Our People

Hennie van den Hengel

Hennie is Dutch through and through, from her love for cycling to her strong work ethic. Born in Holland, she lived there 34 years before coming to Pennsylvania. Along with daughter Gea, Hennie founded Tripsite in a spare bedroom of her home.

Those who know Hennie, know that she brings a passion to everything she does. It brings her great joy that the business is now truly a family affair as daughter Carla and son Jan are on board as well.

Prior to starting Tripsite, Hennie, and her husband owned and operated farms in both the Netherlands and their adopted home of Pennsylvania and at one point even ran a sporting goods store.

An entrepreneur at heart, Hennie combined her excitement for cycling with her love for business in growing her company and outgrowing the spare bedroom!

Jan van den Hengel

Jan is an avid traveler having visited over 30 countries as well as every US State.

A friend once told Jan that the coolest thing about having been to every US state is not about the bragging rights but more about being able to relate to every American in some small way because you have been to their region. Jan thinks this applies internationally as well and this is why he loves to travel.

Being of Dutch heritage (as are all of Tripsite's founders), Jan has been riding a bike since he can remember. His first bicycle was orange. When not riding his bicycle (now considerably larger than his first), Jan enjoys reading, technology, and spends a great deal of time trying to make Tripsite a wonderful destination on the internet. Prior to joining Tripsite, Jan had an extensive career in technology on Wall Street and eventually Silicon Valley. Jan currently calls San Francisco home and loves riding the many bike trails the Bay Area has to offer.

Carla van den Hengel-Sprout

Carla has worked for Tripsite since 2004, literally from the bottom up. She can do anything and does everything. She is the go-to person and the glue that holds the home office together.

After graduating from high school and gaining college experience in Holland, Carla returned to the hills of Northeast Pa to work alongside Hennie and Gea (her mom & sister) in growing the family business.

Since then, Carla and her hubby have welcomed three children to the world. Sometimes you may hear one (or all!) of them in the Tripsite home office. In her spare time...well, Carla does not have spare time but lives what she loves, her family! When she can get a few moments, she enjoys being outside with her children, or will take a run around the pond, whose views beckon from the office windows.

Carla appreciates the busyness of her life. She loves raising her children, she loves Tripsite, and she loves helping people discover the joy in the perfect cycling vacation!

Mary Zdancewicz

Early travel experience fueled a love for travel and deep appreciation for diverse cultures. Mary's commitment and love of an active lifestyle was fostered growing up on a farm in rural Susquehanna County where every summer day was a mini triathlon.

When very young (especially looking back now!), Mary had the opportunity to study in Argentina and at the University of Barcelona culminating in a degree in Spanish and Communications. After a long hiatus of raising children and being a stay at home mom and homeschool advocate, Mary joined her neighbor and good friend, Hennie van den Hengel and the Tripsite family.

Mary loves to run, swim and bike and just tries to keep up with her girls. On more than one occasion she has been known to say that Tripsite should be voted the best place to work in America.

(There is also a well known but unspoken competition between Hennie and Mary. Mary has learned to "draft" behind.)

Gea van den Hengel-Ayala

Gea has been with TripSite from the beginning - fondly remembering the days when she translated the company's first Dutch brochure into English. Born in Holland, Gea has also lived in Pennsylvania, California, China (Shanghai) and currently in Maryland with her husband and 4 small children.

The most memorable time she had while attending Pennsylvania State University earning her BS degree was spending a semester studying abroad in Europe. She finds it endlessly exciting to witness how other people live, eating the foods they eat and being lost amongst crowds of people where not one word spoken makes any sense.

To Gea, there is no greater way to explore a city/town/country than from the saddle of one's bicycle. This gets you off the beaten path and into the farm country to see how the locals really live.

Within TripSite, she works primarily behind the scenes in the photo department - trying her best to make sure a tour's photos not only capture the essence of the tour, but most of all, to make you want to go there!!!

She has also spent the past 7 years expanding her family, but luckily still manages to sneak off every now and then. Last summer (2014), she went to Switzerland for a little hiking and sightseeing albeit 8 months pregnant.

Hobbies when not soccer-momming: running, biking, hiking, alpine and cross-country skiing.

Wendy Reimel

Wendy joined Tripsite in May 2015 and feels that she has found her calling. She truly enjoys her work and takes great pleasure in working with clients and preparing them to go on some amazing bike tours. She is fascinated by geography and could spend hours looking at maps.

Born and raised in rural Pennsylvania, Wendy yearned for a life-changing experience so she became a Rotary exchange student in high school and studied in Pamplona, Spain where she enjoyed living like a local and developed a passion for travel and culture. That experience then led her to major in Spanish Education and English as a Second Language at Penn State University. She taught for 4 years and then switched gears to become a stay-at-home Mom to her two young children.

Outside of the Tripsite office, Wendy enjoys being with her family on their little a piece of heaven where she spends time gardening, baking, sewing, and reading.

Susanna Girolamo

Susanna joined Tripsite in May of 2016 and quickly became a productive and enthusiastic member of the team. Her job as a Tour Specialist allows her to wear many hats, something she is very comfortable with. She currently resides in Missoula, Montana where the mountains connect her to the past.

Born and raised in Switzerland by an Italian father and Spanish mother, her multicultural and multilingual background (She speaks Italian, Spanish, Swiss-German, and English) drew her toward a life of world travel. Her desire to gain English proficiency and see the world led her to move to the Americas. She is always seeking new challenges and adventures and loves the outdoors.

After exploring Spain on a tandem, she realized how much more there is to see in the world with pack and paddle. With camera in hand and wanderlust in her heart, she looks forward to her next adventure!

Jehiel Boner

Jehiel is an anomaly. He truly believes that ‘variety is the spice of life’ and he’s not afraid to over season.

Jehiel studied Marketing and Digital Communications at a small liberal arts college while serving as captain of the collegiate swim team. He also studied in Rome, Italy where he fell in love with more than just pizza, pasta, and ‘belle donne’, but also cinema and photography. He once directed a film that won an award named after a guy that won an Academy Award.

When he isn’t surfing the web he enjoys staying active by skiing, swimming, and biking. He is obsessed with everything food related, especially steak and has made it his life goal to find and devour the most richly-marbled ribeye. When he does...he is totally going to incorporate it into a Tripsite tour! (The Ribeye Ride)

Jessica Kiedrowski

Jessica works out of our Missoula Montana office. From a young age, Jessica enjoyed being active. She got her first pair of running shoes at the age of 7 and from then on she was hooked.

After graduating from college with a B.S. in Health Promotion and landing a promising job at a hospital in New York City, Jessica realized the 9 to 5 desk job was not her style. A few years later, she joined the team at Tripsite which enabled her to live out her dream of being both a mom and having a job she is truly passionate about.

Outside of work, Jessica loves exploring the beautiful state of Montana with her husband and two children. She is a self-proclaimed coffee snob who will spend a great deal of time making the perfect cup of pour over espresso every morning. On the weekends, you can find her at the local farmer’s market with her family and running or biking the many trails that Missoula has to offer.

Ani Amashukeli

Reservation Specialist

Ani joined the Tripsite team in May of 2012 and now administers the European office. Her sales and office experience working for other foreign companies has served her well in this capacity.

In December of 2014, Ani was able to travel to the USA where after years of working remotely, she was able to meet the home office staff in person for the first time. It was a joyful assembly! The staff enjoyed more than one "soup" night in Hennie's home where Ani showcased her skills as a chef.

Ani loved Pennsylvania and did get to travel a bit of the east coast, visiting NYC, DC, and Maryland.

She looks forward to exploring more of Europe and returning to the US. In her spare time, Ani is a skilled musician and enjoys listening and playing music.

Ika Amashukeli

Reservation Specialist

Ika is one of the most recent additions to the Tripsite team. After months of helping his sister Ani behind the scenes, he became a full-time employee in February 2015. His responsibilities apart from keeping Ani in line, include invoicing and processing of reservations.

Still studying full time, he is also studying English part time and is very excited about his new job and learning new skills.

One of his favorite things to do is to take long walks with his favorite dog Lucy and spending time with friends.

Daniella Pontes

Brazil Country Manager and Tour Specialist

Daniella is responsible for the Brazilian market. As an "out-of-the-box" kid, she was not very good at traditional sports, but an absolute master of gymkhanas and sack racing (her specialty). She would always come home with a prize and a proud smile on her face.

Since her early childhood, she has enjoyed teaching. Before graduating and working full time, she taught private classes on all kinds of subjects. This gave her a good understanding of people´s needs and how to establish trusting connections. This was fundamental for her later career as a product manager, and also, for her current responsibilities at Tripsite, dealing with customers and partners.

When not working, she likes spending time with her family and friends. She has a passion for writing and arts like drawing and painting in watercolors. She also loves to stay in shape, practicing Brazilian´s typical dance, Frevo.