kevin/Wicklow Way, the Via di Francesco, the Via Francigena, the Via Podiensis and the California Mission Trail. She is honored to share these transformative experiences with friends, family and now Pilgrim Paths participants. She describes herself as a modern contemplative with a private counseling practice, a beloved husband, two creative sons, and a home base in the mountains of Montana.

Patrick Mowrer, a passionate traveler and outdoor enthusiast. With a background steeped in adventure, from the Grand Canyon to the Camino Portuguese, Patrick’s soul finds freedom in walking. Now a retired member of the Order of Secular Franciscans, his love for the Camino di Francesco and the life of St. Francis fuels his journeys. Join Patrick on our upcoming treks from Florence to Assisi and Assisi to Rome, as he shares the rich stories and spiritual experiences of St. Francis.

Musician, photographer, and philosopher, Luke Brown first walked the Camino de Santiago in 2009. In 2011 he brought his guitar along and shared his songs with pilgrims and locals along the way. He is a graduate of the University of Washington in Philosophy, a sign of his desire to see the deeper meaning of life. Luke brings sincerity, humour, and a keen eye for beauty to everything he does.

A  retired middle school teacher from Bangor, Maine, Denise decided to go on a Pilgrim Paths pilgrimage with her church. She was hooked and became part of the team as a booking coordinator. In addition to her work with Pilgrim Paths, she keeps busy as a strength trainer for seniors, financial advisory, reading, hiking, and spending time with her family.