Who’s Behind Securely Travel

Christopher Burgess (our founder)

About our founder, Christopher Burgess. After 30+ years in the CIA, most of which was abroad, he knows a thing or two about traveling safely.

He realized the importance of timely and accurate information for travel agents and travel program managers who are providing advice and guidance to travelers.

The Securely Travel’s offerings are designed to serve just that purpose. All will be well served by Securely Travel’s daily Travel Alerts, topical posts, checklist/planning guides, e-books , as well as individualized and travel safety & security awareness briefings with focus on personal (personnel) safety and security and business assets.

Travel has been in his blood for years

He took his first plane ride in 1962. It was across the Atlantic from the United States on a Boeing 707 - destination Ankara, Turkey via Rome, Italy. He hasn’t stopped traveling since.

He tells the story of this first flight, sitting next to his eldest brother, some 14 years his senior. His other two older brothers were sitting together a few rows away and his parents and younger sister were on the other side of the plane. He soon realized that he was the next best thing to a puppy, as his brother used him as a lure to engage the flight attendants.

Since that first flight, some 55 years ago, he has traveled across both the Atlantic and Pacific by air and sea, and has live, work and travel in South Asia, Southeast Asia, South Pacific, the Middle East, Central Europe, Africa and Latin America. In doing so, he has evolved a deep understanding of both similarities, as well as differences among people, culture and societies.

Burgess is now a writer, speaker and commentator on global security issues. He has appeared on CNN, BBC, I24, China News, Bloomberg, CBS, NBC, and ABC providing his commentary and analysis.

Additionally, he has lectured and presented before government, academic and business organizations around the globe for the past 12 years. These briefs have included innumerable travel briefings, both from a personal safety, as well as intellectual property protection perspectives. Securely Travel, has always been present, just not shared publicly. Now it is.

He previously held the position of Senior Security Advisor to Cisco and served 30+ years within the CIA. Upon his retirement from the CIA, he was awarded the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal. When he retired from Cisco, he was given a beautiful Stetson and a bottle of single-barrel Jack.

A prolific writer, he co-authored the book, “Secrets Stolen, Fortunes Lost, Preventing Intellectual Property Theft and Economic Espionage in the 21st Century.”

His writing can be found regularly in Clearance Jobs, CSO Online, and Security Boulevard, where his by-line columns covering global security, privacy, intelligence, and risk are featured.

An advocate of protecting the aging population among us, he founded the non-profit, Senior Online Safety and authored the book of the same name “Senior Online Safety.”

He resides in the foothills of the Cascades, about 30 miles northeast of Seattle.

Barbara Schluetter (Associate and Research)

Barbara is an experienced traveler, some might say travel is in her blood as she is always on the go. She has lived and traveled abroad for more than 20 years. Having resided in Germany, Canada, and the United States with her family of six children and a spouse who was a German Luftwaffe officer. Once bitten by the travel bug, one doesn’t stop, she and her family continue to travel both far and wide. She brings to Securely Travel her unique perspective honed over many years of travel both domestic and international.

Barbara’s primary role at Securely Travel is to conduct research. In addition, she provides both virtual and in person travel safety and security awareness briefings and is working on our eBook projects. She also conducts product reviews of travel goods and services and works with our guest blogger program.