We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Patrick Holladay . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Patrick below.

Patrick, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

My first career step right after college was to become a United States Peace Corps Volunteer. For a little over two years I worked as an ecologist in Slovakia. The word “volunteer” is very loose as any Returned Peace Corps Volunteer will tell you. You are essentially a federal employee funded through Congressional appropriations and there are a lot of expectations placed upon you. Daunted by all the work, travel, grant writing, project development and even teaching English, our Country Director once said to me, “remember that there are 24-hours in a day.” This is not to say that you should work all-day everyday, which is incredibly unhealthy. It is to say, however, that even when challenged by a lot of committments, with proper planning and perserverance you can usually achieve all of your goals.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

As I stated earlier, I started my career as an ecologist in the Peace Corps in Slovakia. I worked as an ecologist in a state protected landscape area assisting with mainly conservation projects. One day a colleague, whose wife worked at a local enviromental NGO, asked me about developing some “ecotourism”. My response was, “what the hell is ecotourism?” But we did it. From there, I have spent the last 20+ years working on research that focuses on sustainability, social-ecological resilience, and community development with a holistic approach across social, ecological, economic, and institutional domains of social-ecological systems. This work is largely conducted through the lens of tourism but crosses into areas like food security, natural resources, social justice and faith/spirituality. I have also had to opportunity to work in Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia as well across the United States.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

The second half of my career has really evolved from purely academic teaching and research into a balance with consulting and project development. It happened organically, particularly the work I do with farmers interested in developing tourism on their land (i.e. agritourism). I attribute this to doing what I say I’m going to do, on time and with a heart for putting the people and communities I am engaged with first.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I have heard the phrase from a lot of sports analysts that “the best ability is availability”. It rings true and has helped me immensly. I answer calls and texts, respond to emails the same day and generally agree to meetings when I’m asked. And with a positive attitude. This sort of personal touch that shows that you care and want to help your client or partner achieve their best success is incredibly important.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holladayonholiday/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/holladayonholiday
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-holladay-4a240856/