I am so incredibly excited to announce that I'll be speaking at the Women in Travel Summit this coming March!! WITS is the first and only travel blogging summit by and for women, organized by the folks at Wanderful. With an expected 500 women bloggers, global explorers, and travel industry entrepreneurs, WITS aims to create an empowering and supportive environment for women to gather, network, and exchange ideas around travel entrepreneurship.

If you know me at all, you know that I'm all about supporting initiatives and organizations that seek to empower women in all stages of life and from all sorts of different backgrounds to carve their own place in this big ol' world of ours. That's why I'm so excited to be a part of this incredible summit! I'm doubly excited to be speaking about a topic near and dear to my heart - volunteering and traveling. I'll be running a session called "Backpacking with a Purpose: Paving the Way for Ethical Travel & Responsible Volunteering" where I aim to uncover the pressing ethical issues surrounding the voluntourism industry while also highlighting its potential for true cross-cultural exchange. I hope to give attendees a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the current voluntourism landscape, as well as the tools to create meaningful social change through their travels.

It's going to be such an incredible opportunity to connect with like-minded, adventurous, and self-starting women while kickin' back and relaxin' in sunny California, baby! I hope you'll join me for what's sure to be a jam-packed, inspiring, and thought-provoking weekend. And hey! I've even got my own handy dandy promo code to help you get there. Just use the code JUSTINE10 to get 10% off tickets (active til Jan. 31st, so get on it!).

March 18-20. Irivine, California. Everything you need to know at www.witsummit.com.

Hope to see you there!