The Volunteers

Daniel currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of American Pilgrims on the Camino, coordinating the American Pilgrims on the Camino’sHospitalero Training Program. He first experienced the Camino de Santiago in 2002, when he walked from St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela, then returning on foot back to St. Jean – a 1,000-mile journey round-trip. Since then, Daniel has walked the Camino Francés four more times, and the Via de la Plata once. He has also served as volunteer hospitalero in Grañon.

When not involved in Camino-related activities, Daniel teaches wilderness medicine in various locales throughout the world. He currently lives on the coast of Northern California.

Sandy has been on the Camino since as far back as 2001, and began La Flecha Amarilla, as a family initiative. Through the support of wine sales, Sandy brings drug-rehabilitated youth to walk the Camino de Santiago, where they get the chance to learn new cooking or language skills, to make new friends, and to glimpse how wonderful life can be when getting fit and doing something positive for themselves. Working together with Judy Colinari of Spanish Steps, the project adopted the slogan, “As we get clean, so we clean the Camino.”

Sandy was originally born in México, lived in the U.S. for most of her adult life, and finally moved to Spain in the spring of 2007. She can often be found along the Camino making deliveries, talking to pilgrims, helping as an hospitalera in the company of the family dog, Lolita, who adopted Sandy in Galicia while she and her son were walking the Camino in 2008. Today, Sandy and Lolita spend their time between Spain, México and the US.

“Ultreia and Buen Camino!” – Sandy

George D. Greenia, Professor of Modern Languages at William & Mary, is a specialist in Hispanic Studies – particularly the Spanish Middle Ages, its literature, language, art and social history. He is the founding Editor of the journal, American Pilgrim, magazine and Editor at Large of La Corónica, a research journal devoted to medieval Iberia.

From 2005-2008, George led William & Mary undergraduates in a retracing of the legendary routes of the Camino de Santiago. To date, he has bicycled some 2,000 miles and walked another 1,500 on the pilgrimage trails of Europe. Along with fellow pilgrims in Virginia, George inaugurated theAmerican Pilgrims on the Camino’s National Gathering of Pilgrims, which now takes place annually at various locations throughout the U.S. and Canada.

In 2007, in recognition of his research, teaching and promotion of the Camino de Santiago, George was knighted by order of King Juan Carlos I of Spain, and granted the Encomienda de la Orden de Isabel la Católica – Spain’s highest honor for the interpretation and promotion of Spanish culture in other countries.

A graduate of Harvard College, Sienna Reynaga has spent the entirety of her career devoted to the personal and professional development of others. In six years of business, Sienna has written for and consulted with organizations in the areas of business transformation, corporate identity, marketing strategy and fund development, with a special focus on non-profits and small businesses

A life-long Catholic, Sienna walked the Camino during 2010 – the most recent holy year – finding herself on the path literally within weeks of first learning about it. She is currently embarking on a book project, as well as speaking to Catholic parishes and small groups throughout the United States about the lessons learned while walking the Camino, in order increase the number of American pilgrims and further the message of Walking the Camino. Visit her blog to follow along with her endeavors.

Originally from El Salvador, Herbert A Medina immigrated to the United States at the age of 8. He attended UCLA and UC Berkeley, and is currently Professor of Mathematics at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA.

Herbert has walked and biked the Camino de Santiago numerous times and has served as a volunteer hospitalero in the albergue in Ponferrada. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of American Pilgrims on the Camino, a national organization whose mission is to foster the enduring tradition of the Camino.

John Brierley is the author of A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino de Santiago, upon which the crew ofWalking the Camino relied heavily during filming. This book is just one among his set of practical and mystical manuals for the modern-day pilgrim:Camino Pilgrim Guides.

John earned his qualification as a Chartered Surveyor in Dublin, Ireland, and established Brierley & Co. (to be later merged with Jackson-Stops) at the age of 21. In 1987, an existential crisis and mid-career proved to be a pivotal time in his life, sparking a reordering of priorities towards a spiritual perspective. He and his family struck out in a camper van to ‘travel the world,’ stumbled onto the Camino de Santiago, and felt its welcoming embrace for the first time.

Focused on reorienting his life towards an inner pathway, John set up home in the spiritual community at Findhorn in Scotland. In 1996, he convened the international conference, Business for Life, with the crisis of the human spirit and the search for meaning in life as its core issues. His abiding passion became the concept of business-sabbaticals as an antidote to burn-out, and the idea of pilgrimage as a way to reappraise one’s life purpose.