About Pam

Pamela LeBlanc

Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Pam grew up in Austin and attended Texas A&M University, where she earned a degree in agricultural journalism. She worked at the Plano Star-Courier and The Monitor in McAllen, Texas, before joining the staff of the Austin American-Statesman in 1998.

During a nearly 21-year career at the Statesman, she launched the weekly Fit City column, ran a naked 5K and rappelled down a 38-story building as part of her Year of Adventure, and wrote about travels that took her from the John Muir Trail in California to the rivers of West Texas and the oceans surrounding Fiji and the Galapagos Islands.

Today she’s an Austin-based freelance writer who specializes in stories about outdoor adventure and recreation. Through her writing, she introduces readers to other adventurers and explorers, keeps them informed about the latest fitness trends, and challenges herself to try new things. (She goes through a lot of sun screen and bandages, and doesn’t care when she flubs things up, either.)

She is also available for speaking engagements, focusing on topics such as injecting adventure into everyday life, staying fit through aging and wacky ways to stay active in Central Texas. She has spoken at the Texas Conference for Women, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Texas, the YMCA of Greater Austin, Nerd Nite Austin and more, and is available to talk about anything related to her life of adventure.

She is currently working on a book about Texas land conservationist J. David Bamberger for Texas A&M University Press.

"I’m no stranger to public humiliation."

- Pam LeBlanc