Staff

Glenn Blumhorst is President and CEO of National Peace Corps Association (NPCA), a private, non-profit organization at the center of a community of more than 225,000 individuals who have experienced the Peace Corps in 141 countries since 1961. Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Washington, DC, NPCA’s mission is “to champion lifelong commitment to Peace Corps ideals.” During his tenure, Blumhorst has led NPCA’s historic transformation from a dues-based alumni association to a community-driven social impact organization.

Prior to joining the NPCA, Blumhorst enjoyed an illustrious 18-year career with ACDI/VOCA, more recently leading the establishment and successful growth of ACDI/VOCA’s worldwide Community Development practice area as Managing Director. He also served as Country Representative and Chief of Party on several major USAID-funded projects and programs throughout Central and South America. His work has taken him to over 65 countries and enabled his near-native Spanish language fluency.

Blumhorst launched his career by serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala from 1988 to 1991. He holds a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, both from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is a licensed private pilot.

As Vice President, Anne Baker manages a broad range of both office operations and programs, from awards to global education to Next Step Travel. She is the primary staff point of contact for NPCA's more than 150 affiliate groups. She is the staff liaison to the NPCA Board of Directors committees for finance, governance and awards.

Anne has been at the NPCA since 1996, when she was hired to develop and establish the Global TeachNet program, a national network of educators promoting a more global perspective across the K-12 curriculum. In 1998, Anne’s role expanded as the Director of Global Education. In 2001, she became Director of Global Education and Programs, shifting to Director of Global Education and Technology in 2002. She became the Vice President in August 2004.

Anne brings to her position experience in classroom teaching, cross-cultural awareness and counseling, and non-profit management. She has 10 years of teaching experience at the high school level: two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer teacher of physics, mathematics and physical science in the Fiji Islands and eight years as a mathematics teacher at St. George’s School in Newport, RI, where she was also the Director of Cultural Affairs and an International Student Advisor. At St. George’s, she founded, developed and facilitated a student-led organization for global education and community outreach. 

She is currently a member of the advisory groups for Kids Can Make a Difference (empowering youth to end hunger) and the Center for Global Citizenship at Hathaway Brown School in Cleveland, Ohio. She is on the board of the Friends of Fiji, a affiliate group of the NPCA, and is a past president of the New Dominion Chorale.

Anne has a B.A. in Physics from Amherst College and an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she concentrated in international education.

As Chief Impact Officer, Juliana Essen strives to heighten NPCA's capacity as a social impact organization in an integrated and comprehensive way. Her key responsibilities include strengthening strategic thinking and evidence-based decision making; stimulating an environment of learning and improvement; prioritizing communications as a primary vehicle of impact; supporting membership, development, and revenue-generating efforts; building collaborative relationships within and beyond the Peace Corps community; and developing NPCA's third strategic goal: amplifying the Peace Corps community's global development impact.

Before joining NPCA, Juliana enjoyed a first career in academia. She earned a PhD in cultural anthropology specializing in sustainable development and spent 12 years teaching at a small, private liberal arts college in southern California. In 2015, Juliana left academia for the social impact sector where she could more fully engage her values. She completed a professional degree in social enterprise and launched her new career as Operations Director at Tandana Foundation, a nonprofit organization facilitating cultural exchange and community development in Ecuador and Mali. Juliana served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand from 1993 to 1995.

Juliana works remotely from her home in Laguna Beach, which she shares with her husband, daughter, and big black Lab.

Jonathan Pearson works with NPCA members and other supporters to advance policies to expand, improve and embolden the Peace Corps, and promote opportunities for international service (including the Service World initiative). He also engages with advocates on other key global issues that impact the lives of people and communities in countries where Peace Corps volunteers served.

Jonathan coordinates the annual National Day of Action in Support of the Peace Corps each March, when RPCVs go to Capitol Hill to speak directly with policy-makers as others who can’t come to Washington phone and email their lawmakers. He regularly writes blogs and updates throughout the year to keep the Peace Corps Community informed about advocacy opportunities.

Prior to NPCA, Jonathan worked voluntarily and contractually to assist with the formation of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

Following his Peace Corps service, he worked 5 years as Program Coordinator for Maryland Save Our Streams in Glen Burnie, MD, leading a number of watershed-based community organizing projects. A long-time member of Amnesty International, he joined the staff of AIUSA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Office in 1997. He served in several positions, including Regional Deputy Director and Director.

Jonathan served in the Peace Corps on Lamotrek Atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia as a teacher and community development worker. Prior to joining the Peace Corps, he worked for seven years as a reporter, newscaster, News Director and talk show host for WINY Radio in Putnam.

A native of Connecticut, Jonathan graduated cum laude from Boston College, majoring in communications and political science.

I am a passionate fundraiser, who has extensive experience with increasing contributed revenue for organizations that produce a lasting impact. In my most recent position at the Peace Corps, I created the fundraising strategy for Let Girls Learn, a signature initiative for the First Lady's Office under the Obama Administration. I also increased support and donor retention for the Peace Corps Partnership Program. Previously, I served as the Director of Development for HumanitiesDC, the Humanities Council of Washington, DC. I was responsible for the organization's entire fundraising portfolio and increased their contributed revenue by 25% in less than two years. As Development Manager for the Annual Fund at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, I increased foundation support by 95% over two years, and I increased individual contributions by 41%. I also continuously broke direct mail income records for three consecutive years and garnered media attention through orchestrating Woolly Mammoth’s #GivingTuesday campaign in 2012, which brought in over $10,000 in a single day. Additionally, I served at the Mayor’s Office for Arts, Tourism, and Special Events in Boston. Working to fund arts and cultural activities throughout the city, I won several prestigious grant awards for the city, including a Save America’s Treasures grant to restore the paintings in Faneuil Hall – a National Historic Landmark and one of the most visited tourist sites in the nation.

J.M. Ascienzo joined our staff in January 2016 after serving as our first National Peace Corps Association Fellow. 

As NPCA's Government Relations Officer, J.M. works with the Peace Corps community to advocate for issues it cares deeply about.

J.M. served for three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand. He has taught ESL in Asia, and served with AmeriCorps VISTA in Seattle. He has a bachelors degree in history from Auburn University.

Amanda Silva joined the Peace Corps community as a English Education Teacher and Trainer in Peace Corps Indonesia (2013-15). She joined National Peace Corps Association's team as a Development Fellow in November 2015 and became the Community Fund and Partnerships Coordinator in April 2016 and then Development and Partnerships Coordinator in January 2017.

Amanda passionately serves the greater Peace Corps Community through partnerships and fundraising. Her goal is to find partners that enable the Peace Corps community to thrive while making the most sustainable impact. Amanda also manages individual major donor relations and development initiatives that support the Community Fund.

Prior to Peace Corps Indonesia, Amanda was living in Sydney, Australia working with Opportunity International Australia and supporting their events and campaign initiatives to fund partner microfinance institutions in India, Indonesia and the Philippines. Before Australia, she was the Campaign Associate for Scholarships for Burma, where she worked with grassroots fundraising to send a Burmese refugee to university. In 2011, Amanda taught English at Aquinas University in Colombo, Sri Lanka as well as served as the Marketing and Administrative Coordinator for an international gemstone company.

She currently serves as the President for the Rotaract Club of Washington, DC; the DC Chair for the Delta Phi Epsilon International Society for Business and Foreign Affairs; a board member for Friends of Indonesia; Recruitment Team for DC Local Ambassadors and is Elite Miss District of Columbia 2017 for Miss Earth United States. She graduated from American University in Washington, DC with a Bachelors in Studio Art: Multimedia and minor in International Relations.

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David Fields (RPCV Ghana 11-13) is an analyst and special project coordinator with NPCA. David works to identify early stage opportunities for the NPCA that have a high potential for building and supporting a more robust Peace Corps community and works on facilitating the connection of supportive resources and technologies to the various NPCA departments.  David is a strong advocate of Human Centered Design and is constantly working to foster creativity and innovation among staff and mission partners. David has founded, co-founded, and is adviser to a number of non-profits and social enterprises. As a Peace Corps Volunteer David worked as a WATSAN volunteer in Ghana and gained notoriety with his work around emerging technologies. Prior to the Peace Corps David worked with Mylan Pharmaceutical, Huntington wastewater treatment plant, and conducted cancer research @ the Marshall University School of Medicine.

Elizabeth Dowell, better known as Ella, is NPCA’s Community Technology Systems Coordinator.  As the Community Technology Systems Coordinator, Ella’s primary duty is to enhance NPCA’s effectiveness and efficiency in implementing the Community Building Platform (an all-inclusive, online, group management system) as a means of strengthening the broad network of individual and group members of the Peace Corps community, as well as meeting NPCA’s financial, membership, development, and administrative needs. Ella works remotely from her home in Sacramento, California.

Since 2016, Ella has served as a Board Director, Webmaster, and Communications Chair for the Northern California Peace Corps Association. From 2011 to 2015, Ella lived and worked in Jordan as a Volunteer Leader, Youth Development Facilitator, and Teacher of English as a Foreign Language with the Peace Corps. Ella graduated with Honors from Rhode Island School of Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography in 2010. She’s also an experienced filmmaker, having made the official film about Peace Corps’ program in Jordan and a personal documentary film.