Sara Ortiz

Born and raised in Manizales, Colombia, Sara grew up surrounded by volcanoes, coffee landscapes, cloud forests, hot springs, and remarkable biodiversity. Exploring the natural world with her geologist father taught her that landscapes are more than scenery; they carry stories about everything that came before us. Her mother, a linguist and educator, nurtured her love of language, books, writing, and the ways stories shape how people understand the world.

Sara’s curiosity about other places began early through family travels across Colombia and a language exchange in Halifax, Nova Scotia, at age eleven. Those experiences sparked a desire to understand the world beyond what was familiar to her. She later studied social communication and journalism and, while still a student, contributed to work connected to Colombia’s Comisión de la Verdad, using journalism and storytelling to help preserve armed conflict victims’ experiences and support their families in seeking truth and closure. That same desire to expand her world eventually led her to Toronto, where she moved in 2022 to pursue postgraduate studies in marketing management-digital media and has since made the city home.

Her professional experience spans global brands, marketing agencies, and nonprofit organizations supporting education, youth, career growth, women, nonbinary individuals, Indigenous peoples, immigrants, and vulnerable communities in Canada and Colombia. Through digital marketing and especially social media, Sara has found a way to express her love of film, writing, and visual storytelling while creating content designed to connect with people in meaningful ways.

As Adventure Canada’s social media specialist, Sara is especially drawn to moments that reveal the life within a journey—not only extraordinary landscapes, but the interactions between people, cultures, wildlife, and the natural world. She believes meaningful travel should expand our understanding of a place and the people who call it home, while also challenging the way we see ourselves.

Away from work, Sara loves exploring small Ontario towns with her husband, Juan, planning picnics with friends at local parks, discovering local festivals and markets, practicing her French, and getting lost in fantasy, science fiction, gothic horror, and music. At home, she can usually be found petting, playing, and caring for Quetzal, her curious rescue cat with striking powder-blue eyes.

Sara approaches travel as an exchange. She hopes to share something of herself with the people she meets while carrying a little of every conversation, landing, landscape, and story with her in return.