The Conscious Traveler: Your Practical Guide to Eco-Friendly Adventures

Judy Herrera is a sustainable travel journalist, conservation advocate, and the founder of The Conscious Passport, a platform dedicated to helping travelers explore the world without destroying it. With over fifteen years of experience visiting more than fifty countries, Judy has written for publications including Outside Magazine, National Geographic Traveler, and The Guardian's sustainable travel section, where her reporting has covered everything from community-based tourism in the Amazon rainforest to the impact of cruise tourism in the Caribbean.

Judy's work has taken her from working alongside rangers in South African wildlife reserves to studying regenerative tourism models in Costa Rica and documenting the effects of overtourism in Southeast Asia. She holds a degree in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and is a certified Leave No Trace Master Educator. In 2020, she launched the Conscious Traveler podcast, which features interviews with ecologists, tour operators, indigenous community leaders, and policymakers working at the intersection of travel and sustainability. The podcast has grown to over 100 episodes and is consistently ranked among the top travel and environment shows on major streaming platforms.

Judy lives in Portland, Oregon, with her partner and their two rescue dogs, where she volunteers with local conservation organizations and teaches workshops on sustainable travel practices at community colleges and outdoor recreation centers. She firmly believes that travel is one of the most powerful tools for building empathy and understanding across cultures, and that the travel industry can and must become a force for ecological restoration rather than depletion. The Conscious Traveler is her first book.

She can be reached through her website at theconsciouspassport.com, on Instagram @theconsciouspassport, or on X at @judyherrera_travel. She welcomes reader stories, questions, and recommendations for destinations doing impactful conservation work.