WorldView Magazine: John Garamendi
Carol Spahn Sworn In as Peace Corps Director
In a voice vote on December 13, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Carol Spahn to serve as the 21st director of the agency. And in a January 11 ceremony, Spahn took the oath office administered by RPCV Rep. John Garamendi. By Steven Boyd Saum It’s official: Carol Spahn has been sworn in as Director of the Peace Corps. In a voice vote on December 13, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Spahn to serve as the 21st director of the agency. And in a January 11 ceremony, Spahn took the oath office administered by RPCV Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA). Spahn has led the agency since...
President’s Letter: Helping the Peace Corps Be Its Best
As we celebrate Volunteers returning to service in dozens of countries, we pay tribute to a leader here at NPCA who made a difference at a critical time for the Peace Corps community. By Dan Baker At left: El Paso, 2019 — Glenn Blumhorst assists migrants at the border. Just as the Winter 2023 edition of WorldView went press, Carol Spahn was sworn in as Director of the Peace Corps. I was delighted to be there as RPCV Rep. John Garamendi delivered the oath of office. This is an exciting and important moment. The Peace Corps community has spent nearly three years seeking to maintain and...
The Future that Almost Was
The Peace Corps Reauthorization Act was the most sweeping legislation in a generation. It passed the House and was on the verge of success in the Senate when the clock ran out. Here’s why that matters. By Jonathan Pearson, Joel Rubin, and Steven Boyd Saum Just as Peace Corps Volunteers began returning to service overseas in 2022, legislation moved forward in Congress that was meant to bolster a renewed, revitalized, and reshaped Peace Corps. In the House, the Peace Corps Reauthorization Act (H.R. 1456) was introduced by RPCV Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) and Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA). It won...
Fixing Loan Forgiveness for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
Rep. John Garamendi joined Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona asking for returned Volunteers to be included in Public Service Loan Forgiveness Reforms. By Jonathan Pearson In early March 2022, CNN reported that the U.S. Department of Education has identified 100,000 borrowers eligible for debt cancellation from the beleaguered Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Reforms were announced to the program last October, allowing some borrowers to receive credit toward PSLF for periods of public service that would not have previously qualified. But Returned Peace Corps Volunteers were not listed among those...
Volunteers in the House
The 2020 congressional elections mark the end of an era for Peace Corps in Congress: Now there’s only one. And he is working on new legislation to support and improve the Peace Corps. By Jonathan Pearson Photo: John Garamendi The 2020 congressional elections mark the end of an era for Peace Corps in Congress: Since 1975, at least two returned Volunteers served simultaneously in the halls of Congress. Until now. Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA), who served as a Volunteer in Ethiopia 1966–68, was reelected with a relatively comfortable victory, securing 58 percent of the vote in California’s Third District....
Michael McCaskey: In Memoriam
Longtime Chicago Bears leader, his service in Peace Corps in Ethiopia changed how he saw the world. By Jonathan Pearson and Steven Boyd Saum Photo courtesy the Chicago Bears Michael McCaskey was the grandson of the legendary George “Papa Bear” Halas and inherited the mantle of leading the Chicago Bears football team for nearly 30 years. He was president and CEO of the Bears 1983–89 and then chairman of the board 1999–2011. The team won their first (and so far only) Super Bowl in 1985. Peers voted McCaskey NFL Executive of the Year. He was born in 1943. He earned degrees...
