Educator. Researcher. National park enthusiast. My whole career has been about helping people get more out of the experiences that matter most.
As an educator, a researcher, and someone who has explored every U.S. National Park, I know that the best experiences happen when someone truly sees who you are. PersonaTour makes that possible for every guide, on every tour.
Hi, I'm Mike Mihalik.
I'm based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and for the past twenty years I have lived at the intersection of two worlds — formal education and informal learning. By day I have worked in public education. By every other moment I have been exploring, guiding, and studying what happens when people encounter the world outside the classroom.
I have guided trips to Alaska every year and led countless journeys through the American West. I have visited every single U.S. National Park — not just as a traveler, but as someone who genuinely believes our parks are the greatest classrooms in the world. I am fortunate to share this passion with an amazing wife who has broadened my horizons even further, introducing me to the extraordinary guided experiences that Europe has to offer.
At the end of the day, what drives me is simple. I want to help people have better experiences — experiences that stay with them, that shape how they see the world, and that remind them why places like Kenai Fjords or the Grand Canyon or the streets of Rome deserve to be understood, not just visited.
The moment everything changed.
In 2014 I completed a Master's degree through Oregon State University — the same institution where John Falk and Lynn Dierking conducted the foundational research behind PersonaTour. I studied science education with a specific focus on free-choice learning — the kind of learning we spend the majority of our lives doing, outside of formal classrooms, in national parks, museums, zoos, aquariums, and on guided experiences.
That program introduced me to research and insights that permanently changed how I understood human experience. The central insight was this:
I can take fifteen people on the same trail, on the same day, and every single one of them will have a completely unique experience. Same path. Same guide. Fifteen different journeys.
That realization was profound. And it raised an uncomfortable question about the guided tour industry — one I could not stop thinking about.
What formal education knows that guided tours don't.
In formal education, we work hard to meet students where they are. We find out what they already know. We uncover their misconceptions. We enrich those who are ready for more depth and we support those who need a different approach. No good teacher treats thirty students as if they are all the same person.
But I have been on guided tours where every single guest is treated identically — regardless of their background, their expertise, their reasons for being there, or what they need from the experience to feel it was truly worthwhile.
There are times when informal and formal education learn from each other. Usually the lessons flow from informal to formal. This time, I believe it goes the other way. The guided tour industry — and every free-choice learning setting, from national parks to museums to zoos to aquariums — has something important to learn from the classroom. It starts with knowing who is in your group before you begin.
Going deeper into the field.
I continued this work through my doctoral degree at Baylor University, where I was able to focus specifically on learning in free-choice settings. I was fortunate enough to write my dissertation about Kenai Fjords National Park — my favorite place on earth — studying a topic I was deeply passionate about.
Through that research I identified practical, evidence-based strategies that lead to measurably improved visitor experience. Not theoretical frameworks sitting on a shelf. Specific, actionable insights that any guide can apply — in a national park, on a walking tour, at a museum, or anywhere people gather to experience something together.
The catch was that these insights only work if the guide knows who they are guiding.
That gap became PersonaTour.
Why I built this.
PersonaTour exists because every guide deserves to walk up to their group already knowing who they are leading. Not a guess. Not a generic welcome. A real understanding of the people standing in front of them — their identity, their context, their curiosity, and what they need from this experience to feel it was worth their time.
And every guest deserves a guide who truly sees them.
The research has existed for decades. The strategies have been proven in national parks, museums, zoos, and guided experiences around the world. What was missing was a platform that made it practical and accessible for every guide, on every tour, every single day.
That is what PersonaTour is.
I built this because I have spent my entire career — in classrooms, on trails, in national parks, and in academic research — trying to help people have better experiences. PersonaTour is the most direct expression of that work I have ever produced.
Let's talk.
If you run tours, lead guided experiences, or work in any free-choice learning setting and want to talk about what this could look like for your organisation — reach out. I read every email and I would genuinely love to hear about the experiences you create.
PersonaTour · Allentown, Pennsylvania · Built on research. Designed for guides. Made for the moments that stay with people.