Who we are
Peace, Freedom, Clarity, Joy
Founder & Host
Jen Dale is a visionary leader dedicated to uplifting women through deep connection and transformative experiences. As the founder of Honest Heart Journeys, she creates safe spaces for self-discovery and healing sisterhood—both as a movement shaping a more intuitive, collaborative world and as the foundation of trusted female friendships.
With backgrounds in dance and design, Jen’s true calling emerged in nurturing people and building community. She spent two decades developing and facilitating community and youth programs, including directing the National Leadership Council, a teen servant leadership initiative, during formative years, and serving as dean of girls at an international boarding school.
In 2022, during her own healing journey, Jen recognized the urgent need for women to break free from societal expectations and cultivate authentic sisterhood. Through HHJ blogs and conversations on the Honest Heart Podcast, she explores timeless themes of growth, purpose, connection, and intergenerational understanding.
Wherever she’s gone, Jen has been surrounded by strong women—mentors, friends, and collaborators—who have modeled the power of sisterhood. This spirit is woven into Honest Heart Journeys, where women support one another in personal and spiritual growth while holding each other accountable to their highest potential.
A passionate traveler, Jen has witnessed firsthand the transformative power of intentional journeys, inspiring her to create HHJ’s unique blend of soulful travel and community.
Jen and her wonderful husband and HHJ partner, Bill, currently live in Florida. She also embraces being mother to three beautiful adult children who have blessed her with the fun and joyous role of “Nani.”
TRIP HOST - KENYA
Terry Jill Asande Ambugo (Teresa) was born in Nairobi, Kenya and has lived in both Nairobi and her village in Migori County. She is of the Luo tribe and embraces most traditions and customs of her community. Terry speaks Luo, Swahili and English.
Terry and her husband Tom live in the US, where they are raising two beautiful daughters, giving them the greatest opportunities life has to offer. A part of Terry's heart will always be in Kenya, especially at her village in Ngochoni and the Petals of Africa School that she helped start 26 years ago.
Recently, Terry helped plan and host a US teen servant leadership abroad program to support the Petals of Africa School; this opportunity with HHJ to nurture cultural understanding further feeds her soul!
All who know her describe Terry as a woman of incredible grace and wisdom. There's a soulful presence to her that you feel instantly; a regal quality that accompanies her warm smile and keen insight.
For 22 years she has worked as a Christian Science Nurse, offering expectant healing care to all ages.
Terry loves good food, music and dancing, the ocean and nature. She can hardly wait to share her magical home country with us!
Trip Host - Costa Rica
Devon first came across Honest Heart Journeys through a dear friend. A few texts and a zoom call later, she is over the moon inspired by Honest Heart Journeys! Her soul was on fire being connected with an organization of like minded, passionate women who want to give, connect, and heal.
Devon leaves every interaction with HHJ feeling inspired to help women heal inwardly, so that they can express themselves more fully and authentically outwardly. She is grateful for the synchronicities of life and the will to surrender to this divine connection with women.
When Devon is not life coaching or retreat planning, you can find her immersed in the flow of mother nature. She feels deeply connected to the water and loves to scuba dive, outrigger-canoe race, stand-up paddle race, and surf.
Nature is a conduit for her to “come home” to herself and experience the power of presence. She is passionate about providing the space for others to heal in nature surrounded by a supportive community of wholehearted women through retreats with Honest Heart Journeys.
Trip Host - Utah
You belong here. You are ready. You are not alone.
These are the three powerful and comforting truths that came to Heather on a harrowing climb to the summit of Mt. Rainier in 2005. Those guiding truths led her into a lifetime career of coaching teens, adults and, more recently, couples, who are facing wilderness moments in their lives. She’s been an Integral Coach since 2007, and a certified Ceremony Celebrant and Wedding Officiant since 2010, as well as a grief counselor, a certified Community Building Facilitator, an inspirational speaker and conference emcee.
All these roles have been for the purpose of carrying forward that Mt. Rainier message to hurting and hungry hearts everywhere. Heather’s mission is to mirror back the innate wholeness we all contain and to help each client hear their inner teacher speaking (beneath all the static and noise of the world). She’s devoted to creating and nurturing spaces that empower us all to embrace our true power in order that we may bring our much-needed unique gifts into this world.
Heather grew up in Central California but fell in love with the Arkansas River Valley when she was in her teens. She lives in the glow of her favorite mountain, Mt. Princeton, with her chef hubby and beloved pup Lucy-Lou. She feels deeply rooted in the mountains but has the heart of an explorer – both spiritually and physically – and has wandered the world from the Himalaya to the Australian Outback, Trinidad to Greece, and most recently to Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Panama and Patagonia.
Trip Host - Caminos
Aileen’s passion is self-development. Her inner journey began as a young teen when her mother introduced her to the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, sparking a passion for metaphysics and inner growth. In her mid-twenties, she became a student of Dr. Kenneth Wapnick, A Course In Miracles - a self-study course where the central teaching is the practice of forgiveness - and has continued her study for 20 years.
Aileen believes that how we experience the world is directly related to the thoughts and beliefs we hold about it. In 2007, she discovered The Work of Byron Katie. In a short time through this powerful practice, she began to feel more relaxed, flexible, tolerant, and more deeply connected to herself and others.
Her desire to support others in their journeys led her to become a Certified Facilitator for The Work of Byron Katie and for the last twelve years she has worked to share this simple, yet transformational method of self-inquiry. She offers workshops in the US, Mexico, Europe, South America and Africa.
Aileen walked the Camino de Santiago, in its entirety, over five weeks in 2021. Setting out from St. Jean, at the foothills of the Pyrenees, she was originally unsure what exactly had drawn her to the Camino. But, as she walked she discovered her calling as a listener to other travelers, and shared the transformative power of the Work with those who asked to be facilitated.
Aileen speaks English, French and Spanish fluently and has traveled extensively, especially in Europe and South America. She is excited to share her passion for travel and inner growth with the women traveling with Honest Heart Journeys!
Trip Host - Morocco, Costa Rica
Summer has traveled to over 35 countries. Throughout her career, she has organized and led tours through Ecuador, Morocco, Turkey, Peru, Nicaragua, Cuba, Spain and Portugal. Fluent in English, Spanish, French and Moroccan Arabic, she considers learning languages as the key to understanding, connecting with, and positively impacting the world.
Summer strives to create experiences with authenticity, conviviality, hospitality and true friendships.
In 2010, she began leading walking tours in Hollywood and Los Angeles, starting her own business in 2012 and becoming a member of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and LA Tourism & Convention Bureau. Today, she owns and operates tour companies both in Los Angeles and Morocco.
She says, "I hope to inspire my guests with beauty - naturally dramatic landscapes, peaceful moments, and kind people. I hope they open their minds, to allow more love, acceptance and wonder to enter in. I want each guest to let go of any personal strain or stress and fully absorb the love reflected in each moment - a carefully prepared pot of tea, a smiling welcome from the guest house owner, a glorious sunset.
I wish for all my guests to consider how they might positively change their own lives. Once our eyes are opened, we can open our minds to accept new ideas, imagine what could have never occurred to us before and develop new concepts of health, wealth, beauty, family, community and ourselves. Learning how other people live, build, communicate, work, eat, love, means we no longer accept just one singular 'right' way. Through meeting and interacting with others, we often encounter solutions or situations that make us rethink how we act at home. Least of all, we should have more consideration for and understanding of a different culture, which then inspires us to explore further."
Trip Host - Baja
Kerste and her husband live and work in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, in Bellevue, WA. Kerste enjoys hiking, camping, kayaking and trail running every chance she gets.
Trip Host - Patagonia
Jess was raised by mountain guides and has been working and playing in mountain ranges across the world her whole life. Love of walking through wild places was instilled in her at a young age, when she became the youngest person (a title since given to an even younger individual) to thru hike the famed Continental Divide Trail in a 3,200 mile odyssey across the country with her family.
For more than a decade, Jess has been guiding both internationally and domestically, including leading a team across west Antarctica. She loves connecting people to beautiful and wild landscapes, creating spaces in which people feel equally challenged and supported. Jess is a seasoned adventure guide, instructor, mentor, teacher. She loves supporting women in exploring elements of themselves that are not as often brought into the light and connecting them to an incredible outdoor community of like minded individuals, whether it is set against the backdrop of foreign peaks or in the familiar setting of her hometown in Colorado. And as a lover of literature and journaling, Jess is naturally drawn to the way HHJ facilitates unique transformational experiences!
Jess lived for five years in Patagonia and speaks Spanish fluently. Getting to take a group of women into the area of the world that she called home is a dream come true. Her greatest desire is that women walk away from her trips feeling like they have discovered that they are more capable, stronger, and have more sparkle than they originally believed.
Trip host - Slovenia
Minka is a Life Balance Coach, solopreneur, and entrepreneur dedicated to deep personal growth and helping couples rekindle their love and balance their work-life dynamic.
With over 30 years experience guiding people worldwide, she has led over 7,000 guided tours - all which have the highest ratings.
Minka is an inspiration and joy, and her life stories are truly resilient! Example - she was the first Slovene woman to reach the North Pole in 2000!
Passionate about Cuban salsa, Minka founded a Cuban dance school and is currently working on launching an online dance academy. Be ready to dance with her in Slovenia!
Minka also loves nature and writing and has created two transformative coaching methods: “Cut-Less-More” and “1% Better Every Day.” Her mission is to empower people to achieve balance across six life pillars, leading to happiness and fulfillment.
Trip Host - Vietnam
Millie is a mother, lover of nature, gardener, yoga practitioner, and mindfulness meditation teacher. She has been meditating for 30 years, first learning Transcendental meditation and gradually felt a sense of calm, clarity, and ease in her daily life. During the next 23 years, Millie attended many retreats and workshops on different forms of meditation, and in 2012 she started focusing more on Insight/Vipassana.
Millie is a graduate of the 2-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program, an intensive training program of the Awareness Training Institute at the University of California Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center. Her core teachers are Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, and Rick Hanson, although she draws on the great knowledge of many other teachers today - Jon Kabat-Zinn, Sharon Salzberg, Kristin Neff, Joseph Goldstein, and Dr. Daniel Siegel. Millie has had training in Mindfulness Cognitive Based Therapy and Interpersonal Neurobiology.
Millie is a firm believer that the practice of mindfulness has the potential to bring about a more peaceful coexistence in our world today. She believes meditation opens the way to a better knowing of our true nature and creates a foundation for thriving throughout life with all its many challenges and beauty.
Awake, Aware, and Alive!
We Guide Your Journey
Whatever you’ve had going on in your daily life when you arrive, it’s our turn to care for you!
Honest Heart Journeys partners with only top-rated world travel providers.
Our Facilitators have decades of experience in the activities and locations we’ve chosen, handling the logistics and sharing their expertise about the area.
Meanwhile, our Trip Hosts give their full attention to curating an engaging itinerary as well as holding space for your transformative journey through each daily activity, group gathering, and spontaneous conversation.
If you're seeking a little inspiration for your inner journey, visit our Blog or Podcast, where we discuss topics close to women's hearts!
Inspired Sisterhood
We all need connection! Are you yearning to go deeper, beyond quick labels and surface appearance?
Come join us solo ~ Discover new friends who value similar growth and seek adventure around the world!
Or gather a group ~ Bring your family, friends, work cohort, book club, or journey to celebrate a special occasion! We would love to host a trip that brings you closer together as you celebrate one another's growth and discovery.
Subscribe to stay connected & inspired!
We're growing a community where women celebrate authentic sisterhood and share honest growth through transformative experiences.
Subscribe below to receive updates on our trips, programs, blogs, and podcasts exploring topics close to women's hearts.
Please share with your sisters!
Follow Us on Social Media