Interview with Sarika Bansal, Editor and Author of Tread Brightly, a series of curated essays on Ethical Travel. George Weiner interviews Sarika about the themes and topics covered by some of the essays. They also dive into the creation and closing of Sarika’s nonprofit BRIGHT Magazine.
About Tread Brightly
Are there ways we can turn travel from passive consumption to an active exchange? Is it possible for our travel to leave a positive impact on the lives of others? This book of seventeen original essays and photo-essays, edited by Sarika Bansal, gets to the heart of what it means to travel ethically.
“Tread Brightly” discusses the ethics of orphanage tourism, cruise ships, and study abroad programs. It asks how one’s identity as a traveler—like one’s country of origin, gender, and race—impacts a travel experience. It considers the climate consequences of non-essential travel.
About Sarika
Sarika Bansal is the editor-in-chief of “Tread Brightly.” She is an editor, storytelling consultant, and mentor with the Aspen Institute’s New Voices Program. She was the founder and editor-in-chief of BRIGHT Magazine, an award-winning digital magazine that told fresh, solutions-oriented stories about social change. Prior to that, she incubated two social impact publications at Medium, developed curriculum for journalists at the Solutions Journalism Network, and served as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Her byline has appeared in the New York Times, Guardian, VICE, and other publications.
She holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard College and a Masters in Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).
Sarika has lived on five continents, speaks four languages, and is currently based in a cottage in a forest in Nairobi, Kenya. She lives with her husband, daughter, and elderly German shepherd.
