TCP Leadership
Penina is an associate professor of communication design in the Sam Fox School of Art and Design at Washington University. She focuses on design as integral to addressing systemic issues in public health and racial inequity in St. Louis and in global contexts. She holds an MFA in Visual Communication from Kent State University, and a bachelor’s degree in art from Goshen College.
Theo is an Assistant Professor of Radiology in the School of Medicine at WashU and is involved in studying and developing novel techniques in interventional oncology and pain management from the section of Musculoskeletal Imaging and Intervention. His primary focus is in the rapidly expanding role of thermal ablation procedures for local tumor control and pain palliation.
Dr. Vander Velde received a BS in chemistry from Calvin College and an MD from Wayne State University School of Medicine. His radiology training was at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University. Previously in private practice, he served on the board of directors and chief compliance officer for Midwest Radiological Associates before returning to his academic home at WashU.
Louisa Wimmer, Director of Programs
Louisa organizes all of TCP’s programs along with other various administrative tasks. Before joining TCP, she worked as the Education & Community Engagement Manager for Kentucky Opera, and the Office Manager for Union Avenue Opera. She holds an MM in Vocal Performance & Opera from the University of Louisville, and a BM in Vocal Performance from Webster University. While opera is her first love, the community and relationship work of TCP has quickly captured her heart and passion.
John oversees TCP’s communications and the annual Carver Conversation. John is the Kenneth E. Hudson Professor of Art and Founding Chair of the MFA IVC: Illustration and Visual Culture at Washington University. He is a New York Times Bestselling illustrator and author of numerous award-winning children’s books. John has a BA in visual communication from the University of Kansas and an MFA from The School of Visual Arts.
Kristin oversees TCP’s faculty fellowship communications and orchestrates fellowship dinners and programming. Kristin is an associate professor in the Linguistics Program at Washington University and runs the PsychLing lab in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. Her research focuses on the perceptual and cognitive mechanisms that support successful speech communication in the face of challenges such as noise, hearing loss, and unfamiliar accents. She holds a BA in English from Calvin College and a PhD in Linguistics from Northwestern University.
George Stulac, Pastoral Care
George gives pastoral care to TCP faculty and staff on Washington University’s Danforth Campus and School of Medicine Campus. He leads small group Bible studies and meets with individual faculty for spiritual direction and prayer. George was a church pastor for thirty-eight years and has eleven years of experience in campus ministry with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. He is a graduate of Washington University (B.A. 1967), Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div. 1971), and Covenant Theological Seminary (D.Min. 1993).
NAOMI Kim-Yu, Board Secretary
Naomi organizes minutes for The Carver Project's board meetings. She is a third-year student in the English PhD program at Washington University with interests in race, religion, and literature. Naomi is also a Lynne Cooper Harvey Fellow in American Culture Studies and a graduate fellow at the Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Equity. She holds a BA in English from Brown University.