About Us

We, Sonia and Dorian, are forty-something animal-lovers who have decided to become digital nomads and pet-sit our way around the United States (and maybe Canada) for at least the first half of 2022. Our ability to work remotely -- Sonia for Airbnb and Dorian for Tropical Birding -- makes our adventure possible, but the story of how we got here is just as exciting. We'll give you some professional nitty-gritty, explain how we met, and end with our general outlook on life. Here we go!

Sonia grew up in Los Angeles (Whittier) and attended Gordon College north of Boston. She spent a year abroad in Spain which seeded a wanderlust, which motivated her to join Eos Airlines as a Flight Attendant in 2006. When that carrier went bust in 2008, she rebounded at a corporate travel agency where she managed the hotel program for Conde Nast, a New York City-based gig which deployed her to Europe at regular intervals. She subsequently worked in corporate travel for several companies before joining Airbnb in 2016. Since then, she's assumed varied roles, none more unique than supporting the partnership between the tech-giant and the International Olympic Committee. While the rest of the world watched the Tokyo Olympics from afar, Sonia was in the front row! She currently works on the Airbnb Experiences and Events team.

Dorian was born in Philly and developed a bird obsession at age seven. He attended Hotchkiss (CT) for high school, graduated from Stanford in 2001 with a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology, did predoctoral research at Harvard, and earned his Ph.D. in Developmental Genetics from NYU in 2010. He then accepted a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital but resigned that appointment in 2014 to pursue his long-imagined Biking for Birds project. That 18,000-mile cycling odyssey garnered wide attention and opened many doors after his return. He has liaised with tourism ministries in Spain, Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, and Taiwan to promote ecotourism, and he has assisted the National Audubon Society with several birding and conservation projects in Colombia. He is an avid bird photographer (his website), and he leads birding and photo tours for Tropical Birding when he's not working on a book about his adventure.

So, how did an accomplished beauty and a nerdy beast intersect? Well, you need to understand how much we independently hated the late-1990s New York Yankees. That corporate juggernaut purchased title after title, and we each gravitated towards the Yankees' main rival, the underdog Red Sox, when we lived in/around Boston in the early 2000s, again independently of one another. Ok, fast forward to 2008. Sonia is working in Midtown Manhattan, Dorian is a graduate student at NYU, and we meet at Professor Thom's -- a Red Sox-themed bar -- in the East Village! Our accounts of that fateful night vary; Dorian believes the coy-but-flirtatious Sonia was unable to resist his 80-proof game while Sonia claims she took pity on the severely-intoxicated scientist sporting fluffy hair. Regardless, one thing lead to another, and we eventually got married...at a roller rink...on roller skates...in throwback outfits. And yeah, we're still die-hard Red fans (pic from 2018 World Series in LA). 

And lastly, our life outlook. Well, it's pretty simple: get to know diverse sorts of folks, be a responsible and compassionate citizen, consider the environment in every decision, and -- above all -- prioritize experiences over possessions. We want to see the world and meet interesting people and fun pets along the way! And remember, animals are just like people -- only better!