Welcoming Wendy to the GEEO Board: Turning Travel Into Stories

We’re thrilled to welcome Wendy Neisler to GEEO’s Board of Directors.

A school librarian, Wendy has been traveling with GEEO since 2009, when she went on one of our very first trips to Tunisia. She brings a perspective shaped not just by where she’s traveled, but by what she’s done with those experiences once she returned home. Over the years, she has found a way to turn global travel into something lasting for her students—stories that live on well beyond a single trip.

Some teachers bring souvenirs home from their travels. Wendy brings back stories, then transforms them into children’s books that circulate through her school library like any other beloved title.

Through her work as an educator, Wendy has built a natural bridge between global exploration, storytelling, and student curiosity. What began as a disrupted travel plan during COVID has grown into a tradition that students now eagerly anticipate year after year.

How the Children’s Books Began

Wendy’s journey into travel-based storytelling didn’t begin with a grand plan, it began with a canceled trip.

She was originally scheduled to travel to the Baltics through GEEO, with a grant focused on storytelling. When COVID hit, the trip was postponed. But the grant was still there and it required Wendy to create something meaningful for her students.

So she adapted.

On her next trip to Southern Africa, Wendy brought along a small Beanie Baby hedgehog, aptly named Hedgie, and began photographing it throughout her travels. The idea was simple: create a visual story that could help students experience the world through a familiar character.

That first book, by Wendy’s own admission, wasn’t perfect. She caught COVID during the trip, and the project felt rushed and messy. But it did something important; it started a tradition.

A Tradition Takes Shape: Indonesia, the Danube, and Beyond

The following year, Wendy refined the idea on a trip to Indonesia. This time, the storytelling was more intentional. The book was clearer. The connection to place was stronger. And Hedgie was ready to go.

Then came a Danube River cruise, this time traveling alongside her mother. The scope of the project expanded again. The books became less about where she went and more about what big ideas students could take away.

This evolution reached a new level during Wendy’s most recent trip to China.

Teaching Big Ideas Through Travel: China as a Classroom

China, Wendy explains, offered something uniquely powerful for her students.

“It’s so ancient,” she noted, in comparison to the United States.

Rather than creating a simple travel log, Wendy focused on themes, scale, time, history and perspective.

With Hedgie leading the charge, she helped her students understand that:

• Charlotte is tiny compared to megacities in China
• Civilizations can stretch back thousands of years
• Daily life looks different and that’s worth celebrating

Not Just a Project, A Library Staple

What makes Wendy’s work especially powerful is that these books don’t live on a shelf as “special projects.”

They’re cataloged. They circulate. Students check them out again and again.

In fact, Wendy says her travel-based children’s books are among the top-circulating books in the library, right up there with favorites like Dog Man. Hedgie is a certifiable hit.

Because she’s a librarian, Wendy treats these books like any other part of the collection. And because students helped build anticipation for them, they feel ownership over the stories.

Building Anticipation Before the Trip Even Begins

One of Wendy’s secret weapons is continuity.

Before she ever boards a plane, she prepares students with:

• A slideshow introducing the country
• Cultural context and questions
  
• A sense of anticipation about what’s coming

Then, when she returns, the storytelling continues:

• A school-wide recap
• Lessons drawn from what she learned
• A completed book that students already feel connected to

The result is something rare: global learning that doesn’t start or end with a single teacher or a single classroom.

From Traveler to Board Member

Wendy’s work reminds us that travel doesn’t end when the plane lands—it continues in classrooms, libraries, and the imaginations of young readers. Her ability to turn lived experiences into stories that educate and inspire speaks directly to GEEO’s mission. We’re excited to have her voice, creativity, and perspective helping guide our work as we continue creating meaningful global experiences for educators and students alike.

Welcome to the board, Wendy—we’re so glad you’re here.