Board of Directors

Member-elected: West Division (current term ends 2023)

Dominican Republic 1967-1969

Kim served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic doing rural community development from 1967 to 1969, after graduating from Washington State University. After leaving Peace Corps, Kim held several different positions in affordable housing across the nation. 

These included working as a Housing Specialist with the Fauquier Community Action Agency in Warrenton, VA; Serving as a Special Field Representative of the Rural Housing Alliance (RHA) and Executive Director of Delta Housing Development Corporation for four years in Indianola, MS. He then served as Associate Director for Housing and Community Development at RHA in Washington, DC, before serving as the Director of the HUD Rural Assistance Initiative in Spokane, WA. Following HUD, he served as the Executive Director of the Yakima Housing Authority in WA, and as Manager for Single Family Housing at the Portland Development Commission in Oregon.  

In 1983 he was appointed by Governor John Spellman as an original Commissioner on the WA State Housing Finance Commission after helping create the Commission in the state legislature. In 1984, he was appointed as the first Executive Director of the Commission, where he also served as the Executive Director of two affiliate agencies. Kim retired from the Commission at the end of 2019.

Kim has over 35 years of legislative experience in the WA legislature; more than 45 years of advocacy in Congress; and, he has served on the boards of numerous nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and advocacy organizations during his career. 

Member-Elected: Asia and the Pacific Division (current term ends 2023)

Micronesia 1990-1992

Jed Meline served as a teacher/health volunteer in Chuuk, Micronesia in 1990-92. Like so many others, it was a life changing experience that shaped his career. Since completing his Peace Corps service, Jed has worked in the U.S. and abroad on international development/humanitarian assistance practice and policy and is currently at The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria as the Senior Advisor to the Board Vice Chair.  

Prior to joining the Global Fund, Meline was a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development for almost 20 years in numerous positions overseas and in Washington, D.C. including as Staff Director for the House Democracy Partnership, a bipartisan Commission of the U.S. House of Representatives and as professional staff member/Brookings Fellow on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. At USAID headquarters, he was Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Bureau among other roles. Previously, he served for two years on the National Security Council Staff as the Director for Health and Humanitarian Assistance and as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs. 

Overseas, his previous positions include Senior Development Advisor responsible for all USAID programs in Libya, Deputy USAID Mission Director in Nepal, and Health Officer in the Philippines and Tanzania. 

He lives in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife Megan and two children.

Board-Elected (current term ends 2022)

Ukraine 2008-2010

Gretchen Upholt served as a Community Development Peace Corps Volunteer in Korop, Ukraine, where she designed project frameworks and wrote grants in partnership with a number of local government and non-government organizations based in her 4,000 person county seat. In addition to her site work, Gretchen sat on the committee tasked with making funding decisions for the USAID-funded SPA grant program. Gretchen joined the Finance Committee of the NPCA in 2018 and was elected to the board in 2019.

Currently Gretchen is a lead consultant for the Midwest office of BDO FMA, a consulting firm focused on building the financial and operational capacity of nonprofits. In that role Gretchen is responsible for the business development and growth strategy of the Midwest region. In addition to her focus on business development, Gretchen splits her time between playing an active role as trainer, coach, and curriculum developer for BDO FMA’s cohort training initiatives and as consultant to nonprofit clients across the country, helping nonprofit leaders improve their financial management skills and processes.

Before joining the BDO FMA team, Gretchen served as the head of the Volunteer Department at the Thabyay Education Network in Thailand. Gretchen’s widely diverse nonprofit experience includes working on the corporate citizenship team at the TCC Group, designing and implementing a pilot research study on nonprofit talent costs for the Talent Philanthropy Project, as a project manager with the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, and as Chorus Manager for The Choral Arts Society of Washington.

Gretchen holds a Master of Public Administration in Public and Nonprofit Management from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Arts and Cultural Management from American University in Washington, D.C. She currently lives in Chicago and is active in a number of local organizations in the Chicagoland area.

Member-Elected: Upper Midwest Division (current term ends 2022)

Phillipines 2005-2006

Mary Owen-Thomas is a communications manager at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, where she primarily handles media relations. She is serving her second term as the NPCA board's Upper Midwest representative. Previously, she served about 8 years on the board of the Chicago Area Peace Corps Association (CAPCA).

Mary has worked in journalism for more than 15 years. While at the Chicago Tribune and Detroit Free Press, she was a metro reporter covering crime, courts, and politics. She also worked as a digital content producer at ABC7 TV in Chicago where she handled digital content on the web, mobile app, and social media. In addition, she has copy edited for the Global Press Journal, which features news stories by women around the world. During a brief stint in nonprofit, Mary was the Chicago program manager for the News Literacy Project, which teaches youth about how to be smarter news consumers in the Digital Age.

In Peace Corps, Mary was an education resource volunteer in the Philippines, working at a rural high school in Lobo, Batangas. She developed professional development trainings for journalism teachers across the island nation.

Mary was a founding board member of the Stewart House Urban Farm in Gary, Indiana, and briefly owned 7 backyard chickens and a pound of vermicomposting worms. She is a Detroit native who graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. in political science and earned an M.P.A. from Indiana University-Northwest.

Affiliate Group Network Coordinator (current term ends 2022)

Georgia 2014-2016

Hannah Wishart is a Customer Support Specialist at Bloomerang, a CRM for nonprofits based in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is currently serving on the board of directors for the NPCA as the Affiliate Group Network Coordinator. Previously, she served as the President of the Indy Peace Corps Community. During her time leading the Indy Peace Corps Community, the central Indiana NPCA affiliate group, she was able to increase membership, invigorate outreach and expand the presence in the Indianapolis community. The IPCC was more than just a volunteer opportunity for Hannah, she found that it also had a special talent for engaging with returned, prospective and currently serving volunteers, as well as their friends and families, to build a network of like-minded individuals. The group had the capacity to bring people in, build them up and keep them there so that they could do the same for others. 

In Peace Corps, Hannah served as an English Education volunteer in Chiatura, Georgia. She worked in a local public school alongside teachers and students. In addition to her primary project, Hannah also served as a board member for SELF Camp, a camp aimed at empowering Georgian girls to engage in sports and take a leading role in their own lives. She was also involved with the Technology for Development committee where she delivered technology training to nonprofit workers and teachers throughout Georgia. She was also a member of the Volunteer Advisory Committee. 

Hannah is a native of central Indiana. She graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies and Spanish, as well as a minor in Non-Profit Management.

Ex Officio - President, National Peace Corps Association

Guatemala 1988-1991

Glenn Blumhorst is President and CEO of National Peace Corps Association (NPCA), a  501(c)(3) enterprise at the center of a community of more than 180 grassroots affiliate groups and 235,000 individuals who share the Peace Corps experience. Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Washington, DC, NPCA’s mission is “to champion lifelong commitment to Peace Corps ideals.” During his tenure, Glenn has led NPCA’s historic transformation from a dues-based alumni association to a community-driven social impact organization.

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

Glenn 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 the 2018 recipient of the prestigious University of Missouri Faculty-Alumni Award.

Glenn is a private pilot with more than 400 hours of flight time.

Member-Elected: Northeast Division (current term ends 2024)

Ethiopia 2009-2013

Nikole Allen is a lecturer of health policy and management at the Yale School of Public Health and a program director at the Yale School of Medicine currently overseeing health and hospital management and preclinical education projects under the Yale-Liberia Health Workforce Program. In this role, Allen oversees the design, implementation, and evaluation of projects.

Previously, Allen managed the Health and Social Care Strategic Leadership Program with the National Health Service in England, the Hospital Management and Leadership Program for public hospitals in China, and oversaw implementation of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Leadership, Management, and Governance Project’s Senior Leadership Programs in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Allen has worked with teams and individuals from numerous countries and backgrounds addressing complex problems using strategic problem-solving methods. Before joining Yale University, Allen worked with the Ethiopian Hospital Management Initiative at the Clinton Health Access Initiative. Her work focused on improving key performance indicator reporting among hospitals, including measuring patient and staff satisfaction, the uptake of patient satisfaction best practices and the implementation of the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist.

Allen holds a B.A. and Leadership Certificate from Western Oregon University and an M.P.H. from the University of Washington Department of Global Health. She served in the Peace Corps as a Health and HIV/AIDS Community Advisor in Northern Ethiopia with her husband from 2009-2013.

Board-elected (current term ends 2023)

Korea 1969-1970

Mary Broude grew up on a North Dakota farm where she learned, at an early age, that world affairs and events can significantly impact whether it’s a “good” or “bad” year on the farm. This exposure inspired her curiosity to learn and experience as much of the world as possible.

Mary completed a B.A. at St. Olaf College and then taught at Seoul National University as a Peace Corps Korea Volunteer (K-7). It was soon clear the world was small when two of her students, a few months after being in her classroom in Seoul, were in her Dad’s classroom at North Dakota State University!

After returning to the U.S., Mary taught high school German in Minneapolis before moving to Southern California. She transitioned her career to roles in Organization Development and Management Training at The Walt Disney Company and later in healthcare organizations. She also consulted for medical device start-up companies. Along the way, she completed an M.S. in Educational Administration at CSU Fullerton and MBA at UC Irvine. She was also an adjunct lecturer at CSU Long Beach and University of Phoenix.

Mary is active in Dining for Women, a women’s giving circle funding grassroots organizations that empower women and girls and promote gender equity in the developing world. She is on the Leadership Council for the Center for Critical Korean Studies at UC Irvine, co-founder of the Orange County Peace Corps Association (RPCV group), and past Board member for Friends of Korea, Women Helping Women and St. Olaf Alumni.  

Member-Elected: MidAtlantic and Nationwide Division (current term ends 2024)

Somalia 1966-1968

Evelyn Ganzglass is on the leadership team of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Archives Project and a member of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, D.C.

Evelyn retired in 2018 after a 40 -year career in domestic and international workforce development policy and practice. Much of her work focused on strengthening connections among workforce development, education, economic development, and social service policies and programs. From 2016-2018, she was co-director of the Connecting Credentials, a Lumina funded collaborative effort of more than 100 national organizations to make degrees, certificates, industry certifications, badges, and other credentials easier to understand, use, and interconnect. For 10 years prior to that, she held a number of senior management positions at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), a national nonprofit that seeks to advance the economic security, educational and workforce prospects, and family stability of low-income children, families, and youth. including being the founding director of CLASP’s Center for Postsecondary Education and Economic Success.

Before joining CLASP, Evelyn directed the Global Workforce in Transition project at the Educational Development Center, Inc. This project is the U.S. Agency for International Development’s lead global initiative for helping developing and transition countries increase the relevance and responsiveness of their education and training systems to changing economic needs.

Evelyn worked at the National Governors Association (NGA) for more than 20 years. From 1991 to 2002 she was the director of the Employment and Social Services Policy Studies for the NGA Center for Best Practices. In this position, she was responsible for the association’s research and technical assistance activities focused on promoting effective state practices and policy innovation related to workforce development, youth development, social services, welfare reform, criminal justice, and performance management. She led major NGA initiatives related to cluster-based economic development, e-learning, youth development, skill standards, adult literacy, school-to-work transition, and policies to help low-income working families advance out of poverty.

Evelyn lives in Washington, D.C. with Marty, her husband of 55 years with whom she served in the Peace Corps. They have two children and two grandchildren. Evelyn volunteers as co-director of an Interfaith Refugee Resettlement Initiative in Montgomery County that is assisting Afghan refugee families.

Board-elected (current term ends 2022)

Ukraine 2004-2006

Jeffrey Janis is committed to public service taking on both volunteer and professional leadership roles in local, national and international organizations. He dedicated his career to financial resource development, empowering donors to achieve their philanthropic goals and organizations to accomplish their missions. Focusing primary on major gifts fundraising, Jeffrey has worked for organizations such as the United Jewish Appeal, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House. 

When he was 44, Jeffrey fulfilled his lifelong dream and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine where he helped non-profits with fundraising, grant writing, and strategic planning. His secondary projects included Chair of the HIV/AIDS group, and he taught American Sign Language to deaf Ukrainians. He currently works for UCLA as the Peace Corps Campus Recruiter. 

Jeffrey has a B.A. in Psychology from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and a M.B.A. with a focus in non-profit management from the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, CA.  He is an avid traveler and has been to more than 50 countries. 

Board-Elected (current term ends 2023)

Costa Rica 1964-1966

Chip Levengood, a retired international investment banker, served as a Rural Community Development Volunteer in Costa Rica from 1964 to 1966. His experience in the Peace Corps led him to an international career which has included living and working throughout Latin America and Europe.

In addition to his service on the NPCA Board, Levengood is the Chairman of Relief International (RI) a medium size international NGO that works in about 20 of the most fragile countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. RI focuses on enterprise development, WASH, education, and health, principally for women and girls. This Spring, Chip stepped down as the Chairman of US Vote Foundation after 10 years of service; he remains a Board member. Originally formed as Overseas Vote Foundation to assist U.S. citizens abroad and the military to vote, US Vote provides voting services for all U.S. citizens, leases data to civic society organizations and advocates for increased participation by voters. Chip also is the Co-President of the Yale Club of Spain and coordinates interviews of all Spanish and Portuguese applicants for undergraduate admission.

Chip and his wife Katharine have two sons and three grandchildren. He and Katharine split their time between Philadelphia and Madrid.

Member-Elected: The Americas Division (current term ends 2022)

Honduras 2005-2007, Peace Corps Response Panama 2015-2016

Katie served with the Peace Corps in Honduras from 2005-2007 working with environmental health and municipal development. After returning to the U.S., she was awarded a Shriver Peaceworker Fellowship, which allowed her to obtain a Masters degree in Intercultural Communication and Hispanic Studies from University of Maryland Baltimore County. She recently served with Peace Corps Response in Panama from 2015-2016 working to deliver remote medical care and developing a community health worker training program for indigenous communities in the Bocas del Toro region.

For over 10 years, Katie has worked with Baltimore’s Latino community in the fields of health, recreation, education, and community development. She is currently the Program Director and Hispanic Liaison for the Friends of Patterson Park, which protects and advocates for a public urban park by providing free programing and supporting open space initiatives. For the past four years, Katie has served as a commissioner on the Mayor of Baltimore’s Hispanic Commission, where she sits on the health sub-committee.

For many years, Katie has volunteered with Global Citizen Year, interviewing and selecting fellows to participate in a gap year abroad, as well as helping to develop a cross-cultural and re-entry training program. She sits on the Board of Directors of the Baltimore Improv Group (BIG), where she is also a performer, and has sat on the Latino Advisory Board of the Walters Art Museum.

Along with an M.A. in Intercultural Communication, Katie holds a B.S. in Psychology and Spanish from Towson University, where she was a scholar-athlete playing tennis. She is passionate about her work facilitating cross-cultural understanding, volunteerism, and the positive role that public parks play in community health and wellness.

Board-Elected (current term ends 2023)

Zimbabwe 1997-1999

Robert Nolan is the executive director of communications and content strategy at Carnegie Corporation of New York, where he oversees external relations, social media, and content. 

Previously he was editor-in-chief of new media at the Foreign Policy Association and producer of the PBS television series Great Decisions in Foreign Policy. In this role, he interviewed heads of state, Nobel laureates, foreign ministers, and other key players on the global stage. He also produced the 2009 documentary From Pharaohs to Facebook: Egypt Today, and has been a frequent contributor of opinion and analysis for U.S. News & World Report and The Huffington Post.

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 successfully completed a term membership at the Council on Foreign Relations and is an active member of the National Peace Corps Association and Network 20/20. He is an alumnus of the European Union Visitors Program, served as a U.S. delegate to the Atlantic Council’s “Young Atlanticist” convening at the 2010 NATO summit in Lisbon, and was awarded a Democracy Fellowship by the Polish Foreign Ministry.

Robert holds an MSJ from Northwestern University’s Medill School Journalism, and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College.

Before co-founding Odonnell Company, Eileen pursued her passion for creativity and making a difference as an international volunteer, spending time in the Middle East as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and working in education and health in Asia with Global Service Corps. Between volunteer and cause work, Eileen worked to gain skills in communications and advertising, working in Connecticut and New York City as an Art Director for many years.

Eileen is an active partner at Odonnell Company, where she leads with her brother and partner, Dan O’Donnell. Together, they are growing a culture and company around creative and innovative ways to make an impact, and drive change for the better in the areas of public health, mental health, early childhood and education, equity, social justice, and the environment. Through decades of research and work with behavioral experts, they have developed a unique framework for behavior change, integrating brain science and promoting connection around the values we all share as humans.

Eileen lives in Connecticut with her family—including two daughters—where views of the water and weekend runs along the ocean allow time to energize and imagine the possibilities for the world when people come together for change. 

Board-elected (current term ends 2022)

Uzbekistan 2000-2001

Rogelio Quintanar, a native of Chicago, currently lives in Southeast Georgia with his wife and two children. Rogelio graduated from Carroll University with a degree in Social Work.  

After graduating, Rogelio worked for the Waukesha County Department of Health and Human Services where he worked closely with families dealing with issues related with sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Being bilingual he also worked closely with the Hispanic community and worked to bridge services to individuals and families that did not speak English.

It was during this time that Rogelio met his wife, who he discovered also harbored dreams of joining the Peace Corps. After they married, they decided to do just that.  Three months after tying the knot they were on a plane to Uzbekistan where they served from 2000-2001 as English teachers.  Their service was cut short after the events of 9/11 prompted the Peace Corps to evacuate volunteers from the region.

In 2002 Rogelio’s Alma Mater, Carroll University, recognized Rogelio as one of the Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) for distinguished service to their profession and community.

Upon returning to the states Rogelio found work, via the RPCV network, with the National Council of La Raza (UnidosUS). He worked in the Chicago Regional office before moving to DC and working at headquarters. During his time at UnidosUS Rogelio oversaw the Latino Empowerment through National Service (LENS) initiative. This included managing their National AmeriCorps program. The program allowed UnidosUS affiliates to increase their capacity to meet critical community needs. AmeriCorps Members served the community by providing tutoring to at risk students, providing workforce development services to job seekers, assisted in rebuilding communities that were affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and organized service projects that beautified the community.

Rogelio has been involved in the running community for many years and in 2016 decided to marry his passions for the community and running by creating the Quintanar Running Company. The company focuses on working with organizations that want to organize running/endurance events to bring awareness to their cause and raise money for services. Since 2016 he has helped to increase the number of events and funds for local organizations.

He currently sits on the board for CASA Glynn, which provides training to court advocates who are then paired with foster kids. Additionally, he sits on the vestry at St Marks Episcopal Church, where he assists in overseeing the mission and vision of the church. Lastly, for the last five years he’s volunteered as a community coach for both the Brunswick High School cross country and track teams.  

Member-Elected: West, Central, and Southern Africa Division (current term ends 2022)

Botswana 1986-1988

A  native of Defiance, Ohio, Faith Van Gilder earned a journalism degree from Bowling Green State University, where she met her husband, David. The two served in the Peace Corps in Kanye, Botswana, from 1986 to 1988, where they were middle school teachers. Her career has included stints as editor at the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, senior account supervisor at Asher Agency (a Fort Wayne marketing firm), and currently, Chief Officer, Marketing & Development, at Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michiana. 

Faith serves on the boards of Wellspring Interfaith Social Services, Friends of Cedar Creek and Advancing Voices of Women (AVOW), which she co-founded in 2017 and for which she was recognized by the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette as "Citizen of the Year" in 2018. She is a graduate of Leadership Fort Wayne, an Athena Award nominee, and recipient of the YWCA of Northeast Indiana Peggy Hobbs Award for Volunteerism. 

Faith and David live in Huntertown, Indiana, and have two adult daughters. They are also Indiana Advocacy Coordinators for the Peace Corps, as well as conveners of the Northeast Indiana RPCV group.   

Humanitarian | International Liaison| Abolitionist| Strategist| NonProfits |Peace Corps | Bilingual|

Chief of Staff, abolitionist, committed to changing the culture that breeds injustice and imbalance. Majority of the world’s breaches of peace and security stem from human rights violations. True communication, I believe is about recognizing you are a channel to transmit a truth greater than yourself, freedom and dignity as a journey, a human right. At NCOSE we expose the inextricably links to child abuse, domestic violence, human trafficking.

Senior Consultant, Strategist and Communications expert to Government Affairs Firms, Nonprofits, and Abolition of modern-day slavery. Serving the US and countries around the world. 

State Department (PA) Director to the Office of  External Relations, Protocol, Communications, Liaison, and Special Advisor to Secretary of State. Liaison to Governors Office and key partners to ensure seamless support between cabinet.  Designs all communications, public relations, international liaison as a creative engine for the agency.

Director Protocol, & External Relations, US Presidential Convention, Philadelphia, PA 2016

Liaison and creator of protocol of the Presidential Convention for stakeholders, elected officials, corporations, and foreign diplomats. Project and Security management expert.

Executive Director| Chief of Staff for The Hispanic Institute|Washington DC, 2007-2015 

Director of External Affairs, Communication, Diversity & Inclusion, responsible for partnerships and engaging diverse stakeholders on policy issues. Served as a liaison between public, private, and nonprofit promoting mutually beneficial policy outcomes. team member engagement, and non-profit relationship management. Provided strategic communications counsel stakeholders on a range policy. Built and managed high profile coalitions on complex issues combining her passion to non-partisan organizations dedicated to creating a broader awareness of the diversity of thought, heritage, interests, and views of the Hispanic community. Project & Event management supporting individuals and organizations worldwide in the development, execution, and operations of large-scale, high-visibility events. Special focus - abolish modern-day slavery- Human Trafficking.

Board-elected (current term ends 2022)

Paraguay 1979-1981

Rev. “Beto” Whitaker is an advocate for the poor and marginalized.  He has worked diligently with various local and national stakeholders in addressing social determinants, utilizing data to improve health outcomes, and promoting a national culture of health. Throughout his 30-year career Beto has heralded health equity and quality health care for all.

Currently, Beto directs the East Providence Health Equity Zone, one of 11 in the state of Rhode Island. The health equity model brings together a Collaborative of various stakeholders charged with the task of identifying and prioritizing issues that impact health outcomes. He is also actively engaged with a project that demonstrates both the importance and efficacy of clinical and community linkages.

Beto is a voting member of the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (NECEPAC) of the Institute of Clinical and Economic Review (ICER). He serves on the board of Brockton Area Multi-Services Inc and the Committee on Ministry of the MA Conference of the United Church of Christ. Additionally, Rev Whitaker serves as the Senior Pastor at St. Mark Congregational Church in Boston.

He holds a master’s degree in Urban Ministry from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and just completed a second master’s in Public Health. Beto served in Paraguay from 1979 – 1981.