Video: Returned Volunteers Share Some advice — “If you need help, reach out through the Global Reentry Program”
Three returned Peace Corps Volunteers talk about some of the tough aspects of readjusting to life after service — including being evacuated in 2020. And how the Global Reentry Program has made a difference. By Dan Baker It’s been just over a year since National Peace Corps Association launched the Global Reentry Program to support evacuated Volunteers in a time of crisis. “If you need help, reach out to an RPCV through the Global Reentry Program, and you will find it,” says Hugh McIvor, a Volunteer who was evacuated from Costa Rica. He and fellow returned Volunteers Mariana Cubillos (Panama 2018–20) and Jennifer Gonzales (Namibia 2015–18)...
In Memoriam – April 2021
As we mourn the loss of members of the Peace Corps community, we celebrate the lives they led with a commitment to service. By Molly O’Brien & Caitlin Nemeth Photo: The late filmmaker and educator Judy Irola. Photo by Douglas Kirkland, courtesy of American Society of Cinematographers Our tributes include pioneering filmmaker Judy Irola and a leader in bioethics. A former Peace Corps Costa Rica Country Director and an award winning architect. A Black leader in education and a member of Peace Corps’ first public health group in South Korea — who went on to lead a long career in nursing. An American Museum of...
Peace Corps Achievements — April 2021
News and updates from the Peace Corps community — across the country, around the world, and spanning generations of returned Volunteers and staff By Peter Deekle (Iran 1968–70) A mayoral candidate for Boston. A recipient of American Institute of Architects’ highest award. Peace Corps writers write. And a big winner on “Wheel of Fortune”! Photo: A Twitter moment with Jon Santiago, a member of the Massachusetts State Legislature and ER phyiscian — and now candidate for mayor of Boston. AZERBAIJAN Patrick Newman will become CEO and president of Fort Worth Botanic Garden and Botanical Research Institute of Texas effective May 1, 2021. He has been serving as executive director of...
Peace Corps Week in Review: Highlights from Events and News Marking Six Decades Since Its Founding — and Examining How Peace Corps Needs to Retool for a Changed World
Highlights and recordings from a week of celebration and wide-ranging discussion about the future of Peace Corps. And a review of some of the stories you don’t want to miss. Edited and Produced by Jake Arce and Orrin Luc On March 1, 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed executive order 10924, establishing the Peace Corps with the hopes of promoting world peace and friendship. Peace Corps Week is a time for us as a community to commemorate and recognize all of the ways that Peace Corps has made an impact — in individual lives and in communities around the world....
This Isn’t Over
One year after being evacuated from the Philippines, a Peace Corps Volunteer faces the trauma of leaving, the country he returned to, and a question that’s impossible to answer. By Rok Locksley Work and friendship: Rok Locksley, left, with Ban-Ban Nicolas. Photo courtesy Rok Locksley The last day of my Peace Corps service was Friday, March 13, 2020. Together with my wife, Genevieve, I was serving in the Peace Corps in the Philippines. We had gotten up early to enjoy the sunrise on what we knew would be our last day on the island that had become our...
Peace Corps Achievements — March 2021
News and updates from the Peace Corps community — across the country, around the world, and spanning generations of returned Volunteers and staff By Peter Deekle (Iran 1968–70) Pictured: Children’s Literature Legacy Award Winner — author Mildred Taylor BENIN Marieme Foote (2018–20) has been awarded a Payne International Development Fellowship for graduate study. In Benin, she served as a Sustainable Agricultural Systems Agent until evacuated due to COVID-19. Upon her return to the United States she accepted a position with the National Peace Corps Association where she has worked on advocacy and issues pertaining to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Peace Corps Agency and community. ...
In Memoriam — February 2021
As we mourn the loss of members of the Peace Corps community, we celebrate the lives they led with a commitment to service. By Jonathan Pearson Our tributes include recognition of a lifetime legal servant from western Wisconsin who established the first victim-witness protection program, a groundbreaking leader at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, and an education leader in Southern California. Roger William LeGrand Jr. (1946 – 2021) devoted his lifetime to service beginning with his time studying to be a Catholic priest in the Servite Order at Our Lady of Benburb Priory in Northern Ireland. After graduating from...
Peace Corps Achievements – February 2021
News and updates from the Peace Corps community — across the country, around the world, and spanning generations of returned Volunteers and staff By Peter Deekle (Iran 1968–70) Pioneering Black women in leadership roles with the Department of Labor and Department of State. Bringing expertise to work on the National Security Council and in the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador. Recognition for work toward equity in health and forest stewardship. And a new role in journalism. Photo: A Twitter moment with Janelle Jones, the new chief economist for the Department of Labor. She’s the first Black woman to serve in that role. CAMEROON Erin Swiader took...
Because Together We Are Stronger
Introducing Peace Corps Community Connect—an effort to connect, inform, and engage the Peace Corps community like never before. By Marieme Foote, Caitlin Nemeth, and Molly O’Brien Illustration by Forum One The past year has underscored just how crucial the experience of Peace Corps service is, as are the values that it instills. Recent months have also driven home the fact that we need to connect, inform, and engage our community like never before. Which is why National Peace Corps Association has launched Peace Corps Community Connect. As part of that team, we’re already partnering with groups of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers...
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....