Hands On Travel is a service dedicated to providing travelers with the best
that this world has to offer. We are opposed to the idea of mass tourism,
which means bunching up a group of people in a big tour bus and wheeling
them around to all the major sights with obligatory stops at mediocre restaurants
and tourist-trap souvenir shops. We believe that travel shouldn't be like
this. Instead, we provide an experience which allows travelers to get "hands
on", delighting every one of their senses in fascinating and interactive
programs that give them deeper appreciations of the place they are visiting.
In addition, the hands refer to our mode of communication. Every segment
of this service is accessible in sign language so that there will not be
any "Could you speak more slowly?" sentences uttered. Everybody's hands
will be free to say what they wish.
This service is entirely run by deaf people who love travel and aim to make
your trip as fun, pleasant, and accessible as possible.
Our Team
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Terry GIANSANTI is a deaf
American with Italian bloodlines who now lives in Roma. After graduating
from Gallaudet University, he came here in search of "la dolce vita"
(the sweet life). His passions are traveling, reading, food, and sports. In addition to being the main guide on our Italian tours, he is the proud founder of this company. |
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Vanessa FARAONE, Roma born
and bred, knows the city like the back of her hand but always manages
to dig up more hidden city secrets. She is also the better half of
her husband Terry, and together they have two kids which currently
limits her availability! |
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Timeo SERAFINO, a deaf native
of Turin in northwest Italy, is passionate about meeting new people
and showing them the beauty of his country. He organizes tours in
his native region of Piemonte and nearby Liguria, and also assists
on tours in Tuscany. |
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Roy DOLINER, a jack-of-all-trades
from New York City, has been living in Roma long enough to become
a true expert on the city. He guides entertaining tours of Jewish
Rome (sharing little-known facts such as the one that Rome holds the
oldest continuous Jewish community in the world...) |
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Teresa LYNCH, born Deaf, grew up In Dublin. Before settling down to start a family, she was an avid traveller, finding her way to various parts of the world. She used to live in America for 7 years. She will be our guide for the Go Irish Tour in October 2006.
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Louise STERN lives in London
and works freelance in the field of contemporary art as well as working
for filmmaker Sam Taylor-Wood and developing a new contemporary art
magazine for children. After attending the California School for the
Deaf Fremont, she graduated from Gallaudet with a BA in art history
and from Sotheby's Institute London with a MA in contemporary art
theory. |
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Dr. Jennifer NELSON, originally
from Wisconsin, was mainstreamed all of her life until she started
teaching at Gallaudet University. Dr. Nelson's Ph.D. from UC Berkeley
is in British literature, particularly the Romantic and Victorian
eras, and she has published on Shakespeare, the Restoration, modern
culture, and ASL literature. She enjoys reading, going out, art, and
traveling. |
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Charles GIANSANTI mans our
office in Arizona, taking care of all the small details that cannot
be swept under the carpet. He worked at Gallaudet University for many
years before retiring to move down southwest where the sun shines
much more often. He keeps himself occupied with gardening and traveling. |
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Simon CARMEL lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, and has gathered a wealth of life experiences. Holding a Ph.D. degree in cultural anthropology, he taught sociology and anthropology at both Gallaudet and NTID/RIT. In addition, he is a professional deaf magician, a Deaf folklorist, and a Russia-phile. He has lived in Moscow as a Fulbright Scholar and Lecturer, and has travelled widely in Russia, Ukraine, and other European countries. That makes him an ideal guide for our Russia Tours! |
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Jennifer HERBOLD acquired her first real taste of international travel in high school on a school-sponsored trip to Argentina, After being bitten by the travel bug, she spent considerable time in college roaming around various parts of the world. She brings her experience in organizing independent tours abroad for groups of deaf students. She looks forward to the day when she can resume trekking around the globe with her two little boys in tow. |
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Donalda AMMONS and Diane MORTON, long-time travel partners, bring their wealth of experience to HOT. Donalda, a foreign languages professor at Gallaudet University, has traveled to 80+ countries and loves sharing her well-kept secrets exclusively with deaf travelers. Diane, newly retired from Gallaudet's Department of Counseling, uses her keen eye for details and appreciation of distinctive elements to put forth a worry-free tour. |
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Janie GOLIGHTLY of Washington, D.C. is a retired printer at the Washington Post. She grew up in West Hartford, Conn. and graduated from the American School for the Deaf followed by a bachelor's degree at Gallaudet University. She has been involved in the Deaf community for many years. She and her husband Mike are proud grandparents of 12 grandchildren. Traveling is her passion. |
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Mike MARZOLF of Staunton, Virginia, taught science at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind for 30 years before retiring. He grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and received degrees from Gallaudet University and Western Maryland College. He has been active in Deaf organizations for many years. His pastime is traveling all over the world. He will be involved with our 2011 Germany tour. |
In addition, a huge amount of gratitude has to go out to two "virtual"
members of our team -- Roberto Wirth, president and general manager of
the Hassler Hotel
in Rome, and Peter Crawford, owner of the specialty travel agency Girosole.
Without them, we would not be where we are today!
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