Gina Pernini Gordon

Born and raised outside Chicago and moved to California in 2010 to become a Challenge Day Leader. After 4 years of leading days and training other Challenge Day Leaders in the US, Canada, Holland and Belgium she took a brief hiatus to start a family.

Gina is thrilled to be able to walk back into these rooms again to do this all important work with young people.

Prior to Challenge Day, Gina graduated undergrad from the University of Kansas and received her Masters from the University of Notre Dame. She spent 10 years as an educator in Jackson, MI and outside Chicago, IL. She has created and piloted programs for educators in Ethiopia, Kenya and the Ukraine.

Outside of Challenge Day, Gina lives in the Bay Area where she also teaches yoga, leads women’s retreats, does public speaking and has epic dance parties in the kitchen with her husband and three children.

If you really knew me, you would know:

• This is more than a job, it’s my way of life.
• I believe that a good salsa song has magical healing properties.
• I have run 3 marathons and am still debating a 4th.
• I am blessed to come from a close, big Italian family based in Chicago. My grandparents had 30 grandchildren,57 great grandchildren and counting. I am 1 of only 5 of us that live out of state.
• I am married to a former Challenge Day leader. We found out we were pregnant while filming the Challenge Day TV Show in Holland (Over de Streep).