Pack Light Global

I started Pack Light Global, to encourage and inspire women of color who are over 40 to value travel as an essential extension of their well-being and self-care.

Travel, specifically international travel and living abroad afforded me the opportunity to understand my place in this world. As I have expanded my vision to include new sunsets, new people, new cuisine and distant unfamiliar cultures, I discovered myself.
Very often people assume that I have been traveling for many, many years, however in travel as in other areas of my life, I am a late bloomer. Although I always dreamed of traveling abroad, specifically to France, this seemed to be an unattainable and frankly unrealistic goal. Unlike the millennials that are discovering the world of travel in their 20’s, I was nearly 40, a single mom who didn’t even have a passport. My career in marketing and public relations afforded me the opportunity to travel throughout the US, but never abroad, and I was ok with that.

Until I wasn’t.
​After many years of dreaming of Paris and hearing my mom’s desire to visit the City of Light, I researched a French language immersion program in Nice, France, applied for my first passport, and after several months of planning I was off on a 6-week trip to France, with 2 weeks spent in Paris with my mom and daughter. This was the beginning of my obsessive love affair with international travel.

Fast forward, 14 years later I have been to more than 20 countries and in my typical late blooming style, I decided to move to Paris to pursue an advanced degree at 46 and lived there for almost two years.

Over the years I have discovered so much about myself and the world around me through travel. Every time I land in a new place, I enjoy figuring out how to navigate through the logistics and cultural expectations. Each destination delivers challenges, stunning sights, remarkable experiences and “I’ll never do that again” moments.

Through Pack Light Global, I want to share what I have learned through years of travel and deconstruct the many barriers that prevent women of color, and specifically Black women from setting off to see the world. I will share my favorite destinations, travel wins and epic fails. When it comes to overcoming fears and anxiety associated with international travel, I hope that you will “Pack Light” in the Erykah Badu sense and Let it go, Let it go, Let it go.

Travel Fearless, Pack Light
Dawn