ABOUT US
The name Leeto is derived from a translation of the word Journey, and Journeying is what Leeto is all about.
The idea for Leeto came about when Melissa and Rudi were looking for out of the box vacation options. When it came to options for trips that offered luxury, adventure and personal growth, they found the market to be lacking. Thus comes the idea for starting Leeto. In late 2022 the stars were able to align such that Leeto could go from an idea to reality, and it's all history from there.
OUR TEAM
Melissa Bennett
Founder and Owner
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California born and raised (East Bay!)
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Lived in Seattle, Wa since 2010
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Has spent most of her career in leadership- leading youth and adult trail crews; disaster response teams; and fitness clientele.
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3 Years Early working years in Charleston, South Carolina leading trips for the National Civilian Community Corp (NCCC).
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4 years working for the Northwest Youth Corp in Eugene, Or as a youth trail crew trip leader and eventually a Program Coordinator.
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Moved to Seattle in 2010
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3 years leading adult crews doing conservation on Washington State public lands for the Washington Conservation Corp (WCC).
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5 years at King County Department of Natural Resources where she oversaw parks in White Center and Vashon Island.
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5 years as a CrossFit and and private coach.
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3 years as Senior Manager of Crossfit Twenty Pound Hammer overseeing all gym operations, and business operations.
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Spent a semester in Baja, Mexico with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) learning Sailing; Sea Kayaking and Backpacking.
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Lead backcountry conservation trips for the US Forest Service (USFS) out of Southern Washington State
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Certifications- OPEX; Crossfit Level 1; Wilderness First Aid; ACA Level 2 Kayak Instructor
Rudi Romaine
Founder and Owner
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Born and raised in Indiana, and lived in Seattle, Wa since 2010.
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Bachelors in Public Affairs and Masters in Education.
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Raced on her collegiate cycling team and nationally for 3 years.
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3 years running conservation trips in the backcountry for Northwest Youth Corps and The Pacific Crest Trail Association.
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Member of an AmeriCorp Disaster Relief program where she traveled around the Pacific Northwest supporting a variety of relief work including wilderness firefighting, reforestation, hydrology projects and natural disaster clean up.
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2 years as a Licensed Drug and Alcohol counselor and wilderness guide for Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy guiding groups of up to 15 people on adventure trips including: ropes course facilitation; mountain biking; rock climbing; bouldering; and backpacking.
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6 years working for FareStart, a job training social enterprise in Seattle that provided culinary and barista training to homeless adults and teens. Rudi started there as a Chef Instructor teaching students how to cook for customers at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.Over the next six years she moved up in the organization through a variety of roles including: Barista Trainer; Senior Youth Program Manager and Lead Instructional Designer.
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5 years at Amazon as a Senior Learning Program Manager designing training content for the front line workers who work at Amazon food manufacturing sites.