Park Experience, Antarctic Service, a National Press Foundation Award — and a Recently Appointed Rep in Raleigh
Recognition for three members of the Peace Corps community. And an RPCV appointed to the North Carolina Legislature. By NPCA Staff Photo: Shelton Johnson, recipient of the 2022 American Park Experience Award. Courtesy National Park Service Shelton Johnson | Liberia 1982–83 Shelton Johnson received the 2022 American Park Experience Award for his years of advocating for diversity in national parks and helping families and youth feel welcome by seeing their stories told there. Johnson has worked for the past 35 years as a ranger with the National Park Service at Yellowstone and now Yosemite National Park. His storytelling talents landed him a prominent...
Return to Mogadishu
Larry André is the new U.S. ambassador to Somalia. Photo courtesy the U.S. Secretary of Defense Larry André, who served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal 1983–85, is the new U.S. ambassador to Somalia. A career foreign service officer, he arrived in Mogadishu in January. It wasn’t his first visit. Back in 2007, André developed the U.S. mission in Somalia. In his current post, he will seek to foster peace and democracy in the country — at a time when Somalia is facing its worst drought in a decade. André previously served as U.S. ambassador to Djibouti and Mauritania and worked with...
Stories of the Human Heart
Founded in 2003, StoryCorps shares stories to deepen connections between people and create a just, compassionate world. Sandra Clark is the first woman of color to lead the nonprofit as StoryCorps CEO. By Tiffany James Photo courtesy StoryCorps In February Sandra Clark (Guinea-Bissau 1990–94) took on a new role as CEO of StoryCorps — the nonprofit organization that, through stories, has sought to deepen connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world since its founding in 2003. Clark is the second person and first woman of color to serve as StoryCorps CEO. During a panel discussion at NPCA’s 2022 Shriver Leadership Summit in March, Clark spoke about how...
A More Sustainable Food System
C.D. Glin takes on responsibilities as vice president, global head of philanthropy for the PepsiCo Foundation By NPCA Staff C.D. Glin (South Africa 1997–99) took on responsibilities as vice president, global head of philanthropy for the PepsiCo Foundation in May. He oversees daily management of the foundation and focuses work toward a more sustainable food system. Glin had been president and CEO of the U.S. African Development Foundation, an Africa-focused philanthropic organization established by Congress to invest grant capital, build capacity, and scale locally owned, sustainable solutions for underserved and agricultural-dependent populations. He was the first director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the...
Civic Engagement and Democracy
Javier Valdés takes on responsibilities as U.S. Director of Civic Engagement and Government for the Ford Foundation By NPCA Staff Javier Valdés (Guatemala 1999–2001) took on responsibilities as U.S. Director of Civic Engagement and Government for the Ford Foundation in August. Valdés was previously co-executive director at Make the Road New York, the state’s largest immigration advocacy organization. Valdés has been instrumental in increasing affordable housing, expanding translation services in government offices, and reducing bias in policing. Among his goals now: play a pivotal role in the Ford Foundation’s ambitions to strengthen representation, participation, and leadership in U.S. democracy.
Ending Gender-Based Violence: A Briefing with Katrina Fotovat
For the first time, the U.S. government has put forward a national strategy on gender equity and equality. A top priority: end gender-based violence at home and globally. By NPCA Staff This fall the White House released the first-ever U.S. National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality. Among the priorities: “elimination of gender-based violence at home and globally,” noted Katrina Fotovat (Moldova 2000–02) in a conversation with journalists on World AIDS Day, December 1. Fotovat is the Senior Official to the Secretary of State in the Office of Global Women’s Issues, a role she has held since January 2021. She has over 20...
Guns and Public Health
The CDC is again funding research on gun violence. Emergency room physician Megan Ranney is working on research-based solutions. Photo by Anthony Ricci/Shutterstock By NPCA Staff After years of gun violence declining in the U.S., it is again on the rise. Offering some hope of understanding — and ameliorating — it is this: Last year, after 25 years of Congress refusing to allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to back research on gun violence, funding was authorized. Emergency room physician Megan Ranney (Côte d’Ivoire 1998–2000) leads the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health in Rhode Island. She was among the...
Climate Change Solutions
Patrick Gonzalez takes on responsibilities tackling climate and biodiversity with the White House. Photography by Al Golub By Steven Boyd Saum “Contributing science for solutions to global problems is one of the most important contributions that we can make as scientists,” Patrick Gonzalez (Senegal 1988–90) declared earlier this year at the Ecological Society of America’s annual conference. Now he has the opportunity to walk the talk in a new way: He has been appointed assistant director for climate and biodiversity by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). A forest ecologist and climate change scientist, he has brought...
Donald Lu Is the New Top U.S. Diplomat for South and Central Asia
In the toolbox for Donald Lu in his new role in South and Central Asian Affairs at the State Department: diplomacy, advocacy, assistance, and learning from the past. Photo by RFE/L By NPCA Staff In September, Donald Lu (Sierra Leone 1988–90) was confirmed as assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. He’s the first diplomat to hold that post in four years — it sat vacant during the previous administration — and the first ever to arrive with significant experience in Central Asia. Lu had been serving as U.S. Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic since 2018. His new...
Madame Presidents
Meet the new presidents of the Poetry Foundation and the YMCA of the USA. For the first time at both of these venerable institutions, there’s a woman at the helm. Michelle Boone President of the Poetry Foundation CHAD | 1994–96 Photo courtesy the Poetry Foundation Named in April as the new president of the Poetry Foundation, Michelle Boone is the first woman of color to lead the storied Chicago-based institution, which publishes the century-old journal Poetry, one of the most prominent literary journals in the United States. Along with her Peace Corps service, Boone brings over 20 years of...