WorldView Magazine: WorldView Spring Summer 2025
(Soft) Power Play
Ambassador Johnnie Carson (Tanzania 1965–67) served as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the Obama administration, as well as ambassador to several African nations. Carson spoke with WorldView editor Robert Nolan, and calls RPCVs the “most important representatives and ambassadors of goodwill around the world.” Robert Nolan: I thought we could start first with a little bit about your Peace Corps experience. Johnnie Carson: I graduated from college and entered the Peace Corps in June of 1965. I was assigned to Tanzania in East Africa and served for over two and a half years in a middle school....
Made in America
Charlie Clifford (Peru 1967–69) is the founder of Tumi Inc., a global travel luggage brand, as well as Roam Luggage. He spoke with WorldView editor Robert Nolan about how Peace Corps helps develop entrepreneurial skills and gives RPCVs the tools and confidence to start their own business ventures.
Spring/Summer 2025 Issue
This special issue of WorldView makes the definitive case for how Peace Corps makes America stronger, safer, and more prosperous.
Return on Investment
As federal funding for international aid and cultural exchange programs continues to shrink, policymakers are increasingly asking whether these initiatives deliver tangible benefits to Americans. In 2021, National Peace Corps Association commissioned a major study to mark the Peace Corps’ 60th anniversary. The result—The Domestic Dividend of Peace Corps—was published in 2023 and stands as the most comprehensive analysis to date that demonstrates how Peace Corps service benefits communities back home.
“Bigger Than Peace Corps”
California Service Corps is the largest state-based service program in the U.S. , with more than 10,000 volunteers across the state in 2025. California’s Governor Gavin Newsom proudly calls the program “bigger than the Peace Corps.”
Signal Boost
The digital world is awash in voices seeking monetary reward or improved social status, as the online acronym goes, IRL (in real life). There are, however, some that have dedicated their time, effort, and social media platforms to those who are in most need of the spotlight. Not surprisingly, these voices include several Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.
Garden of Refuge
As part of our commitment to continued service, the Seattle Peace Corps Association (SEAPAX) is partnering with World Relief Western Washington to support a refugee community garden. For the last five years, teams of SEAPAX Volunteers have worked in the garden, clearing weeds in the spring to ready the beds for the planting season and planting cover crops in the fall to prepare them for winter.
Show Up, Stand Up
For now, at least, Peace Corps remains one of the last vestiges of America’s position at the vanguard of soft power, leadership, and international cooperation. NPCA President Dan Baker on why now is the time to stand up for service.
Plains to the Pacific
Individual actions are the building blocks to continued success. As the following updates show, when our community is mobilized, we can reach every part of this country. Here are a few examples of how local and state-based advocacy can advance our cause. This not only includes NPCA’s ongoing Stand Up for Service campaign, but, critically, our annual National Days of Advocacy in Support of the Peace Corps. During this year’s event, advocacy leaders in more than 30 states carried out close to a hundred successful activities throughout March and April.
You GLOW Girl
One of Peace Corps’ most widespread gender empowerment initiatives is Camp GLOW, which has provided the opportunity for tens of thousands of girls and young women to attend programming that develops self-confidence, leadership skills, goalsetting, gender equality, and more. Camp GLOW has been hosted in 60 different countries by Peace Corps Volunteers, counterparts, and participants over the past 29 years.
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