Staff

Steve Struthers is the Executive Director of Global Citizens Network. 

Contact Steve - steve@globalcitizens.org    612.436.8291

Steve's professional focus has always revolved around helping public and non-profit organizations deliver more value for those they serve, and he is excited to bring that passion and experience to his role as GCN's new executive director.  He did this for 14 years as a partner in The Public Strategies Group - a consulting firm dedicated to helping government agencies reinvent themselves into customer-focused, results-driven enterprises.  More recently, he helped guide Minnesota's AmeriCorps national service programs to become more outcome-driven through his work at ServeMinnesota, including serving as the founding executive director at Minnesota Education Corps - home of the Minnesota Reading Corps and Minnesota Math Corps.

On a personal front, Steve and his family have embraced cross-cultural immersion.  Both of his sons attended a Spanish-language immersion elementary school from Kindergarten to 5th grade.  As part of that experience, Steve's family hosted full-year teaching interns from Spanish-speaking countries (Peru, Colombia, and Spain) for four years.  They also hosted a high-school student from the United Arab Emirates for a month during the summer of 2010.  Most significantly, Steve and his wife (a family practice doctor) took a year-long service sabbatical in Costa Rica in 2007-08, volunteering in a free pediatric clinic outside San Jose while their sons attended a local school.

All of these immersion experiences have not only produced great friendships and wonderful memories. They have also reinforced Steve's belief that we will reach better, more sustainable solutions to our global challenges if more of us spend time living among and learning from individuals and communities unlike ourselves.

Linda Stuart is the Director of Global Citizens Network.

Contact Linda - linda@globalcitizens.org 612.436.8271

Sensing that she was not complete, she started traveling at age 16 in search of something that might make her whole. What began as a senior class eco-tour to Dominica has turned into Linda's life work as an advocate for respectful cross-cultural encounters and responsible travel.

In 1996 Linda went to Nicaragua as an international observer of the presidential elections. She studied abroad in Ecuador on the University of MN's Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) program for one year. Passionate about community development and motivated by GCN's mission, Linda led her first GCN team to Llanos de Morales, Guatemala in 1999.

In 2001, Linda and her husband put their six month old daughter in a front-pack and ventured off to Santiago, Chile. Linda studied at the University of Chile in the Masters of Arts in International Studies program. In conjunction with the UN's Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean (CEPAL), she completed her thesis entitled, "La relacion entre el ecoturismo y sus impactos sociales: El caso de las poblaciones locales en Chile y Ecuador." Linda and her family (+ another one on the way) returned to the states after receiving her MA in 2003.

Most recently, Linda had been serving the Twin Cities immigrant community as an ESL instructor and curriculum writer at the Lincoln Adult Education Center in Minneapolis, MN.

Moreover, she has worked in management, development, administrative and research positions for the Institute for New Americans, Seward Community Co-op, Trece Lunas Arts Collective, Rethinking Tourism Project, World Bank Project SICA, Augsburg College's Center for Global Education, and the US Dept. of Justice.

She has taught Spanish for managers and workplace English at area restaurants. Linda holds a BA in International Relations and Spanish from Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN.

"I still imagine a million and one places I'd like to visit, but even more people I'd love to meet."

Laura Nuñez is the Regional Coordinator for Latin America & Alternative Breaks Outreach. 

Contact Laura - laura@globalcitizens.org  612.436.8274

She comes to GCN excited to support the organization's mission, continue to learn more about indigenous cultures and participate in international community service.  Laura holds a dual B.A. degree in International Relations and Spanish/Latin American studies and a M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University in Washington, D.C.

In 2006 Laura traveled to Peru with the Fulbright Program to study the impact of political decentralization policies on marginalized rural indigenous communities in the southern department Puno.  Her research focused on the areas of health, education, and development needs in Aymara communities of extreme poverty living over 14,000 above sea level.  Laura also worked on a project with rural farmers to promote organic quinoa production and access to the local restaurant market.  She volunteered with a local tour agency to develop a youth literacy volunteer curriculum on the island communities of Lake Titicaca.  Later, she spent time in Lima, expanding her knowledge of travel resources and non-profit organizations in other regions of Peru and nearby countries as the assistant manager of South American Explorers Clubhouse.

Sam Hinton is the Regional Coordinator for Africa and Asia.

Contact Sam - sam@globalcitizens.org  612.436.8273

He was born in Nairobi, Kenya where he learned that instigating informal soccer games is a great way to bring people together. In joining GCN, he is thrilled to pursue his passions for cross-cultural learning and human development.

Sam studied at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania for the ’03-‘04 school year on an International Reciprocal Student Exchange Program (IRSEP) scholarship and graduated with a B.S.B in Finance from the University of Minnesota in 2004.  He returned to Tanzania in 2006 to work for a safari company and to start a local joint-venture business. In early 2009, he volunteered with a small NGO (Confident Children Out of Conflict) to develop and implement a UNICEF funded sports project for vulnerable youth in Juba, Sudan.

Before joining GCN, Sam worked in Merchandising at Target Corp in Minneapolis. Between stints in Africa has also lived and worked in New York and London. He coaches youth soccer in the Twin Cities and is always looking to translate his experience in business into opportunities for social entrepreneurship.

Gaston Pierri is the Atlas Corps Fellow

Contact Gaston- gaston@gcn-ise.org 612.436.8293

After finishing his studies in Administrative and International Law, and having developed an interesting career in the Ministry of Economy and the UNDP program in Argentina, Gastón traveled to Spain where, unexpectedly, he decided to pursue a Master's degree in Public Administration at the University of Alcalá. There, he obtained a Diploma in International Cooperation at the Complutense University and began the doctorate program in Applied Economics.

 Upon reaching candidacy, Gastón decided to travel to the Dominican Republic to work at a socio-juridical research foundation and participate in projects to improve the conditions of Haitian workers in the sugar industry.

 This experience ignited a passion for the Dominican Republic, a country with which he has established lasting and meaningful ties with a desire to improve development projects and the work of nonprofits. 

 As a result of these experiences and expertise, Gastón is 1 of 20 selected participants -out of nearly a 1,000 applicants- of the 2011 Atlas Corps Program that provides specialized training for leaders of nonprofits in the United States, through which he will be serving both Global Citizens Network and Intercultural Student Experiences. 

Erin McGillivray is the Volunteer Engagement Specialist.

Contact Erin – erin@gcn-ise.org 612.436.8275

Having devoted the last decade to the field of international service, Erin aspires to expand her global network and to inspire others to do the same. While earning her BA in Business Leadership from the University of Puget Sound, Erin studied abroad in Nepal with the School for International Training, fully embracing the experiential education approach.  There, the ubiquitous beggars of Kathmandu tugged at her heart and she focused her independent study project on the topic, returning home with a new outlook on life. 

She then served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya, providing teacher training in HIV/AIDS education. After securing last place in an international camel derby in northern Kenya, Erin extended her stay in East Africa by climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and then traveled overland in public transportation from Nairobi, Kenya to Cape Town, South Africa.  Her most recent cross-cultural excursion was in the village of Chirapa, Peru with GCN.  Through these experiences, Erin learned that global immersion changes lives and she looks forward to sharing its power to transform with others. 

Before joining the GCN team in 2010, Erin worked as a Peace Corps recruiter and for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  The combination of these roles gave her a solid foundation for partnering with supporters and volunteers of GCN to grow the network of global citizens. “As a lifelong advocate for international service and cross-cultural immersion, I look forward to continuing to play an integral part of the vision to create and sustain a network of globally minded people.”

Jeffrey Bragg is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator.

Contact Jeffrey– jeffrey@gcn-ise.org 612.436.8263

Jeffrey is the Marketing/Communications Coordinator with GCN/ISE with the responsibility of managing and creating of all marketing and development tools, collaterals, special events, and internal/external communications.  He has over 5 years experience in marketing and advertising in the area of non profits.

Jenn Gallup is the Office Coordinator.

Contact Jenn - jenn@gcn-ise.org 612.436.8280

Jenn has worked for five years in fundraising, building grassroots support, and the general administrative functions with the Fund For Public Interest Research.  She helped build a groundswell of community grassroots support on behalf various non- profits that focus environmental advocacy, consumer protection, and human rights  (Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Human Rights Campaign, Amnesty International, the state PIRGs, and USPIRG.) Most recently, she gained three years of experience working in the field of wind power development as a GIS specialist and administrative assistant. 

Jenn is so excited to be on GCN’s team, because of the mission.  She strongly believes in building of cross-cultural partnerships that create a global community, and feels it is a great fit for both her talents and passion.

Jenn rides bikes as transportation and occasionally for sport, but it also just helps keep a big, goofy grin on her face.  She went car-free over ten years ago and never looked back.  She loves riding, no matter the weather.  In fact, riding year-round is what has helped her to truly appreciate the beauty of winter in Minnesota.

Asa Widiastomo is the GCN-ISE Event Managerment Intern.

Asa Widiastomo is currently a senior at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies. As an international student from Indonesia, Asa understands the challenges of having a balance between adapting to American culture and staying true to her Indonesian traditions. Therefore, along with other ambassadors from the International Student Ambassadors Program, she wrote blogs to help international students discover, prepare, transition, engage and achieve at their universities in the US, especially the U of M. She has also been involved in the Minnesota Indonesian Student Association in providing social, cultural and community activities for Indonesian students within and outside UMN Twin Cities while promoting Indonesian vibrant and versatile culture to the University and community at large. As Asa is interested in intercultural communication and international education, she hopes to further her studies in these areas after graduation. Asa is very excited to join GCN as their Event Management Intern to support the 20^th and 40^th Anniversary Campaign of Global Citizens Network and Intercultural Student Experiences (ISE), respectively.

 Brittany Liebhard is the GCN Program Intern.

Brittany is currently a Junior at Macalester College in Saint Paul pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Hispanic Studies and Community & Global Health.  Driven by her thirst for internationalism and language immersion, she spent a summer in Guatemala studying in a language school, and most recently a semester in Chile through the School of International Training studying public health, traditional medicine, and community empowerment.  Brittany hopes to continue her passion for international service and cross-cultural communication after graduation through a long-term volunteer experience abroad and a career in International Public Health.