Gillian was born and raised in the UK. She started in the travel industry working for a UK receptive handling tours all over Europe and the UK before moving on to manage the incentive travel division of a UK receptive. In 1990 she took a career break to travel the world which brought her to Vancouver where she fell in love with the active, outdoor, spontaneous lifestyle of the west coast. In 1992, she emigrated to Canada and founded Journeys Across Canada, an RTO specialising in custom group and FIT from international source markets as diverse as Australia,  Sweden, Netherlands, Israel, and Chile.

Gillian loves outdoor activities including hiking, kayaking and skiing. She also loves food, is always interested in new flavours and dining experiences.