Community News – Achievements of RPCVs
Author: Peter Deekle
August 2019
ARMENIA
Erica Brouillette (2007-2009) was asked to serve in a leadership role within Rotary International. She is the assistant governor for area 10 in Rotary District 7610, and serves as a liaison between her individual clubs and the district governor. Erica was as an environmental education Peace Corps Volunteer in Armenia.
El Salvador
Kristin Shane (2001-2003) is the founder and CEO of Fly Feet Running, a group fitness workout with two studios in the Twin Cities and hopes of going national. She is among the two percent of women-owned businesses to make it over the $1 million mark in annual revenue. Kristin cites her service in the Peace Corps, her consulting for Accenture, and an eleven-year career at Target as providing valuable entrepreneurial experience.
MALAWI
Lucas Joppa (2004-2006), a computational ecologist, wrote a short internal memo outlining how the Microsoft’s artificial intelligence resources might be put to the service of eco-entrepreneurs worldwide. In July 2018, he was appointed Microsoft’s first chief environmental officer, and since then he used the corporation’s technology and expertise for breakthrough solutions to pressing environmental challenges.
PHILIPPINES
Stephen Groff (1987-1989), a former NPCA Board director, was appointed as governor of the Saudi National Development Fund by its board of directors, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in June 2019. He has more than thirty years of experience in economic development and emerging markets, serving most recently as vice president of the Asian Development Bank in September 2011.
ROMANIA
Leslie Hawke (2002-2004) moved to Romania in 2000 and founded the OvidiuRo NGO that aims to support preschool education. She continues to run the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, earning her an Outstanding Citizen Award from the United States Agency for International Development in 2005.
Sierra Leone
Terry Leary (1986-1988) is a global relief worker and filmmaker. In 2014, Terry visited Sierra Leone and subsequently produced a film that has won thirteen international awards to date. After Peace Corps, she has pursued a career involving thirty-five years of war and conflict in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Lebanon, and other countries.
Ukraine
Meg Small spent two years in the Peace Corps, and is currently in her second year of a Chaplaincy Program operated by the Upaya Buddhist Center in Santa Fe. Meg has a masters degree in business, and has spent fifteen years at Hewlett Packard. She has held an administrative position at Colorado State University’s Veterinary Medical School, and also worked as an international business consultant.
ZAMBIA
Alexa Schmid was recently honored by the U.S. Department of State for her international education dedication, naming her the 2019 International Principal of the Year. Alexa has overseen the middle school grades at the International School of Kenya, in Nairobi, since 2017. She previously taught in Cairo and New Delhi and served in the Peace Corps in Zambia, where she taught aquaculture.
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