Verge Magazine: Volunteer abroad, work and travel, study abroad

Jeff Minthorn

co-founder, editor-in-chief

Jeff hails from Waterloo, Ontario and has worked and studied on four continents and travelled to six, including a season's worth of expeditions to Antarctica. With degrees in Environmental Studies and Architecture from the University of Waterloo, Jeff has a solid background in design, which he makes good use of in his art director role. Before co-founding Verge magazine, he worked for eight years as an outdoor education instructor and guide. He is a great believer in experiential education and sees Verge Magazine as a means of encouraging more people to learn about the world by experiencing as much of it as possible.

Tannis Hett

co-founder, business manager

Originally from Edmonton, Tannis left the prairies as a teenager,and has been on the move ever since. After two years of college in Wales, she continued her studies abroad, obtaining degrees in economics from Cambridge University and the University of Chicago. While working in the environmental field for several years, she worked and volunteered in eight different countries, and she has travelled to all seven continents. Verge has managed to bundle all Tannis' interests into one great work environment.

Arden Jobling-Hey

outreach, events

Originally from Toronto, Arden has studied, volunteered and worked her way around the world. From promoting HIV/AIDS awareness as an international volunteer in Tanzania and teaching business English in Germany, to exploring hidden treasures of the Turkish bazaar and accepting a fairy tale proposal amidst the dunes of the Moroccan dessert.  Arden believes that as long as there are unknown lands to discover, the adventure never ends! She holds an M.A in International Communications and Development from City University London in the UK and has worked as a freelance writer and a development practitioner for a number of NGOs.

Jessica Wynne Lockhart

contributing editor

Although Jessica has travelled to more than 20 countries, her favorite place to throw down her bag is still her hometown of Cold Lake, Alberta. In addition to holding a Bachelor of Journalism, Jess has worked in both head office and field capacities for international development organizations and tour operators. She’s conducted environmental education workshops in Vanuatu, perfected the use of a satellite phone in the jungles of Guyana and supervised teenage pool parties in the Dominican Republic. Jess currently resides in Toronto, where she’s constantly planning in her next big adventure.

Jemma Young

communications, events

Originally from a small town in south-eastern Ontario, Jemma has long dreamed to voyage beyond her native environment. Trips to the Dominican Republic and Honduras, where she volunteered at a primary school, allowed her to take her first steps in fulfilling this desire. Voted “Most Likely to be a Journalist” in her high school yearbook, Jemma - unsurprisingly - graduated from Canada’s Capital University with a degree in Communication Studies.

Contributing Editors

Andrea Gourgy

Originally from Montreal, Andrea has a hard time staying in one place. After gaining a BA from Western and a Masters in Journalism from the University of Southern California, Andrea hit the road and never looked back. She has worked professionally as a journalist in six different countries, and earned several travel writing awards in the process. Andrea joined the Verge team in 2006.

Zalina Alvi

contributing editor

Zalina grew up in Toronto and began her career in journalism at the York University campus newspaper. Before joining Verge in 2010, she worked for a documentary festival, a non-profit organization and various magazines and newspapers. Zalina has had some eclectic travel experiences, including reporting for a newspaper on the island of Molokai in Hawaii.

Julia Steinecke

When she left her hometown of Kapuskasing, Ontario, Julia embarked on the travels that would eventually take her through Guatemala, Jordan, India, Laos, Cuba, Ireland, China and more. Julia has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University and has been a letter carrier, ESL teacher, women's shelter counsellor, editor and journalist. She's the author of Pink Planet, a monthly travel column in the Toronto Star. Julia has shared a National Magazine Award, and received three Ontario Arts Council grants.

 Trevor Lush

Professional photographer Trevor Lush has produced imagery for some of  the industry's foremost agencies. Recent productions have taken him from  the glitz of Las Vegas to the stark beauty of the Canadian Arctic. Trevor  contributes a regular column on travel photography.

Dr. Mark Wise

Travel Bugs columnist, Mark Wise is a family doctor in Toronto, specializing in travel and tropical medicine. He is the director of The Travel Clinic and acts as medical advisor to numerous NGOs and is on the board of Canadian Feed the Children. He has travelled to most of the places where you might consider volunteering

Matthew Forss

Verge magazine's music columnist, Matthew Forss holds a BA in biology, MS in exercise science, and an MFA in creative writing. Since 2000, he has been writing world music reviews for Edmonton-based Inside World Music.com, while amassing a very large collection of ethnomusicological recordings from every country in the world. Matthew continues to publish music articles and cultural book reviews in various academic journals and magazines and has an acquired taste for Central Asian linguistics (Uzbek, Kazakh, and Tajik).