For more than 40 years, the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) has united and supported a thriving Peace Corps community. Connecting thousands of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, over 180 affiliate groups, and countless partners, NPCA continues to grow and increase our collective impact at home and abroad. We remain committed to this purpose and to providing support, resources, and advocacy. We do this work together, because we are united in our belief that our differences are our strength—and by drawing on those differences, we can have real and lasting impact.
Today, we begin a new chapter at NPCA. The Board of Directors announces the departure of NPCA President and CEO, Glenn Blumhorst. We are grateful for Mr. Blumhorst’s years of leadership and dedication to the Peace Corps through service, advocacy, and support, and wish him well in his future endeavors. Kim Herman has been appointed as Interim President and CEO with full authority while an Executive search is conducted for NPCA’s next leader. Jed Meline, former Vice Chair of the Board, is serving as Interim Board Chair.
Prior to accepting this new role, Mr. Herman was the NPCA Board Chair. Mr. Herman served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic doing rural community development from 1967 to 1969, after graduating from Washington State University. Building on his Peace Corps service, Mr. Herman has had a distinguished career focusing on affordable housing across the nation. He has over 35 years of legislative experience working with the Washington state legislature and Congress, and he has served on the boards of numerous nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and advocacy organizations. The NPCA Board is delighted he has agreed to continue to serve the Peace Corps community in this role.
We believe that with this transition in leadership, NPCA can further thrive within an inclusive community, and with a workplace culture, that draws strength from our differences, celebrates diversity, and finds connectedness in our shared values. Additionally, the NPCA Board is working on several initiatives to ensure a positive path forward for the organization. Further announcements will be shared shortly.
We appreciate your continued support through this transition. For questions, please contact president@peacecorpsconnect.org.
Peggy Bangham
This precipitous action initiated by the new Chair and Vice Chair of the NPCA Board is ill-informed and misguided. I am astonished by their short-sightedness and urge the entire Board to reconsider this action in a more thoughtful manner. I strongly support Glenn's continued leadership of the NPCA .
My own stake in the Peace Corps has been substantial and personally important, as an RPCV (Bolivia 1968-70) and Chief of Staff from 2009-2014, as well as a member of 3 NPCA affiliate groups and the Shriver Circle. But I unfortunately must reconsider further involvement or contribution to the NPCA under these circumstances. With regret, Stacy Rhodes
Another way is to ask your member-elected NPCA Board... see more An additional way to express your thoughts on this matter is to email the entire NPCA Board of Directors at Board@peacecorpsconnect.org
Another way is to ask your member-elected NPCA Board Director where they stand and whether they supported Glenn or not.
I would also like to address a comment to William Epstein. First, could you please clarify your connection to the NPCA, since you are so critical of it. Are you a returned volunteer, a former or current staff member, or some other connection? I would echo Joanne Roll's earlier comment that your criticisms seem more directed to the Peace Corp's mission rather than NPCA's. And while I do agree that all programs should be evaluated in terms of effectiveness, I define effectiveness differently than you seem to do. As Jerr Bosche commented, I believe you cannot measure the effectiveness of Peace Corps purely by administrative metrics. After 40 years, I returned to Senegal where I had served in 1971-73 and found that my project there had had some lasting impactf and that the personal connections with my local counterparts were still very strong! This is what Peace Corps is about in my opinion - grass roots connections that create a favorable local opinion of the USA and, equally importantly, a formative experience for the Peace Corps volunteer which often translates into a life-long commitment to service.
Summary Conclusions of... see more Here are the findings from the investigator hired by NPCA (the findings have not been released on the NPCA website, so the majority of RPCVs have not seen them):
Summary Conclusions of Investigation
I was engaged by NPCA to conduct an investigation of the complaint of sex discrimination filed with the Board on September 15, 2021. On Tuesday, February 1, the NPCA Executive Committee met with me for several hours to review the findings of the investigation. My investigation was extensive. I interviewed 15 witnesses, including each of the 4 complainants, for a total of 89.9 hours; reviewed hundreds of pages of documents; received supplemental written answers from witnesses; and held several substantive conversations with Steven Kahn, the attorney who represents two of the four complainants.
In my investigation, I considered whether there was (a) direct evidence of sex discrimination (statements that on their face demeaned or stereotyped women); (b) comparative evidence of sex discrimination in which a male employee and a female employee were similarly situated in all relevant respects, but the female employee was treated less favorably; (c) evidence of pretext in which a manager gave a false statement of his or her reasons for an employment decision; or (d) evidence of an adverse employment action that followed closely in time an employee's engaging in legally protected conduct, such as making a complaint of unlawful discrimination. I also considered whether there was any discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult at NPCA that was sufficiently severe or pervasive as to alter the conditions of any female employee's employment and thus create an abusive working environment.
I concluded that the evidence does not support any finding of unlawful sex discrimination, harassment or unlawful retaliation against any of the four complainants. I also found that none of the three parties charged in the complaint engaged in any unlawful discrimination, harassment, or retaliation or violated any of NPCA's policies concerning discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.
Doug Herbert
Law Office of Douglas C. Herbert
109 S. Buchanan Street
Arlington, Virginia 22204
202-997-1474
National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) is dedicated to... see more I posted this earlier, but when I clicked on it to read, it disappeared. So here it is again: Dear Members of the Peace Corps Community,
National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) is dedicated to serving the Peace Corps community and supporting the mission of the Peace Corps. NPCA is committed to providing support, resources, and advocacy while promoting a spirit of respect and acceptance of all people.
The Board of NPCA takes all allegations of an unsafe or hostile workplace environment for women or others very seriously and has not and will not condone such an environment at NPCA. The allegations referenced in the recent posts online are not new. The Board took action to engage an independent and qualified investigator to conduct a thorough examination of these charges when they were brought to the attention of the Board. The independent investigator concluded that the allegations of misconduct were not credible and that NPCA did not present an unsafe or hostile work environment for women.
The posts also reference an older lawsuit in which other former employees alleged a hostile work environment at NPCA. In that case, the allegations were investigated by an experienced and qualified attorney who found the allegations unfounded.
We regret these allegations have been raised again in an attempt to damage the reputation of NPCA and its employees. The board and staff of NPCA remain committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in all facets of its operation.
Kim Herman
Board Chair, NPCA
May 22, 2022