Community News

Burkina Faso, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Nepal, Philippines

By JoAnna Haugen on Thursday, July 24th, 2008

BURKINA FASO

David Eckerson was recently named as mission director for Uganda for USAID. In his position, he will oversee a program exceeding $300 million annually. Eckerson’s previous positions include serving as USAID’s director of the Office of Human Resources and the Office of Strategic and Program Planning, deputy mission director in Ethiopia and deputy director in the Office of Caribbean Affairs. Prior to working for USAID, he worked as a public health and nutrition advisor with the USAID Africa Bureau, the TransCentury Corporation and the Ministry of Planning in Yaounde, Cameroon. He has bachelor’s degrees in political science and history and a master’s degree in culture and values in religion.

COLOMBIA

An active National Organizers Alliance member since 1993, Walter Davis (67-69) has been promoted to the position of executive director. His previous positions at NOA have included trainer, training coordinator and director at the Southern Empowerment Project. Davis’ career has included advising immigrant rights organizations, organizing against the disenfranchisement of the poor, serving as a local labor leader and supporting grassroots organizations throughout the world.

ECUADOR

Dave Schweidenback’s (77-80) non-profit organization, Pedals for Progress, has sent more than 115,000 used bikes to 32 developing countries in Central America, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean since its inception in 1991. He organizes about 140 used bikes drives yearly, bringing in 90 bikes in three hours at each drive. Donors pay $10 per bike to help cover shipping costs, and each bike is sold for a low cost to local residents overseas who use the bikes to live more productive and efficient lives.

GUATEMALA

Many people are familiar with crochet, but the fine art of tapestry crochet is not as well known. Carol Ventura (76-80) is an expert in the art who has published books, led workshops and traveled around the world documenting the many approaches to tapestry crochet. Her artwork has been on display in the Thigpen Library at Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, Tenn., this month. Ventura is also an art history professor at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville.

GUYANA

Jill Hoxmeier has been the community garden project coordinator at Rail Town Gardens, a green development project in Whitefish, Wisc., since September. The half-acre of gardens are new to the community, which will be rented out for a nominal fee. Hoxmeier recently applied for and received a $5,000 grant for the gardens which will help develop the project to its full capability.

NEPAL

Littleton “Lit” Tazewell (84-87) has been promoted from USAID’s legal adviser for Central Asian Republics to the mission director in Panama for the agency. He has worked for USAID since 2000 as an attorney in Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama, and a legal adviser for the agency’s Latin America and Caribbean Bureau and African Bureau. Prior to 2000 Tazewell worked as a corporate lawyer and university instructor. He earned his law degrees from the College of William and Mary and the University of London.

PHILIPPINES

Fulbright scholar Noah Jackson (99-01) has spent the last nine months living with the forest people of Borneo documenting communities in Sabah and Sarawak. He has visited at least two dozen communities during his time in Borneo, but has spent the majority of time with the Penan, Iban and Orang Sungei. Jackson is documenting how local people preserve the forest, trees and seeds.

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