Author. Speaker. Leader
Inspiring personal and organizational transformation through global storytelling, strategic insight, and a commitment to social impact.
Featured In:
Meet Riza
Dr. Riza Rasco is a global explorer, author, and internationally recognized leader in impact-driven travel and women’s empowerment.
A scientist with a Ph.D. in life sciences, she has traveled to all 203 countries (193 UN member states and 10 non-UN countries).
After a prolific and accomplished career in scientific research and innovation, she embarked on a journey that gradually reshaped her life—what began as an attempt to navigate a period of personal loss, emotional upheaval, and inner disconnection became a decade-long global odyssey of reflection, reinvention, and purpose.
A reinvention story herself, Riza transformed her life from corporate science to global storytelling, social impact, and purpose-driven leadership.
Riza now leads both nonprofit and business organizations that harness the power of travel to create meaningful change in communities.
She is an invited speaker at international conferences and global forums, and her journey and impact work have been featured in National Geographic, Forbes, The Telegraph, The Sunday Times, and other international media.
Latest Updates
In Cameroon’s Gorilla Forest, I Found a Lesson I Didn’t Know I Needed
In March 2016, I found myself in the kind of place most maps barely bother to name—an island within a jungle, within a park, within a little-known corner of Cameroon. I had joined three friends—Thomas, John, and Roberto—for an offbeat expedition to a remote area of...
Welcome to My New Chapter: Introducing the Memoir, the Mission, and the Movement
Hello, and welcome. If you’ve just discovered this blog, welcome. I didn’t set out with the goal of exploring every country in the world—not at first. What began as a break from a long career in science and intellectual property management gradually turned into a...
Why I Left Everything Behind to Travel the World—and What I Found Instead
I didn’t set out to reinvent my life. Not at first. At the time, I had what most people would call a successful life—on paper. Nearly two decades of work in science and intellectual property management. A 17-year corporate career. A home in the United States. A...
The World Is My Mirror
One Woman’s Global Journey to Reinvention
The World Is My Mirror is a literary memoir told in vignettes—reflective, self-contained chapters capturing emotional turning points, personal insights, and transformative experiences across my journey.