About Us

Christa founded Enlight Global in 2024 to bring conservation focused travel to the educational space. With over a decade of experience in global education, Christa leads our mission to connect travelers with the world's most extraordinary people and their land. Her passion for education, biodiversity, and cultural preservation drives our innovative approach to experiential learning and sustainable tourism.

Prior to Enlight Global, Christa served as Director of Enrollment at Marshall School in Minnesota for over a decade. She developed the school's first international program, eventually enrolling over 40 international students annually. Her experience includes program development and budgeting, international travel planning, marketing and recruitment, student safety and oversight, immigration, and global communications. Christa served as one of two NAIS Global Ambassadors nationally in 2021-22, and has twice served as chair of the Study Minnesota Consortium (35+ internationally involved MN educational institutions), directing and coordinating efforts to put Minnesota on the map both nationally, and internationally.

She has represented both Marshall School and the State of Minnesota at numerous events, locally and globally, including representing Minnesota at the US Commercial Service Pavilion at NAFSA. As a professional, she is recognized for her vision, skills and networking capabilities.

Christa has also completed Master's level coursework in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), and has worked with teachers and language schools in both Da Nang and the Mekong Delta, Vietnam to enhance and broaden teaching methodologies. She has taught numerous student courses, including the Foreign Policy Association's Great Decisions curriculum, and a Theory of Knowledge short course.

Christa lives in Duluth, Minnesota with her family and two furry companions. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, baking, and writing.

Pan is a former college admissions officer who, in many ways, took the road less traveled. Over the past decade, she has focused on two main pursuits:

First — walking the world. She has traveled to over 40 countries, from the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to the rice fields of Sri Lanka, from star-gazing in the desert of Morocco to camping in the Andes mountains of Peru.

Second — working in international admissions at prestigious U.S. universities, including Brandeis University and Wentworth Institute of Technology. In these roles, Pan engaged with students, families, and educators from all over the world. As a dynamic leader, she developed and executed strategic international recruitment and enrollment plans for multiple institutions.

Having been an international student herself, Pan deeply understands the value of global education. However, she has come to realize that there’s a significant gap between what students learn in the classroom and what the real world demands of them.

She has met brilliant students — top grades, top scores — who lacked initiative, adaptability, and real-world confidence. They knew the theories but struggled to navigate complexity or uncertainty. They could talk about the world but didn’t know how to engage with it.

Pan believes tomorrow’s students need more than just high scores. They must understand the critical importance of our natural environment and their role in fostering a sustainable future. They need to show up, speak up, and stand up — all while knowing they have the power to be part of the solution.

This is why Pan is deeply passionate about the mission of Enlight Global. As the Chinese saying goes, “Reading ten thousand books is not as good as walking ten thousand miles.”