What does it really mean to walk away from a “successful” life?
For Marinel M. de Jesus, success once looked like a stable legal career in Washington, DC.
As a prosecutor with over a decade of experience, she had checked all the boxes of the Filipino immigrant dream—education, career, home ownership and status.
But beneath that structure was a quiet, persistent question: Is this it?
Today, Marinel is the founder of Brown Gal Trekker LLC & Equity Global Treks / The Porter Voice Collective.
She is a global mountain nomad, social entrepreneur and human rights advocate transforming the tourism industry from the ground up, first for porters and now for women trekkers on mountain trails.
Looking back now, she says she is most proud of “leaving my lawyer career (and the U.S.) to start a company and become a global mountain nomad (8 plus years now).”
When Success No Longer Fits
Marinel’s story is deeply rooted in the immigrant experience. Moving from the Philippines to the United States at 13, she followed a path many Asians would recognize: study hard, build a respectable and honourable career and create financial stability and raise aspirations for your next generation.
And she did exactly that for 15 years.
But after 15 years in law as a public prosecutor, something shifted. What once felt like achievement began to feel like stagnation. At the same time, a different passion was growing—mountains.
What started as a weekend hobby turned into something much bigger. Marinel who loved trekking and travelling began organizing hiking trips around the world, leading groups to places like Peru, Nepal and Tanzania. Still, she saw it only as a side passion—until a simple but powerful question from a friend changed everything:
“What are you doing with your life if you’re miserable?”
That question tormented her and slowly, she made transitting plans.
Marinel didn’t impulsively quit her job. Instead, she went through a long process—taking a really long sabbatical after her mother’s passing (so long that her colleagues had to ask if she was coming back to the court room), downsizing her home and slowly detaching from the legal life she had built.
The passing of her mother was the defining moment where she decided to finally leave her legal career behind and fully step into a new life where mountains beckoned.
Building a Business with Purpose
Marinel founded a mountain trekking company, turning her passion into a livelihood. But as she immersed herself in the tourism industry, especially in places like Peru, she began to notice something troubling.
Behind the beauty of iconic treks like the Inca Trail was a system built on inequality.
Porters—often from indigenous communities—were carrying heavy loads under harsh conditions with low wages and little protection. These weren’t just isolated issues – they were systemic but no one was talking about the porters’ needs or giving them a chance to be heard. The truth was staring at everyone but everyone chose to ignore the inconvenient and discomfiting truth.
And for someone trained in truth-seeking and justice, Marinel knew that ignoring truth wasn’t an option.
From Lawyer to Storyteller
Instead of approaching the issue quietly, Marinel chose to amplify the voices of those most affected.
Her documentary, KM82 (which you can watch on Youtube) sheds light on the lived experiences of the Peruvian porters, allowing them to speak for themselves. This wasn’t a polished tourism narrative—it was raw, honest and for many in the mountain tourism business, deeply uncomfortable.
Drawing from her background as a prosecutor, Marinel approached storytelling like building a case—asking the right questions, uncovering truth and presenting it without dilution.
And that honesty disrupted the industry. In my interview with her, I summed it up as – the industry before Marinel came along and after Marinel came along. Two different scenarios revealed.
In her words, truth is expected in the courtroom—but in tourism, it’s often avoided.
Challenging Systems, Not Just Symptoms
Marinel’s work goes beyond raising awareness. She’s focused on changing systems.
Through her initiative, the Porter Voice Collective, she advocates for fair labour practices, accountability and deeper conversations between tourism operators and local communities.
Her approach is rooted in a simple but radical idea: instead of imposing tourism models, ask communities what they actually want. It seems simple but why isn’t anyone doing something about it?
This is rethinking tourism from the ground up—moving from profit-driven models to co-created, community-led experiences.
Elevating Women in the Mountains
Another major focus of Marinel’s work is gender equity in mountain tourism.
Across regions like Nepal, Peru and Tanzania, guiding and trekking remain male-dominated industries. Local women who wish to lead treks face barriers ranging from lack of opportunities to safety concerns and discrimination.
In response, Marinel co-founded the Himalayan Women Trail Leaders initiative—training and empowering local women to become guides and leaders in long-distance trekking. Her inspiration comes from “the indigenous women I meet on my travels who become my co-creators for community-led initiatives and my parents.”
Her vision is bold: a future where women can lead treks across the 1,700-kilometer Great Himalaya Trail.
But beyond representation, this initiative is about creating safer, more inclusive experiences for women travelers—who often feel limited by the lack of female guides.
The Power of Lived Experience
What makes Marinel’s work so impactful is her ability to navigate different worlds.
As an immigrant, she understands both privilege and marginalization. She’s lived in systems of power and now works alongside communities often excluded from them.
This dual perspective allows her to build deeper, more meaningful connections—grounded in empathy, not assumptions.
She doesn’t see herself as a saviour. Instead, she focuses on enabling communities to lead their own change.
Redefining What “Small” Means
In a world that often equates size with credibility, Marinel challenges another industry norm: the idea that bigger is better.
She advocates for supporting smaller, independent operators—those who are closer to the communities they work with and more invested in creating meaningful impact.
For her, tourism isn’t just about destinations. It’s about relationships, responsibility and respect.
A Different Kind of Success
Marinel’s journey is a powerful reminder that success isn’t static. As she says, “In a time of destruction, create something.”
Sometimes, it requires letting go of everything that once defined you—so you can build something that truly aligns with who you are.
From courtrooms to mountain trails, her story is not about escape. It’s about stepping into a deeper level of purpose—and having the courage to tell the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable.
This episode is sponsored by Redbox Studio.
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