Volunteer Tania Pirozzi

I’ve been in Brooklyn since before it was cool to do so, but I guess I have my parents to blame since you can’t choose where you were born. I have travelled through south and central America, Europe (including a stint living in Milan after college), and done three Habitat trips already: Tajikistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. I blame my parents again for some of that, but really, most of it was me. By day, I’m the deputy photo editor at Town and Country magazine, by night, I am an avid couch surfer with exceptional knowledge of bad tv. I prefer a book over a magazine any day (don’t tell my editor friends) and I think building a house in a third world country with a bunch of strangers is super fun (don’t tell my snotty New York friends). I’m dumb enough to try anything twice, although I’ve all but given up on liking spicy foods. I’m allergic to cats, but I prefer to tell people I’m allergic to tigers becausesounds better. I’m a libra.

Volunteer Bob Peterson

I grew up on a farm in Minnesota. With Barb’s jobs, I have been able to be self-employed most of my life since military service during the Vietnam War. I have been a real estate broker, estate planning attorney - at the same time offering financial planning and tax service. I then became the Director of Gift Planning for the University of Minnesota Foundation and finally the Vice Chancellor for University of Relations at the Crookston campus of the University of Minnesota. I am now semi-retired, still providing tax service for a few clients. I am kept busy as President of PET (Personal Energy Transportation) affiliate in the Minneapolis, and Vice President of a non-profit senior housing, assisted living and memory care facility. In addition to leading HFH work camps in the US and Canada for 25 years, we have participated in several Global Village trips since retirement- El Salvador, Ecuador, Mongolia, New Zealand and Nepal. We have also visited 10 other countries since retirement for pleasure and very much enjoy meeting new people and exploring new places. I look forward to our trip to Kyrgyzstan.

Volunteer Barb Peterson

After growing up on a farm in Minnesota, I attended the University of Minnesota. Bob and I met and married there and I followed him around the world as an Air Force officer’s wife. Upon returning to Minnesota I joined 3M as a research librarian. After almost 30 years I retired from 3M and joined Ecolab as the Director of Global Knowledge Management. At the end of 2007 I retired again. Bob and I are longtime members of the United Church of Christ in New Brighton and it is an important part of our lives. Both of our children and their families, including granddaughters 7 and 9, attend and so we get to see them often. Retirement has given me time to pursue my interests in gardening and travel. I have become a Master Gardener in Wisconsin, where we live on 50+ acres. Each year we expand our gardens and orchard. Habitat for Humanity has been an important part of our lives for 25 years as I have helped Bob lead work camps to many parts of the US and Canada every year. I am really looking forward to this opportunity to be part of the team in Kyrgyzstan.

Volunteer Greg Lehmann

I have spent nearly all my 28 years living on the sunny coast of California, with the majority of it near where I currently live in Los Angeles. As much as I love LA and my day-to-day life as an engineer in the aerospace industry, I also eagerly welcome any opportunity to escape from routine and embark on a new adventure. My passions include listening to lively music, eatng delicious food, working with my hands, learning new practical skills, playing soccer and staying fit, having good conversations with interesting people, getting outdoors on weekends, and of course traveling. After dabbling in learning Spanish, I first got my feet wet travelling extensively in South and Central America before branching out to Thailand and most recently Tanzania. While I always like to seek out new and exciting places to explore, I believe the best part about traveling is not necessarily the cool sights I see but the people that I meet and how I always come out a wiser person no matter what difficulties I encounter. I first got involved with Habitat for Humanity while attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Soon after joining the campus chapter, I began serving as a club officer and had the pleasure of joining three Collegiate Challenge trips with fellow students during our spring break vacation. After reconnecting with Habitat this last year, I met another volunteer that turned me onto the Global Village program. As soon as I began reading about it, I knew I had to join in since it basically combines all my interests into one convenient two week trip. On my application I put Kyrgyzstan down as my first choice and so here I am. I look forward to meeting you all!