Dan Baker
Bolivia (1999-2002), Timor Leste (2002-2003), Peace Corps HQ (2003-2006, 2010-2011, 2014-2017), Costa Rica Staff (2007-2010), Ethiopia Staff (2011-2014)
Dan Baker has more than 20 years of professional experience in both the private and public sectors. Prior to becoming President of NPCA, Dan was NPCA’s Director of Programs and Business Development for two years, joining NPCA as the pandemic began in order to launch to support programs for evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers. Prior to NPCA, Dan worked in fundraising for Outward Bound, and was project director and senior technical advisor for youth development at IREX. At IREX, Dan led a $30M USAID-funded project working with political leadership in Guatemala and consulted with various other projects and practices to improve the organization’s approach to working with youth around the world.
Dan’s Peace Corps journey began in 1999, just after undergraduate school at Davidson College, when he received his invitation to serve in Bolivia. There he worked as a water sanitation worker and volunteer coordinator. After three years in Bolivia, Dan answered a call for continued volunteer service in Timor Leste, where he was a member of the first group of volunteers to arrive in the new country.
After four years as a volunteer, Dan continued on to a 13-year career at Peace Corps in various staff and consultant roles, both in the field and in the Washington, D.C. headquarters office. His first field position was in Costa Rica where he was the Associate Director for a youth development and child protection project. He also notably worked in Ethiopia as the first Director of Programming and Training in that country, and where he oversaw a rapid expansion of the program, including significant work with USAID Feed the Future and PEPFAR programming. Following his tenure in Ethiopia, he served as the Chief of Programming and Training for the Africa Region in Washington, D.C., where he oversaw implementation of region-wide initiatives such as Let Girls Learn, Read for Life, and advances in the agency’s diversity and inclusion efforts. Dan served with distinction during his time as Peace Corps staff, twice receiving the Director’s Distinguished Service Award, and being selected to the agency’s leadership development academy.
Dan and his wife Chris (RPCV Jamaica) currently live in Silver Spring, Maryland with their daughters and enjoy frequently visiting their southern roots in North Carolina and Georgia.
Carla Brown-Ndiaye
RPCV Comoro Islands 1992–1994
Carla Brown-Ndiaye is an explorer whose unceasing curiosity about people, cultures and countries is what led her joining the Peace Corps, where she taught English to high school students and to aviation professionals. She has also supported maternal and child health projects in her community. One of the highlights of Carla’s experience in the Comoros was that she had the rare opportunity to climb to the top of Karthala, a live volcano.
Carla is an international development professional who has spent more than 25 years living and working in sub-Saharan Africa. Her deep connection to the Continent began with a trip to Kenya and was solidified by a 6 year stay in Benin, where she witnessed first-hand the links between Africa and the continental slave trade. Carla has also lived and worked in Malawi, Senegal, The Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Cote d’Ivoire.
Carla’s worked at Catholic Relief Services as a Country Representative and was the Head of Programs at the Catholic Medical Mission Board. Carla managed an annual budget of up to $20 million and oversaw education, public health, agriculture, micro-finance, water and sanitation, justice, and humanitarian aid programs. She was also the Director of the Family Resource Center in Brooklyn, NY where she implemented homeless prevention programs.
Carla is fluent in English and French and holds a master’s degree in both International Affairs and Public Health from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College.
Anya Chudnaya
Anya Chudnaya is highly driven by sound and sustainable business models focused on equity and inclusion, where talent and passion for the common cause thrive exponentially. She is honored to impart her skills and talents while learning from others, and highly respecting her own style. Ethnically Moldovan yet overall a world citizen, Anya has a passion for creating opportunities where previously thought impossible. She has lived and traveled all over, speaking at least five languages, and at some point dreamed of being a Peace Corps Country Director in Thailand. After having lived in Bali and Timor-Leste, Anya awakened her passion for medicine, which led her to Oklahoma where she has served in all critical care units during the COVID-19 pandemic. INFJ in action, yogi and dancer by design, Anya hopes to continue treading lightly on the roads less traveled.
Lauren Griffis
Lauren Griffis is an experienced financial operations specialist, CRM organizer, and day-to-day office operations manager. Driven by her heart for equality and a mission for human rights, she takes pride in providing the best assistance to NPCA. Lauren joined NPCA in March 2022 as our Administrative Operations Assistant. She brings with her experience in mission work both domestically and internationally with outside organizations. She has a BA from Waldorf University in Psychology and Criminal Justice, and she is currently working on an MA in Business Administration and Leadership. A native to the Northern Virginia area, Lauren enjoys the art of dance, a great cup of coffee, and her gorgeous golden retriever named Paddington The Bear.
Tiffany James
Tiffany James, a Baltimore native, has worked within the nonprofit sector for fourteen years. During that time, she founded a content marketing agency committed to helping nonprofits and social entrepreneurs amplify the stories behind their missions. She joined NPCA as the new Associate Editor of Global Stories in 2021 before being promoted to Associate Director of Strategic Communication the following year. She brings to the team experience in marketing and event planning as well as a commitment to service after three years serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer for nonprofits in the affordable housing and education sectors. Tiffany earned a B.S. in architecture from the University of Virginia and a M.A. in writing from Johns Hopkins.
Orrin Luc
Orrin Luc joined the National Peace Corps Association in March 2021. As the Digital Content Manager, he designs and delivers digital messaging across all platforms, managing the creation of video, website, digital magazine, and newsletter content. He enjoys producing and editing short documentaries that showcase the NPCA’s Community Fund, advocacy efforts, and Global Reentry program. Orrin served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador 2014–16 and again as Peace Corps Response in Mexico 2017–18. He currently lives in Chicago, and he is happy to report that he has met and interviewed Jeff Goldblum in person.
Travis Matthews
Travis Matthews became part of the National Peace Corps Association team in early 2024. He has a passion for networking, development, and member engagement, and he is excited to use his experience and expertise in these areas to support all of the amazing individuals in the Peace Corps (and beyond) that dedicate their time and effort towards serving others.
Travis served in the Peace Corps as a community economic development volunteer from 2016–2018 in Lüderitz, Namibia. In this role, he worked alongside community and business leaders to promote entrepreneurship through a variety of business skills trainings, small business development initiatives, and other economic stimulus programs. Upon completion of his 2-year service, he remained in Namibia to continue to support young professionals through programming done in partnership with the US Embassy. During his time in Namibia, he also became an avid traveler and backpacker, which led him to become the Couchsurfing Ambassador for Namibia from 2018–2023.
Prior to Peace Corps, Travis acquired over 10 years of business development experience in a variety of industries, including banking, tourism, and events. He holds two degrees from Northern Illinois University (BS Business Administration, BS Economics), and, upon graduation, was awarded the Excellence in Leadership Award for his work in the fight against sexual violence and gender-based violence. He now lives back in his hometown of Chicago and is always eager to meet up and talk about Peace Corps, travelling, DJing, or skateboarding.
Robert Nolan
Senior Marketing and Communications Advisor & Editor-in-Chief, Worldview Magazine
Robert Nolan
Robert Nolan is a communications and content strategist with more than 20 years of experience working with top-tier nonprofit organizations and foundations, with a special focus on civic engagement and international affairs. He was executive director of communications at Carnegie Corporation of New York and digital director at the Foreign Policy Association, and has produced documentaries and digital media for PBS, U.S. News and World Report, and the Huffington Post, among others. He is the founder of Contemplative Content, a strategic communications consulting group.
A former Peace Corps volunteer in Zimbabwe, Robert is the author of “The Quest for African Unity: 50 Years of Independence and Interdependence,” a monograph about the African Union, and he’s written extensively on African politics, transatlantic relations, the United Nations, and public engagement on U.S. foreign policy.
Robert was a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is an active member of Network 20/20 and Service Year Alliance. He is an alumnus of the European Union Visitors Program, served as a U.S. delegate to the Atlantic Council’s NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal and was awarded a Democracy Fellowship by the Polish Foreign Ministry.
Jonathan Pearson
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.
Eva Sundgrenz
Evangelina Sundgrenz is a Marketing and Communications professional with experience as a program and project manager in the private, tech, non-profit, and government sectors. Sundgrenz previously managed the NPCA Emergency Response Network program for Covid Pandemic Relief, partnering with Seattle and King County Public Health that utilized the cultural and multilingual capacity of returned peace corps volunteers. Sundgrenz has been active in the Returned Peace Corps Community, previously serving on the boards of the Seattle Area Peace Corps Association in Washington, the West Cascade Peace Corps Association in Oregon, and as a member of the Bay Area Peace Corps Association in California. She served in Uzbekistan from 2000 to 2001 and has a B.A. in International Relations, a B.A. in Spanish, and an M.A. in Humanities and Leadership. When she’s not working, she volunteers as an advisor in adult education, working with refugees and Immigrants, and enjoys paddleboarding, rockhounding in the great Pacific Northwest, and creating new adventures. She lives in the Seattle Area.