Our Story

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In 1980, Lou and Grisell Dinnella began leading American students to Spain. What started as a language and cultural immersion program grew into a four-decade effort to change young lives through international travel. Through Bravo Tours, Lou and Grisell safely guided thousands of students and teachers abroad.

Their son, Luis, grew up in that world. He traveled to Spain as a boy, watched teenagers arrive nervous and leave changed, and saw firsthand what happens when a young person is dropped into a culture, a language, and a way of life they didn't know existed. Those experiences shaped Luis's own path: a doctorate in history, a doctorate in ministry, a career in education, and a growing conviction that real formation happens not in classrooms but through direct experience.

BravoPlus was born from a simple question: what if every young person could have the experience that shaped us, regardless of what their family can afford?

BravoPlus continues the Dinnella family's work in two ways. Through Global Pathways Málaga, we bring the same cultural immersion to underserved students who would otherwise never have the chance to travel abroad. Through Walking the Way, we take high school students on a two-week walking journey along the Camino de Santiago, at a moment when adolescents everywhere are searching for purpose, resilience, and a sense of belonging.