Our Team
During the past several years, The Pangaea Project has received numerous inquires from individuals and organizations in Portland and around the world who are interested in connecting students to our unique programs. Additionally, we are delighted to hear from a growing number of youth participants who are looking for ways to stay involved with The Pangaea Project after they graduate. Both a blessing and a responsibility, the demand for student services and new graduate opportunities eventually outgrew our current capacity.In response, the original founders of the organization--Deb Delman and Stephanie Tolk--made a decision during the summer of 2009 to engage in thoughtful restructuring, with a focus on strategic fundraising and sound organizational development. Working closely with the Board of Directors and several expert advisors, The Pangaea Project created a new management model that promotes continued efficiency while better positioning the organization for growth. As a result of these changes, The Pangaea Project is able to deliver a dynamic local and international educational experience to twice as many student participants in 2010, offering both high school and community college credit to those who successfully complete the program.
We are proud of The Pangaea Project's tremendous track record for maximizing resources in order to achieve significant results, and we believe the future now holds even greater possibilities for long-term, sustainable impact.
Stephanie Tolk, MSW
Co-Founder, Resource Development Officer
At age 15, Stephanie Tolk was living in a small Connecticut town and surprised her family by announcing her desire to spend a summer abroad with AFS Intercultural Programs. Her travels up to that point included beachside destinations that all resembled one another, but it was the weekends in nearby New York City that offered her a glimpse into the complex, fascinating cultures beyond her neighborhood. That summer, she lived as an exchange student in Greece, and it was that experience that initially inspired a lifetime of travel to almost 40 countries, which has included a year abroad with AFS in the Netherlands, participation in Semester at Sea while studying at the University of Michigan, and service in the Peace Corps in Mali, West Africa.
Stephanie values immensely the ways in which international travel awakens, awes, and enlightens those fortunate enough to go abroad, and she believes that all people should have access to participation in overseas programs. After returning from two years in West Africa, Stephanie knew that her future held two concrete components: she would work towards social change, and she would in some way share this remarkable world with others. While coalescing this knowledge into something concrete, Stephanie earned her Masters of Social Work and volunteered at various agencies in Portland to become a deeper part of the community. Her vision of The Pangaea Project is the natural progeny and perfect symbiosis of her innate sense of social justice and her respect for all people on the planet.
Stephanie Tolk is currently employed part-time as The Pangaea Project's Resource Development Officer, and part-time as a mother to her beautiful baby girl Penelope.
Director of Programs
Joshua Mead was given the valuable gift of developmental cross-cultural awareness by growing up in a bicultural household and interacting in the multi-cultural neighborhoods where he was raised. While studying political science with an emphasis in biology in college, Joshua traveled to Kenya for five months to study wildlife conservation and land-use management. It was while working with the Maasai on cultivation practices, irrigation issues, and wildlife conflicts, that Joshua’s worldview began to fundamentally change and his passion for working with people was bolstered.
Joshua has happily called Portland home for the last eight years although he is loyal to his New England roots. He earned his Masters of Social Work in community-based practice and places high value on the insights that are produced from studying, working, interacting, and experiencing in cross-cultural environments. Committed to youth and families, Joshua has not only worked in direct services as a teacher, facilitator, mentor, tutor, and case manager, but has also sought to create change through program development. Joshua has proudly worked for the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, Catholic Charities: Refugee Resettlement, the Multnomah County Department of County Human Services, and the Multnomah County Commission on Children, Families, and Community. Joshua’s travels have taken him to Mexico, Canada, the West Indies, Belize, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Kenya, Tanzania, China, Mongolia, and throughout the United States.
Sarah Kennedy, MA
Program Instructor
In 1997, Sarah Kennedy organized a group of theater performers to travel down to the remote village of Terlingua, Texas, on the border between Texas and Mexico to do improvisation and Shakespearean performance work with the high school students. It was during this whirlwind three day experience that Sarah discovered how much she could learn from young people, and she has been striving to learn more and give back for the last 13 years. Sarah has a fierce commitment to equality, access and social justice that has been solidified by her years working with underserved youth in alternative education environments in Texas, Oregon and Arizona. She strives to bring these principles into the classroom at every opportunity and believes The Pangaea Project is an exciting place to exercise this practice. Sarah has an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Texas, and a Master’s degree in environment and community from Antioch University. However, Sarah strongly values the education she has received by traveling domestically and internationally, and through meeting people from all walks of life.
In-Country Coordinator, Thailand
The Pangaea Project’s In-Country Coordinator for Thailand, Adisak Kaewrakmook, holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Education from the Rajabhat Institute and a Maters of Arts in Philosophy from Chiang Mai University. A fluent English speaker, Adisak has worked with youth of all ages for over 12 years. He began his career as an English teacher in Chiang Mai and peppered the early years of his career with English-language summer camp coordination.
Adisak moved on to teaching English at a bilingual Montessori school, and for the past six years, he has worked with the Council on International Education Exchange program (CIEE) which coordinates international learning and exchange opportunities with college students. With CIEE, Adisak serves at Field Study Director where he oversees all components including orientation, homestays, excursions, and cultural trainings.
The Pangaea Project is thrilled to have Adisak on board as our In-Country Coordinator as he brings a wealth of knowledge about youth, teaching and training, and his country and culture. In addition, having spent several months in the United States, Adisak also brings a complex understanding of American culture and youth to his role as In-Country Coordinator, and we look forward to a long relationship with him.
Juan Sebastian Torres Cevallos
In-Country Coordinator, Ecuador
Sebastian has extensive experience within the Ecuadorian non-profit community, and brings his knowledge of the social justice issues of his country as well as his fluent English skills to The Pangaea Project. After graduating from the Catholic University of Ecuador with a degree in Ecotourism and a focus on ecology, botany and biology, Sebastian served as Program Coordinator of the Biciaccion Foundation, a Quito-based nonprofit which promotes bicycle transportation in the city. With that organization, Sebastian led groups of children and youth on bicycle tours of the city, educating about climate change and alternative transportation. In addition, Sebastian has served as a naturalist and a bilingual guide in the Quichwa communities of the Amazon rainforest teaching both locals and tourists about the ecology of the forest, its importance for the planet, and the impacts of human interventions. The Pangaea Project is thrilled to have Sebastian on board so that he can share his knowledge and love for his culture and country with Pangaea Project participants.