2018 Culinary Tour to Sicily - Staff

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Joan Peterson received her Ph.D. in
Cell Biology/Electron Microscopy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1993
​she began a second career. She started a publishing company, Ginkgo Press, and created the EAT SMART series of guidebooks designed for travelers and cookbook lovers. To date she has written or co-written 11 of the 14 available culinary guidebooks (Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Morocco, Sicily, India, Peru, Norway, and Portugal). She has traveled extensively for many years, and leads culinary tours to Turkey, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Norway, Peru, Portugal, and Sicily.
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Marcella Croce was born in Palermo. After a degree in English at the University of Palermo 
and a Fulbright Scholarship at Mt. Holyoke 
​College (Mass.), she completed her Ph.D. in Italian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was a contributor to the Italian daily newspaper "La Repubblica" for over 10 years. On behalf of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs she taught Italian at the University of Isfahan (Iran) and Kyoto (Japan). For over 20 years she coordinated and gave lectures on Sicilian culture for the Palermo Elderhostel program organized by 
​Trinity College (Hartford CT.). Since 2002 she has been an instructor and organizer of the Palermo semester abroad Program of Union College (Schenectady, NY.). marcellacroce.com/pubblicazioni-publications.html
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Susan Chwae, Joan Peterson's daughter, has a degree in Graphic Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the Marketing Director and technical advisor for Ginkgo Press and the EAT SMART series. Since 1997 she has provided all creative and marketing support for the EAT SMART guidebooks and the website. She has been assisting Joan or leading her own Culinary Tours since 2005. ​​
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Irene Matranga, Marcella Croce’s daughter, has worked with Elderhostel for several years, giving tours and lectures on Sicily. She has a degree in Political Science and has worked for two years in Africa (the Congo and Ethiopia). For almost 10 years she has lived in Brazil and worked with an online travel agency. She has recently returned to Palermo with her family and will set up there an online travel agency (GO EXPLORE) with her Brazilian husband, Antonio Paulo da Silva.