Our Team

Trust our all African team.

Deborah Calmeyer

CEO & Founder

As the founder and CEO of ROAR AFRICA, Deborah Calmeyer’s passion for and commitment to the continent where she was born is manifested in the life-changing journeys that she creates for her loyal following of international clientele. Living between New York and Cape Town for the past twenty years has given this Zimbabwe-born entrepreneur a profound understanding of the needs and desires of sophisticated American travelers who come to ROAR AFRICA because they don’t have the time to get it wrong.

Based in New York but with offices in Southern and East Africa, Deborah and her team curate, design and deliver highly refined travel experiences that match people to places. With her eye on helping Africa and Africans at all times, her commitment to positively impacting upon wildlife conservation, whilst providing employment on the ground and empowering African women – informs every trip she curates.

Inquisitive, discerning and brave, Deborah is constantly seeking out new and extraordinary experiences in food, culture, conservation and the arts.

To this end, she pioneered ROAR AFRICA’s Rewilding Experience as a deeper explanation for what we as humans experience on safari while her introduction of the industry's first ever Women’s Empowerment Trip was designed as an experiential learning journey for women led by an all-female team of pilots, guides, trackers, conservationists, anti-poachers and chefs. ‘The idea for the journey was as much in answer to an increased demand for solo travel journeys for women, as it was to show that we as women can only truly embrace the value of our contribution when the geographical, gender and social barriers that remain in place are shattered,’ explains Deborah. Her insistence on working with other esteemed experts to bring luxurious, informative and insightful new experiences as well as opportunities for deep personal transformation, coupled with her extraordinary dedication to providing a seamless, uncomplicated yet highly detailed experience - is what sets ROAR AFRICA apart.

Under Deborah’s visionary leadership, ROAR AFRICA has received numerous awards including Travel + Leisure's World’s Best Awards (2018, 2019 and 2020), Conde Nast’s Top Travel Specialists (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020), Travel + Leisure A-List (2019). Deborah herself has been included in Conde Nast’s 30 Most Powerful Women in Travel in 2019.

Reflecting Deborah’s sensibilities and values, ROAR AFRICA offers the kind of ultra-luxe, bi-cultural travel experiences that have earned her the respect of her peers and made her a trusted thought leader in the travel industry.

The ROAR AFRICA team

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PJ Scott

COO

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Lee Cooper

Managing Director of Operations

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Merritt Howerton

Trip Designer

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Bongelwa Qandashe

Operations Consultant

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Farida Lukie

Senior Operations Consultant

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Donna James

Senior Operations Consultant

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Tish Keth

Senior Finance Manager

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Barbara Sherwood

Finance Manager

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Mary Tilson

Director of Social Media

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Kerryn Fischer

Director of Communications

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Lisa Lerm

Client Liaison

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Steven Lake

Head of Guiding

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Thabie Moji

Specialist Guide

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Stephen Bell

Specialist Guide

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Humphrey Gumpo

Specialist Guide

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Dr. Ian McCallum

Specialist Guide

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Lazarus Mandabva

Specialist Guide

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Malick Paulsen

Driver Guide

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