Meet The Team

  • Sarah Raymond

    CO-OWNER & TRIP DIRECTOR

    Sarah is a Lutheran Pastor who led her first trip to the Holy Land in 2012. She fell in love with this part of the world and with accompanying people in the life-opening experiences while traveling. Sarah lives in North Dakota with her family. When she’s not working on travel logistics or leading a trip, she loves to garden and take care of her babies (plants and children!).

  • Iyad Khweis

    CO-OWNER & TRIP DIRECTOR

    Iyad has been working in the travel business for over 20 years. He has a passion for hospitality and a knack for problem solving. He is also a licensed guide and lives with his family in the Holy Land. When he’s not guiding or working on travel, he enjoys fixing things and growing beautiful plants and flowers.

  • Michelle Walka

    CREATIVE DIRECTOR

    Michelle is an artist, spiritual director, and loves to travel (especially within the practice of pilgrimage). When she’s not working with Sunlight Tours, Michelle leads contemplative and creative retreat experiences through Beloved Art and Practice. She lives in Minnesota and enjoys lingering with a good cup of coffee, experimenting with a new recipe, and many outdoor adventures with her husband, Keith, and their pup, Rosie.

  • Avery Nelson

    SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

    Avery is a lifelong creative who loves to tell stories. He runs the social media accounts to help share the story of Sunlight Tours! His favorite place to travel is back to the Black Hills where he grew up.

  • Emily Harrie

    TRIP DIRECTOR

    Emily has had wanderlust for as long as she can remember. Her career has allowed her to travel all over the US and abroad many times. She believes traveling grounds us and connects us all through the sharing of culture, history, faith and food. When not traveling, Emily lives in Colorado with her husband and two pups and enjoys skiing, hiking, pottery and more skiing. 

With each of our tours, you are accompanied by…

Sunlight Tours Trip Director(s)

-and-

Depending on the tour…

Trip Host(s) and Program Leader(s)

  • A Trip Director is a Sunlight Tours company owner or staff member who travels with you. It is our job to make sure everything runs smoothly and you have an incredible travel experience. We handle the logistics and any travel issues so you can travel without worry. We can also make fun decisions on the fly to add special extras just for you! Our goal and commitment is to make sure the trip is a great experience for all who travel with us.

  • A Trip Host is someone who gets a wild and wonderful idea to gather people for a trip. A trip host works with Sunlight Tours to establish trip dates and an itinerary, and then shares their excitement with the people around them to build a travel group.

    Maybe you have a group from church that hopes to travel together. Maybe it’s a family trip. Maybe you are just great at recruiting fun people to do fun things! The trip host often travels for free, but this is determined within the planning stages. During the trip, a trip host may be asked to assist in a few aspects of hospitality, but mostly the trip is theirs to enjoy. If you are interested in being a trip host, let us know. We are happy to visit with you about this travel offering.

  • A Program Leader is someone who, in addition to hosting a trip, is also contracted to offer a specific program offering. This includes offering specific teaching within a trip destination, leading a special travel experience, offering pilgrimage and/or practice offerings that deepen your travel experience. Interested in shaping a trip where you can offer your wisdom and gifts? Please reach out. We would love to connect with you!