About TerraViva Journeys
I founded TerraViva Journeys because I believe in the transformative power of “crossed paths” and want to contribute to a more regenerative/sustainable, ethical, and socio-ecologically just world.
TerraViva Journeys is just me – Corinna Moebius, Ph.D. I speak, write, consult and teach about inclusive and regenerative tourism as well as other topics related to place, people and planet. In addition to my training as a hybrid cultural anthropologist/ geographer, I bring to my work a background as a seasoned tourism professional and consultant on equity and inclusion in land use decision-making.
My courses on inclusive and regenerative tourism will soon be available online, but I also will be offering in-person classes and workshops, including walkshops, as I strongly believe in the power of immersive, embodied learning. These experiences are offered in Miami, Florida’s Little Havana neighborhood, where I have led walking tours for more than a decade.
My work has earned mention in The New York Times, NPR, National Geographic Traveler and other news outlets around the world. Additionally, I’m featured in a PBS documentary series highlighting women leaders, profiled in a textbook on urban planning, and included in a Little Havana exhibit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
In addition to my work with TerraViva Journeys, I am also finishing the manuscripts for two books and volunteer as the Co-Chair of the Health & Public Space committee for Healthy Little Havana, a collective impact initiative.
A Longtime Advocate for Regenerative Tourism & Livable, Inclusive, Equitable Communities
TerraViva Journeys emerges from my earlier businesses (Little Havana Experiences, Little Havana Tours & Little Havana Guide).
In 2006, I moved to Little Havana and began directing the neighborhood’s monthly arts and culture festival, Viernes Culturales, and leading walking tours.
My involvement in Little Havana evolved into co-founding the Little Havana Merchant Alliance, co-authoring a book with a renowned Cuban-American sociologist (A History of Little Havana), and writing my entire (and award-winning) Ph.D. dissertation on the history of the district, which I’m turning into my 2nd book.
The more I learned about Little Havana, Cuba (where I’ve also led numerous tours) and the history of tourism, Florida, U.S.-Cuba relations, etc., the more concerned I became about commonplace practices in the tourism industry and their impacts on the lives of people, other-than-humans (plants, animals) and Earth.
TerraViva also builds on my decades working as a consultant, guide and speaker in tourism and urban planning; my specialization in equitable and creative placemaking and inclusive civic engagement; and my scholarship (as a cultural anthropologist) on the politics of placemaking, tourism, commemoration and public space.
Education & Certifications
Academic Degrees
Ph.D. Global & Sociocultural Studies, 2019
(Interdisciplinary degree: Cultural/Ethnohistorical Anthropology, Cultural Geography, Public History, U.S./Latin American/Cuban Studies). Graduate Certificates: Afro-Latin American Studies, African & African & African Diaspora Studies. Winner: Alex Stepick Award for Outstanding Dissertation.
Florida International University
M.A. Global & Sociocultural Studies, 2015
Florida International University
M.A. Speech Communication (Communication Studies), 1995
(Interdisciplinary degree: Performance Studies, Organizational Communication, Intercultural Communication, Cultural Studies)
California State University, Northridge
Bachelor’s Degree with Individual Concentration, 1985
(Interdisciplinary, Self-designed major in Communications and Anthropology, Minor: Geography)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Certificates
Environmental Education Outcomes
Cornell University
Visionary Leadership for Women
Center for Visionary Leadership, Washington, DC
Arts Management (Arts & Civic Engagement)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst Arts Extension Service
Shamanic Journeying and Healing in Community
Sandra Ingerman
Permaculture Design (Regenerative Agriculture)
Grow Permaculture. Miami, FL
Other
Martha Beck Wayfinder Life Coaching Course
uLab 1.0 & 2.0
Presencing Institute
Extensive hands-on knowledge/practice of eco-spiritual magical and metaphysical traditions, with esteemed teachers
Re-Thinking Place, Tourism and Self
We live in troubled times, where the realities of climate change, sociopolitical tensions, and past-to-present inequities cannot be ignored. How can our experiences of movement–whether down a local street or to an unfamiliar place–pull us from outdated and restrictive ideas about place, people, other-than-human beings, and the world?