Ethan Screnock

President

Ethan began in the travel industry over 15 years ago after graduating from Bethel University in St. Paul, MN, where he studied Computer Science and Philosophy. Ethan worked from the technology side of air travel developing software before pursuing operations management and then eventually served as the President of Centrav, Inc., an industry leading consolidator, for many years.  While raising his three daughters alongside his wife in Lakeville, MN, he became passionate about educational travel. As a board member of the SYTA Youth Foundation, he began to combine his specialties and connections in air travel to provide the experience of travel to all students. The uniqueness of Global Travel Alliance drew him and his family to relocate to Bozeman, MT last year. Ethan strives to continue the legacy of Global Travel Alliance, while growing the opportunities for all students to experience the value of travel. He is especially invested in the Global Doing Good and Leaf Cutters projects in Costa Rica, where he loves to travel with his family.

Linda Alesch

Chief Financial Officer

Steve Maehl

Vice President - Field Operations

A native Montanan who now lives in Orlando, Florida, Steve is the most experienced traveler and guide on staff. As a young boy he spent hours spinning his globe and reading travel guides dreaming about all the places he could someday go. Now, he lives his dream and has led trips to more than 20 countries and visited every continent – except Antarctica. Steve earned a college degree in Elementary Education from Montana State University and studied Experiential and Outdoor Education at the University of New Hampshire. He is a former educator who taught English at a Maori school in New Zealand. Steve is married with two children, and like most Montana natives, enjoys a rugged outdoor lifestyle including rafting, kayaking, snowboarding, hiking and camping.

Ryan Sparzak

Vice President - Educational Programs

Ryan is a committed and experienced educator with 10 years in school-based education. During this time he found himself spending more time with students out of the classroom than inside. He is passionate about changing the way students are educated in America and believes that educational travel is a key part of that change. After receiving a graduate degree in nonprofit management and a Masters in Education, he and his wife left Boston to work for Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City. Ryan worked alongside other committed educators to develop HCZ Promise Academy, both as a teacher and a school leader. Ryan also earned a Masters in Educational Leadership. After 7 years with HCZ, Ryan left New York City to work for Denver School of Science and Technology, where he was a founding science teacher at their College View Campus. In his spare time he loves hiking (especially with his wife and two kids), working long hours in his garden, and cooking.

Jeremy Swinborne

Chief Technology Officer

A graduate of Bethel University, in St. Paul, MN, with a Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Jeremy began working in the travel industry over 15 year ago.  He joined Ethan Screnock at Centrav, Inc. and began his adventure in the travel industry developing technology for booking and managing airline tickets.  Jeremy joined the Global Travel Alliance team in 2016, and is responsible for all of the technology needs.  A long time resident of Minnesota, Jeremy has been married to his high school sweetheart for over 20 years, and they have been blessed with four wonderful daughters.  When he is not busy orchestrating the many technology needs of our company, he may be found in his barn, building something new, or out in his yard harvesting and boiling sap to make maple syrup.

Dan Porta

Vice President - People & Culture

Dan was born in Northern Minnesota and graduated from Bethel College in St. Paul with a degree in Social Studies Education. He has been in education for over 12 years in various roles, including full time Social Studies teacher, outdoor educational director, class adviser, and skydiving instructor. He has traveled to Europe, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and all across the continental U.S. He currently lives in Shakopee with his wife and 2 small boys. He loves time with his family, being outdoors, exercising, and reading about all kinds of world history.

Timothy Smith

Lead Guide

Born in Seattle, Washington, Tim was raised in Minnesota following his family’s return from living in Deschapelles, Haiti. He stayed in the Land of 10,000 Lakes to attend St. Olaf College where he played for the Ole men’s tennis team and studied History and Spanish. After college Tim spent some time abroad in the Dominican Republic, only to return to the Midwest to complete a Master’s of Arts in American History at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. Tim has held a variety of tennis coaching positions, both nationally and internationally, including seasons in France, Mexico, the College of William and Mary, and the College of Charleston. Tim resides in Charleston, SC with his family. While his interests are varied, Tim spends much of his time in theology, philosophy and history as well as dabbling in some woodworking, aware he has so much to learn in all of them.

Paul Belanger

Director of GTrek

Paul joined Global Travel Alliance after a ten year career directing place-based education programs in Montana for The Nature Conservancy and Montana Audubon. Born and raised in Southwest Ohio, Paul later moved to the Rocky Mountain West and has since explored a majority of the Northern Rockies national parks, including a one year study at the Teton Science School in Teton National Park. Paul believes that a good trip equals abundant wildlife, landscape vistas, and few traces of a human footprint. Paul has a passion for helping young people connect with the outdoors through recreation and learning. Paul now lives in Hamilton, MT in the Bitterroot Valley with his wife and two children.

GTrek: Science & Adventure

J.J. Peterson

Director of Art and Design

J.J. grew up in Billings, Montana and went to college at the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, Minnesota. During his junior year in 2008 he directed his first American Heritage trip to Washington, D.C. and has done so every year since. He finished school in 2009 with bachelor’s degrees in Digital Media Art and Biblical and Theological Studies.  He then moved to Orlando, Florida and was a middle school art teacher for Orange County Public Schools. He joined Global Travel Alliance full-time in 2012 and now directs our art and design, leads American Heritage trips, and helps with Global Doing Good. J.J. lives in Minneapolis with his wife Soo. They love planning trips together to places like New York City and Europe in search of delicious food. J.J.’s favorite hobbies include building mechanical keyboards, drawing cartoons, and reading books about sports.

Pura Vida Costa Rica

Tyler Hetland

Educational Program Specialist

Tyler was born and raised in rural central Minnesota. Most of Tyler’s younger days were spent on the family farm and being active in the outdoors. After high school, Tyler attended the University of Northwestern – St. Paul where he spent 4 years earning a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and playing football for the Northwestern Eagles. During college Tyler worked in the service industry while also spending time with kids as a 5th grade basketball coach. After college he spent time organizing group events in the Minneapolis area for the Mall of America, Minnesota Vikings, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Tyler and his wife Breanna moved from the Twin Cities to Cleveland, OH where they spent two years before moving to Omaha, NE where they happily reside today. When Tyler is not working with schools or traveling the world with students, he can be found playing a variety of sports, traveling with his wife to see family and friends, and grilling in the evening.

Tori Soto

Senior Reservations Specialist

Tori was born in Hawaii and raised just outside of Washington, D.C. She recently moved to Florida and has joined the Global Travel Alliance team full time. Prior to this position, she was the Operations Manager of a major brand-name hotel in Alexandria, VA, where she was responsible for the supervision of all staff and customer satisfaction. She carries an expert wealth of knowledge regarding hotel operations and of the entire Washington, D.C. metro area. Tori loves all kinds of music and traveling around the world – she continues to hope and look for more adventure and travel opportunities. Tori now lives near Orlando in Apopka, FL with her son Noah.

Judy Maehl

Customer Care Specialist

Judy was born in South Africa and raised in England. She developed a love of travel early in life growing up in a family always on the move. After working in London for ten years she ran into an American group touring the UK led by Steve Maehl and owner Jeff Peterson. As they say, the rest is history, and now she holds her 3rd citizenship in America. Judy lives in Orlando with her husband Steve and two children. When she isn’t busy handling incoming payments for trips, you may get the chance to catch her international accent as she directs incoming calls for our worldwide trips.

Katie Conaway

Director of Marketing

Katie was introduced to the travel industry through her early work in theater group sales and a local tourism organization in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her undergraduate work centered on Arts Administration and she received a graduate degree in Arts Management and Program Development. Her passion for education stems from her time as Director of Education & Outreach at Pittsburgh Public Theater, and long-time board service for local arts education nonprofit, TJ Arts.  A life-long adventurer, Katie studied in London during college and has traveled extensively with her husband, including South Africa, Thailand, across the UK, Europe, and beyond. She believes travel has the power to challenge preconceptions, help young people become citizens of the world, and develop a deep respect for other cultures. Previously, Katie specialized in international and domestic tourism sales at VisitPITTSBURGH. She is delighted to combine her passion for travel and education at Global Travel Alliance. In her free time, Katie enjoys photography, live theater, and planning future travel adventures.

Sally Cebuhar

American Heritage Program Leader

Sally grew up in Billings, MT and graduated from Billings West High. She then attended EMC on a track scholarship. She received a degree in Special Education and Physical Education and then went on to receive a Masters’ degree from Leslie College.  Sally taught at Garfield Elementary for two years and then went down the road to Huntley Project for three. She finally landed a job in Billings at Castle Rock Middle School where she taught for 32 years and went on 12 8th grade class trips to Washington, D.C. Now with Global Travel Alliance she’s on the other side of student travel. Her passion for helping young people and serving others gives her great excitement for the Global Doing Good Service Scholars program.

Jamie Jarvis

American Heritage Program Leader

Jamie is a middle school History & Geography teacher in Billings, MT. Jamie brings great passion and teaching expertise to Global Travel Alliance while guiding throughout the United States and Europe every Spring. He is a firm believer that students should engage with the world around them and has since created the Two Roads Project: a micro-financed program that allows middle school students to create and manage small scale community outreach programs. Jamie grew up in Billings and has lived in Pennsylvania, Colorado and now lives in Billings with his wife.

Two Roads Project

Jeff Peterson

Founder

Jeff Peterson is the founder of Global Travel Alliance and lives in Billings, Montana with his wife Pam. He was born in 1956 and grew up in Northern Wisconsin, which is where he developed his first case of wanderlust while reading Lawrence of Arabia and Huckleberry Finn. In 1975 he moved to the Twin Cities of Minnesota, where he went to college and met Pam – the girl of his dreams. Within a few years Jeff was married and on his way to the Big Sky Country of Montana. From 1984 to 1993 he taught various grade levels and subjects on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations, and from 1994 to 1999 he taught at Montana State University – Billings.

During his time at MSU-B, he launched (with partners) the Rocky Mountain Language and Culture Institute and also started work as the Program Director for the International Studies Department at MSU-B. In 1997 he traveled to Japan, Korea, Egypt, and Kuwait to develop these programs for the university.

In 1999 Jeff became the Headmaster of a private school in Florida, with an objective and purpose to internationalize the school curriculum. Two years later he became an active member on the board of directors of an education and missions non-profit, and then founded Global Travel Alliance in 2004.

Jeff holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Christian Theology, History, and Education. He has taught full-time at the elementary, secondary, and college levels. His 30+ years in the field of education have been strongly influenced by a devotion to cross-cultural education. Today, Global Travel Alliance specializes in class trips to Washington, D.C. and New York City, science expeditions to Costa Rica and Montana, historical and cultural trips to destinations worldwide, and much more. No matter your travel experience, his staff can develop a trip experience for you that is eye-opening and life-changing.