Andy Walz

Andy Walz: Technology and Travel

Andy is a rare breed of computer geek and outdoor guru. He combines these two  passions into a career at Wilderness Inquiry, a fellow Minnesota-based non-profit organization that seeks to provide access to the outdoors for all.  Andy started leading canoe and kayak trips and rose to his current position as Program & Technology Director after graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in computer science. Andy has planned dozens of trips for groups to Kenya and Tanzania and led many of them himself.

Responsibilities at FoNR

Andy brings his technology expertise to FoNR board to make systems more efficient, our website more powerful, and our database more streamlined. Travel to Kenya has also become easier with Andy on board. Andy facilitates a partnership with Wilderness Inquiry and plans several trips per year for volunteers and travelers to engage with NRCA and see Kenya. Camp is also a sweet spot for Andy--he's planned field trips and helped make camps held outside of Nairobi possible.

Why I am involved with FoNR

My wife Heidi and I were lucky to have had the opportunity to volunteer with a Ngong Road Children Association camp in Kenya a number of years ago...we saw first hand an organization changing hundreds of lives with a small budget and an extremely dedicated team of staff and volunteers. On previous trips we worked with organizations 10 times the size who weren't nearly as effective. We decided to sponsor as way to show our support to the organization but quickly learned there was much more to it. We volunteered at camp and now can't stay away. These kids have changed our lives as much as the help we provide changes theirs.