Named NATJA Travel Photographer of the Year in the 32nd annual NATJA awards!

Trained as a news journalist, I first spent a decade as a daily newspaper journalist also earning a Pulitzer Prize as a member of the news team at the San Jose Mercury News. Ah, but the independent life called and I launched a freelance writing career, writing articles and authoring several books (and getting my masters in exercise physiology). All the while trotting the globe on news-gathering and reporting trips, that age-old light bulb finally went on with a thunk of my palm against my thick head: Travel! Why arent I writing about travel since everybody always wants to hear my tips and stories?

My writing focus finally turned to travel with the launch of HI Travel Tales with my husband, Michael Hodgson. Today, I combine writing with photography an art I honed as a college student when photos were still developed in a dark room. Check out my award-winning photos here.

Fluent in German, I also run a translation business (ThereseTranslates), working primarily with outdoor and sports companies. A bit of a French speaker, too, I love to learn some of the language wherever I go in the quest for cross-cultural communication.

As a writer, I have authored non-fiction books, including two editions of Fitness Walking, as well as Tai Chi For Dummies and Mind-Body Fitness for Dummies. I have also written for Fitness, Health, Backpacker, Woman's Day, Mens Health, Parenting, and Shape, to mention a few, and was the Ask the Coach columnist for Trail Runner from 2003 to 2010.

My mantra on travel exploration stems from my father: I've been kicked out of better places than this.