About SheADV
SheADV is a volunteer organization powered by women who ride. Supported since its inception in 2015 by TouratechUSA, SheADV is dedicated to connecting, educating, and empowering women through motorcycling. Our leadership team is comprised of three passionate women adventure riders with decades of combined experience in the motorcycle industry.
Meet the SheADV Leadership Team
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Shalmarie Wilson
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Inna Thorn
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Eva Rupert
Shalmarie Wilson
Shalmarie Wilson (better known as Shal) teamed up with TouratechUSA to found SheADV in 2015. She has been the Project Manager, lead instructor, and a contributor ever since. She got started in adventure riding after a near-fatal motorcycle crash in 2011, when she went to replace her totaled Yamaha FZ6. When the salesperson asked what sort of riding she liked to do, Shal said that she liked to load up her bike with camping gear and go into the backcountry.
Though she knew nothing about adventure riding at the time, when the salesperson showed her an orange (her favorite color) Suzuki V-Strom 650, it was game over! Shal bought the bike without another thought and promptly signed up for a multi-day Adventure Rider Camp with Bret Tkacs of PSSOR. She now teaches both on- and off-street courses all over the country and makes her home on the road. Shal has ridden most of the Backcountry Discovery Routes, many of which she uses as an outdoor classroom while leading students on Immersion Training Tours.
A fun fact about Shal, though she fainted twice while getting her first tattoo, she has since added seven more. One of her most memorable experiences was on a 15-month motorcycle tour of North America when she and her traveling companion were deep in the backcountry, near Hatcher Pass, Alaska. With no one else in sight, the 360-degree view of nothing but mountains is a sight that will forever be etched in her memory.
Inna Thorn
For the last decade, Inna Thorn has been at the helm of the Backcountry Discovery Routes® (BDR®) non-profit organization and currently serves as BDR Executive Director and Vice President of the Board. Raised in Moscow, Russia, Inna has always been a spirited soul. Helping others is her passion and she has dedicated most of her career to the nonprofit sector. Inna moved to Seattle, WA in 1998, where she worked for a local arts fundraising nonprofit while putting herself through school at the University of Washington.
In 2006, she met a guy who dreamed of riding motorcycles from Seattle to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. This quickly became a shared vision-turned-reality when they took off for six months on a pair of Kawasaki KLR 650 motorcycles, covering over 17,000 miles through 13 countries. By the end of the trip, they decided to make their adventure together permanent with an engagement to marry.
Once back in Seattle, Inna started a freelance creative agency and began consulting for motorcycle industry clients, including Ural Motorcycles and Touratech. Three years after the BDR was founded, the organization began to outgrow its volunteer workforce and Inna was recruited to become the Director of Operations. Since 2012, Inna has taken the operation to new levels with her energy, organization, and passion for inspiring others to explore the world on two wheels. When not hard at work, Inna and her husband like to share the wonders of nature with their two young children, camping and hiking in the mountains, and traveling the world.
Eva Rupert
Eva Rupert is passionate about two-wheeled adventures and bringing people together. She spends her free time riding her motorbike, cooking dinner and whipping up cocktails for everyone who shares her campfire. A skilled outdoorswoman with a diverse background, Eva’s resume ranges from experiential education to restaurant management.
A freelance writer and event planner, she is the Motorcycle Community Coordinator for Overland Expo, in addition to creating dozens of charitable events and adventure rallies herself. Eva purchased her first bike, a 1979 Honda CB750, on a whim in her early twenties and has been riding ever since.
She discovered adventure motorcycling when she rolled into Overland Expo on her vintage Honda with a bundle of camping gear strapped to the seat. For the first time, she saw riders standing up on bikes that looked like spaceships, with their gear neatly stowed in metal panniers (which seemed much more practical than her duffle bag and bungee cords!). She was instantly inspired and got herself a KLR 650 within the year.
Eva has traveled extensively in North America and dreams of someday completing a round-the-world adventure ride. Eva loves exploring on two wheels and meets the world with boundless enthusiasm, curiosity, and optimism. She makes her home in Bisbee, Arizona where she runs the Jonquil Motel with her boyfriend, Sterling Noren. The vintage motor lodge is just a few miles from the Mexico border and has plenty of motorcycle parking out front.