Duffle & Compass Founder
Carol Oken marked the millennium by researching and planning a safari for her family and friends. The experience of being on safari was life-changing. She found a new passion for Africa and combined it with her interest in environmental issues and a curiosity of how others live around the world. She founded Duffle & Compass to help others who yearned for an authentic safari adventure of a lifetime.
Each year Carol escorts small groups of adventurers on privately guided safaris. These exclusive Duffle & Compass safaris are designed with a specific focus on wildlife, land conservation and cultural issues. Carol is a certified travel specialist for South Africa (Fundi) and Kenya (Kats) having completed the destination expert trainings for both countries. She is also a member of APTA (Association to Promote Tourism to Africa).
Carol has 25 years of experience in marketing, fundraising and event production for non-profit theatres and environmental organizations in Los Angeles and Chicago. She served as Marketing and Public Relations Director for the Goodman Theatre and the Chicago International Theatre Festival. She worked with TreePeople in Los Angeles for 15 years as Director of Marketing and Special Projects Consultant where she focused on social entrepreneurship ventures.
Carol produced the Chicago premiere event of "Edens Lost & Found" a PBS special series highlighting practical solutions and models for urban transformation in four American cities. She served as a consultant to The Environmental Law & Policy Center and initiated their role as host of an advance leadership screening of "An Inconvenient Truth" where Al Gore addressed environmental leaders of Chicago. She is a member of the executive committee for "Cool Globes: hot ideas for a cooler planet" a public art exhibition which premiered in Chicago and is traveling the world to encourage solutions to climate change. Carol is also a member of the Chicago Chapter of the Cheetah Conservation Fund which produces the annual "Run for the Cheetah."
