Who Are We?

Introducing the World Link Partners volunteer administrative staff:

Beth Dearden, MA (Co-Founder and Director of World Link Partners)

Beth has a Masters Degree in Cross-Cultural training from The School of International Training, Brattleboro, Vermont.

Prior to her work in Guatemala, she established and managed a children's street children's project in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and provided financial support for an orphanage in Darkan, Mongolia. For her work she was awarded the Order of the Polar Star Award, the highest award for service offered by the Mongol Nation. She has lived and worked in Guatemala for the past 5 years. Currently she spends time between Utah and Guatemala. She works to provide support for NGO's/projects who focus on health and nutrition, women's education, and micro credit. Her international living and travel, along with the wonderful people she has met and works with continue to inspired her work.

Marlin Dearden, DrPH, MPH (Co-Founder of World Link Partners)

Marlin is a graduate of the Dept. of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale School of Medicine.

Most of his professional life has been in academics. For the past 28 years he has been on the faculty of Health Services Administration and Management at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He has also been the Dean of the School of Health Sciences at Quinnipiac.

For 20 years he established and conducted student travel and semester abroad trips throughout the world. The purpose of these trips was the study health systems in developing countries.

His work includes international health education, acquisition of funding for numerous health projects in Mongolia and Guatemala, Public Health and Management consultation, procurement and distribution of medical resources to NGO's, hospitals, clinics, etc.

Lauren Foulger, (Co-Director of World Link Partners)

Lauren graduated with her Masters of Public Health and her Bachelors and a Bachelors of Science in Sociology and International Development from Brigham Young University. For the past 10 years she has been heavily involved with domestic and international projects that target under-served populations. She has worked in various capacities in Guatemala, Africa, Thailand, Laos, Venezuela and other countries working on projects to provide opportunity to those in need. She recently spent the summer in the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala working and doing research for the World Health Organization in the areas of maternal and child health. She is passionate and dedicated about empowering and providing opportunity for those in need.

Torri Sanders, (Director of Promotion)

Torri graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education. She taught in elementary school for four years. She currently substitute teaches, which allows her time to volunteer with World Link Partners. She has been involved in volunteer work in various capacities including as a docent for the St. Louis Arch, in elementary schools in St. Charles, Mo., and in various community efforts. In 2006 she did volunteer work at an orphanage in Haiti. In 2010 she did volunteer work in Guatemala where she helped train women in business skills and microfinance. Torri is very committed and dedicated to working with and on behalf of the people of Guatemala.

 

We work with numerous volunteers who unselfishly devote their time to manage projects, to connect us with projects in need, to provide medical goods and services and share with others what we are doing.