Meet the Team

Jonathan Kalan is an award-winning photographer, journalist, media entrepreneur and TED Speaker. He’s traveled over 75 countries, and lived for extensive periods in Africa, the Middle East and Asia reporting for BBC, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Foreign Policy, and Huffington Post, among others.

Before launching into Unsettled, he was the founding editor-in-chief of Timeline, a mobile-first newsroom designed to “break history”, providing deep historical context to breaking news and current affairs.

In his spare time, he hustles leaf plates and is an avid surfer, kayaker, biker, sailor and all-around adrenaline junkie. He is a member of Sandbox, and a TED Resident. Email Jonathan.

Michael is an adventurer and entrepreneur who loves starting new (ad)ventures in work and in life. In addition to Unsettled, he is the co-founder of Idea / Shift, a digital creative agency for early stage ventures.

He is the co-founder of Innovations Stories, a multimedia storytelling publication out of MIT and has a decade of experience as an entrepreneur or innovator building new ventures and programs for Fortune 500 companies, investors, and leading academic institutions.

He’s an avid mountain and road biker, sailor, traveler, and backcountry explorer. He recently graduated from TED’s inaugural Residency Program in New York City. Email Michael.

Erika is a poly-passionate explorer. She has spent the last ten years putting her professional background to work in various fields, bringing the principles and power of entrepreneurialism to the arts and non-profit sectors. Her work experiences are all linked by her passion for building systems of interconnectivity, engagement, and equity. Her purpose is to harness creativity, opportunities, and ideas, and bring those resources to the whole.

A born and raised Hoosier, she produced and co-designed immersive events and pop-up experiences throughout Chicago. She is currently in Los Angeles hiking her way around Southern California with her dog Eva and completing a Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship at the USC Marshall School of Business. Email Erika.

Originally from Illinois, Corey knows something about embracing an Unsettled lifestyle. Feeling unfulfilled in his career as an educator and fundraiser for science museums and universities in the States, he left it all behind a few years ago for a new life in Southern Africa working with the Peace Corps. He lived among African Elephants, Spotted Hyenas, and Black Mambas in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, where he worked as a primary school teacher and capacity builder. Today, as an Experience Leader, he is eager to curate exciting moments – from organizing book clubs and discovering new cooking techniques to spontaneous accent battles and learning a new joke in every language. Email Corey.

Born and raised in sunny Los Angeles in a Mexican household, Alexa developed a passion for culture, music, and creativity. Alexa’s love for Mexican cuisine and the service industry led her to study hospitality at Cornell’s Hotel School. Alexa loves to develop connections and meaningful conversations, whether that be with her coworkers at the restaurant, the barista at a cafe, or the stranger on the plane next to her.

Outside of work, Alexa enjoys reading a good book (probably one that someone recommended to her), trying out a new recipe or attempting to replicate one of her mom’s, and soaking up the sun on a hike. Alexa cares deeply about giving back to local communities, so after visiting family in Mexico in 2018, she decided to launch Interwoven, a social enterprise that helps indigenous women share their jewelry and crafts in a different market. Through Interwoven, Alexa has been able to pursue her entrepreneurial passion and support a community of artists. Alexa’s personal motto is, “My goal each day is to put a smile on someone’s face; if their life is touched in the process, it’s a bonus.” Email Alexa.

Originally from Jakarta, Kelly has called Bali home for the past 5 years and has spent her time exploring everything the island has to offer and amassing a wide network of awesome people, places, and thing. With a background in hospitality and restaurant management and a side passion for fine art, she joins Unsettled in Bali to share her best cultural tips, tricks, and hotspots. Ask her about where to find the best beach dance party, her favorite local bites, her background in ceramic throwing, her surprising love of data entry, and her drone pilot husband. Email Kelly.

An epic go-getter, Christiana (aka Christy) has spent the last five years facilitating local and international programs for entrepreneurs, startups, and SMEs in her home country of Cyprus. With a focus on meaningful collaboration, exploring innovations, and building trust she has worked in everything from environmental and social projects to sustainable tourism initiatives, local festivals, and off-grid workshops.

To feed her own entrepreneurial and nomadic spirit she loves building multicultural communities where each individual can bring their unique skills, cultures, and perspectives… something she gets to do regularly as an Unsettled Experience Leader. Her spare time is filled whatever gets her moving – beautiful hikes, deep conversations, big laughs, busting a pose on the dance floor or yoga mat, and sharing her contagious energy on Unsettled trips. Email Christy.

Raúl is a service and product designer who loves to solve problems. Born and raised in Guadalajara, Raul have been on the move in the last years living in London, Montreal, Playa del Carmen, Santiago de Chile and recently made Mexico City his newest home. Having worked across the educational sector in South America, he learned that working collaborative and creating social value through empathy is the way to deal with global challenges. He loves to connect people and purpose through design, entrepreneurship and innovation. When not sticking post-its to the wall, doodling around or drawing concept maps, you will find him exploring local markets looking for the best spots to eat, designing and building stuff or at some art/music show.  He believes that common sense, a pencil and a paper are always the starting point for solving any problem. He’s also the best person to follow for taco and mezcal tastings… Email Raúl.