Meet the team behind Penda Photo Tours and Penda Trust

Marleen Lammers

Managing Director

Marleen (pronounced ‘Marlane’ – sensitive subject) started her career as a broadcasting journalist in the Netherlands, but was drawn to African adventure and moved to Zambia a decade ago. For several years, she developed and managed community and conservation volunteer projects in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, before moving into communications and marketing. She then moved onto managing fundraising and communications for Greenpop, a Cape Town-based environmental nonprofit, before starting Penda. Marleen is a keen photographer and passionate about the potential it has to inspire and drive positive change. She’s also a writer and is about to publish her first children’s book.

Greg Bows

Co-Founder & Director

Greg has worked in African tourism and development for over a decade. Originally from the UK, Greg spent the past fifteen years in Africa, where he worked as a wildlife researcher and bush guide before co-founding and managing a number of tourism companies, including Africa & You, an award-winning tour operator, and African Impact, Africa’s leading voluntourims organisation. Greg also co-founded the African Impact Foundation, a conservation and community nonprofit. Greg has seen first-hand how travel has the potential to not only provide amazing experiences, but to also be a force of good. A few years ago, he won the IHIF Young Leader Award, which recognised his contributions to the travel industry. Greg recently co-founded Cultivate, a nonprofit supporting agricultural entrepreneurs in Africa.

Talitha van der Waerden

Logistics & Bookings Manager

Talitha has a hugely varied CV; she’s worked as a tour leader in the Middle East, as a communications consultant, and a project manager developing recruitment and change management campaigns for big multinationals. In 2012, Talitha came to Cape Town on a sabbatical and never left. She took a break from her career in the Netherlands to travel, explore new places and use her skills for a good cause during a work placement with Greenpop. Three months turned into six, and eventually into a job coordinating events and experiences. Apart from being part of the Penda team, Talitha also runs Roots Interns, a company that places international interns with nonprofits and social enterprises around Africa.

Carrie Luetzow

Director

Carrie is an avid traveler, photographer, and postcard writer. She has a background in finance and is based in Seattle, but travels as often as she can and has visited over 80 countries. When she first visited Sabi Sands Game Reserve in South Africa in 2011, she fell in love with African wildlife and realized the importance of protecting these vulnerable animals. Carrie strongly believes in the story a photograph can tell and how those reverberate throughout the world.

Marlene Wenz

Research Intern

Marlene is in her last year of studying International Communications and has decided to combine her love for travel and culture with the research for her Master thesis. Working remotely from the Netherlands due to Covid-19, Marlene focuses her research on communicating impact-based travel and creating strategic communication tools for Penda. With a background in Journalism, she is always on the lookout for new experiences and can’t wait to explore the breathtaking views of South African nature first-hand – when the situation allows it!

Lucy Davis

Content Writing & Communications Intern

For the past ten or so years, Lucy has lived in and explored different parts of the globe and has a true zest for all things adventure. With a passion for writing, she is really excited to join the Penda team as a content writing intern, communicating our stories, visions and ideas for positive change. Lucy spends her free time outdoors, often surfing, climbing mountains or experimenting with film photography.

Casey Roy

Content Writing Intern

From a town outside of Detroit, Casey is finishing his degree in Media Production at Eastern Michigan University with a minor in Geography. Interested in international culture and relations, he plans to use his degree to work internationally and create educational content on these topics for a global audience. By working with non-profit organizations, Casey looks to share the insight of educated individuals to a digital market and signal boost their message. He has studied in Japan and speaks conversational Japanese, and is excited to work with Penda to support their professional pursuits.