Marinel M. de Jesus was a civil rights lawyer in Washington, DC for 15 years before becoming a global mountain nomad and pursuing her passion for hiking and traveling. In addition to running the media platform Brown Gal Trekker, Marinel founded and currently runs a mountain trekking social enterprise, Equity Global Treks and a non-profit human rights organization, The Porter Voice Collective.

Marinel's personal mission is to elevate the voices and status of women, Indigenous communities and people of color in the outdoor and travel spaces through storytelling. She works as a solutions-focused freelance travel and outdoor writer and public speaker with an emphasis on justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.

Marinel has trekked and traveled to over 65 countries. True to her identity as a global mountain nomad, she is based in various mountainous regions worldwide, where she scouts for hiking trails and community and women-led tourism initiatives.