Meet our Staff

Tom Peden, Founder/Director of Programs

Tom Peden was born in northern Illinois. His first taste of travel and service learning came through a trip to Venezuela during his sophomore year in college. He credits the experience with changing his life by sparking a life-long passion for travel and experiencing different cultures. Before graduating with a teaching degree from Trinity International University, Tom took a second trip abroad, this time backpacking through Europe. 

As a teacher, Tom taught everything from English to technology and worked with middle school students and business professionals. In 1996, he left teaching for a job as a project manager for web-based projects with American Express. His strong cultural curiosity was fed by friendships with his new colleagues, mostly technology specialists from all over the world.

In the winter of 2002, Tom took a leap of faith, leaving his position at American Express to found World Endeavors. With a keen interest in social entrepreneurship, other cultures and making a difference in the world, Tom sees his work at World Endeavors as a way for him to kindle an excitement for meaningful travel in others. Tom enjoys seeing young people travel abroad for the first time and loves hearing what returned participants have learned or how they have made a contribution. Inspired by the energy and openness of all of World Endeavors’ participants, Tom hopes to continue learning about the world and sharing his experiences with others.

When he isn’t visiting women’s community projects in Tanzania or enjoying a sunrise in the Himalayas, Tom lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife, his dog Millie, and a new baby who will arrive in fall 2008.

Jennifer Baldwin, Enrollment Advisor

Jennifer has enjoyed helping hundreds of participants travel abroad ever since World Endeavors started in 2002. Since then, she has visited many of the World Endeavors’ sites all over the world and has worked as both a participant advisor and in program development. Before World Endeavors, Jennifer attended DePaul University and the University of Minnesota and enjoyed a brief career in human resources for a technology company. Jennifer hopes to return soon to India, one of her favorite places.

Glenn Klapperich, Office Manager

A childhood interest in archeology first exposed Glenn to the idea of international travel and cultural immersion.  Though Glenn's career choice changed, he still has a strong interest in traveling and experiencing other cultures, languages, and traditions.  Glenn is a graduate of Carroll College in Wisconsin, his home state.  To date, Glenn's favorite trip was to Germany and Austria, particularly the city of Munich.  He studies German and Chinese in his free time and the list of places he wants to visit is too long to fit on this page.  Glenn keeps the World Endeavors office running smoothly as Office Manager.

Laura Wahl, Enrollment Advisor

Laura is originally from Minneapolis and has volunteered in India, Nepal and Russia. She has also studied anthropology in Peru and music in Norway.  She speaks Spanish and hopes her next trip will be to Africa or Thailand.  At World Endeavors, Laura works with people who are interested in participating in programs abroad. 

Lindsay Allen, Project Coordinator

Lindsay is originally from Minnesota but grew up in Hong Kong and Mexico City, leading to a lifelong interest in international travel.  She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Asian Studies, and has an MA in Spanish Translation.  She recently spent a year studying Portuguese in Coimbra, Portugal, and traveling around Europe.  Some of her favorite destinations from recent travels include northern France, Slovenia, and Costa Rica.  Lindsay works on special projects at World Endeavors. 

Herman Antonov, Accounting Assistant

Herman is from Kiev, Ukraine and has worked as an accounting assistant for World Endeavors since September 2007.  He has lived in the United States since 2004 and is a student at the University of Minnesota studying International Relations, Finance, and Management.  Herman enjoys playing basketball, spending time with his family, and traveling, and some of his favorite places that he has visited are the Black Sea and the Carpathian Mountains.  Herman speaks Ukrainian, Russian, and English. 

Justin Loutsch, Outreach Intern

Justin is originally from Syracuse, NY, and moved to Minneapolis in 2006 when he transferred to the University of Minnesota to complete his BA in Global Studies with a concentration in Central Europe.  Justin first went abroad to Germany in 2004 with his high school German class.  After he came back he decided that he wanted to learn more about the language and culture, so in 2007-2008 Justin spent a year studying in Graz, Austria.  He hopes to return to the region soon. 

Jeff Torgerson, Video Editing Intern

Jeff grew up in northern Minnesota where he enjoyed wakeboarding, swimming, and other outdoor sports. He moved to Minneapolis to study at the Institute of Production and Recording where he will obtain a degree in audio for television and motion picture. Jeff has traveled to Australia and New Zealand and is interested in visiting Nepal and India. His main interests are music, church, and weightlifting. Jeff plans to one day design sound for major motion pictures.

Ashley Severson, Outreach Intern

Ashley is originally from Westbrook, a small town in Southwest Minnesota. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin in River Falls with a degree in English-Creative Writing emphasis, and a minor concentration in International Studies. She first developed a love for traveling and learning about different cultures through her European study abroad program in 2005. She also had a great experience in the summer of 2006 in Japan, teaching English to elementary school students. Ashley recently returned to Minnesota after a year of volunteer work in Slovakia, and she is hoping to vist there again in the coming years.

Millie, Office Mascot

Millie has held the position of Office Mascot for over 5 years. She likes to have her tummy rubbed by the staff and visitors and is quite vocal – next time you call the office, you might be fortunate to hear her chime in. Though she hasn’t traveled out of the United States, she has been as far west as the Black Hills of South Dakota which, we must admit, is not too bad for a dog.