Our Team

Deliberate Detour draws from the vast expertise present around the world as we grow. Our team members may be parents, entrepreneurs, travelers, and worldschoolers, though they’re always passionate about the power of immersive travel to change people and create peace. Meet our team below!

Administration

Stephanie Tolk

Founder

Stephanie worldschooled for 2.5 years with her husband and two daughters, visiting bucket list and off-the-beaten track sites in more than 20 countries. Inspired to create the type of worldschooling hub her family sought, she founded Deliberate Detour in 2023. Not only has she spent nearly five years of her life abroad as an exchange student, Peace Corps Volunteer, backpacker, and worldschooler, but Stephanie has a professional background as a nonprofit founder and executive director. In her professional life, she has supervised teams with up to 15 people, and blends this leadership experience with a passion for supporting traveling families.

Misa Bacon

Bookkeeper

Misa Bacon, CEO of Perfectly Kept Books, helps women leaders become empowered to make better business decisions. From Dallas, Texas, Misa brings classic southern hospitality into her work, providing a calm, anxiety-free experience. She’s also a single mom to an amazingly creative daughter, and it’s important to Misa that she grows up in a world surrounded by empowered women.

Ashley Rice

Marketing Specialist

Ashley Rice is a former radio host and television news reporter turned homeschooling/worldschooling mom and entrepreneur. A Chicago native with years in media and communications, Ashley has shifted her focus to creating meaningful spaces for families. With her husband, she founded Natural Nest Play Cafe—a Montessori-inspired, eco-conscious play space that embraces holistic living and also, A Sister’s Village nonprofit uplifting young moms. Now based on the East Coast of the U.S., Ashley blends her media savvy with a passion for holistic parenting, learning, and community-building.

Peru

Camila Mejia

Hub Director & Manager

Camila Mejia, who hails from the city of Arequipa, Peru, joined Deliberate Detour in 2024 and has served as Hub Manager and Hub Director. She’s responsible not only for facilitating programs with youth but for arranging every detail. In her previous role as Logistics Coordinator with Working Without Borders, Camila gained extensive experience supporting traveling families and enjoyed sharing the vibrant culture of her country. Passionate about local food production, social justice, and immersive travel, Camila recently completed a Master’s Degree in Spain.

Mariana Delgado Quintana

Hub Team Member

A native of Cusco, Mariana attended university in Argentina, where she worked with children in an orphanage-type setting. Now back home, Mariana works at an Amazonian art center, supporting producers from the Peruvian rainforest. She also spends time as her clown character, Oscuridad, enjoying games, play, and exploring vulnerability. Mariana says, “working with children is the best thing that can happen to someone due to the gratifying experiences it brings.” Mariana has served as our Hub Associate, supporting and enriching the experiences of our participants, since 2024.

Enzo Guglielmino

Hub Team Member

Born and raised in Peru, Enzo has worked closely with worldschooing families throughout the Cusco area and the Sacred Valley for more than three years. As an experiential educator through Valley Camp, Enzo supported Peruvian children and teenagers during enrichment programs, and with Working Without Borders, Enzo sheparded worldschooling families through their explorations of Peru’s Sacred Valley. A talented musician and music teacher, Enzo shares his knowledge of Latin American rhythms and traditional music through workshops with Deliberate Detour participants.

Mexico

Linda Kenyon

Hub Director & Manager

Linda Kenyon was instrumental in creating, launching, and managing Deliberate Detour hubs in 2024. She completed her graduate studies in Sociology and Linguistics in Australia and began traveling in Latin America soon after. For more than 7 years, she has lived in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she has become fluent in Spanish and bicultural. An instructor of English as a second language, Linda has worked as a teacher and curriculum developer for people of all ages within schools, non-profits, and private institutions.

Maria Arriaga

Hub Associate

María is a visual artist and painting teacher with a background in galleries and community art spaces. She has years of experience working with children and families, creating playful and enriching environments for creative exploration. Her workshops often include local techniques and natural materials. With warmth and joy, María invites young people to connect with art, themselves, and the world around them. Born and raised in Oaxaca, Maria is nearly fluent in English, having taught herself the language by listening to music.

Christian Navarro

Hub Manager

Christian has extensive experience working with young people including supporting several Deliberate Detour hubs. He is a seasoned professional with a background in event production, the music industry, and business. With a talent for coordinating and leading teams, he brings a fun, playful, collaborative vibe to our hubs while also ensuring our programs are safe and impactful. Additionally, Christian’s upbringing in Oaxaca and visceral knowledge of cultural elements make him an invaluable asset to our team.

Hungary

Melinda Pappova

Hub Director & Manager

Melinda is a worldschooling mother with over 25 years of experience exploring alternative and innovative approaches to education. She is the parent of two adult sons and a young daughter, and her perspective on education has been deeply shaped by accompanying her children’s learning journeys beyond traditional classrooms.

Melinda speaks six languages and has lived in several European countries, including Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Italy. Together with her 11-year-old daughter, she has worldschooling experience spanning from Central America to Southeast Asia. For the past 15 years, Melinda has used her PhD to teach interdisciplinary courses in cultural studies at universities across Central Europe. She is deeply passionate about sharing the richness of cultures, ideas, and ways of living with children, and about creating meaningful, sensitive, and inspiring learning experiences rooted in real life.

United Kingdom