Pete Hardesty

Pete Hardesty currently serves as the Young Life College Divisional Coordinator in the Eastern Division. He moved to the Washington D.C. area from the Friendly City of Harrisonburg, Virginia. Pete grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from the University of Virginia where he was pre-med with the emphasis on “pre.” He then joined the staff of Young Life in Virginia Beach, where he served for 7 years before moving to Harrisonburg in 2004. After being the Area Director for Young Life in Harrisonburg for eight years, Pete transitioned to start Young Life College at James Madison University in 2012. Pete loves being around college students even though they make him feel old. He crammed his 3 years of grad school into 17 and finally received his Master of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary in 2014. A passion for the Middle East has inspired Pete to lead Holy Land trips for the last 15 years, with a focus on serving Palestinian kids in the West Bank. He is a frequent international keynote speaker with experience including Asia, Africa, Middle East, the Caribbean, and places all over the U.S., speaking to groups as big as 4000 and as small as 0. He is a speaker coach with SCORRE workshops, and loves helping people become excellent communicators. Pete has been working with young people for 25 years. They are still his favorite. He loves people and creating environments where they can thrive and achieve their potential. Pete’s two nieces are the apple of his eye. You can connect with Pete, ask him to speak, or read more of his work at www.PeteHardesty.com.