Archive - 2020

    Sorrow and Gratitude: Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg She was committed to justice and equality. And a Peace Corps Volunteer helped the world see her in a new way.   by Steven Boyd Saum (Ukraine 1994-96)   “Ruth obviously changed the country, but she did it by convincing people to agree with her, instead of destroying the people who disagreed with her.” Those words were spoken two years ago by Daniel Stiepleman — nephew of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court who died yesterday at age 87. Stiepleman helped the world understand Ginsburg in a deeply personal way: He is author of the screenplay for “On the Basis of Sex,” the biographical film released in 2018 that chronicled both her commitment to justice and gender equality, and her marriage to attorney Martin Ginsburg, who died in 2010. It was at Martin Ginsburg’s funeral, hearing tributes . . .

  The 2020 National Book Awards Longlist: Nonfiction This week, The New Yorker will be announcing the longlists for the 2020 National Book Awards. So far, we’ve presented the lists for Young People’s Literature, Translated Literature, and Poetry. Check back tomorrow morning for Fiction. This year’s longlist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction includes: Jonathan C. Slaght, Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl, Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan Publishers • Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl By Jonathan Slaght (Russia 1999—02) Ferrar, Straus and Giroux August 2020 358 pages $28.00 (Hardcover) Reviewed by Fuller Torrey, MD (Staff/Ethiopia 1964-66) • For those of us whose Peace Corps experience involved villages in countries such as Bolivia, Ethiopia, India and Thailand, placing Peace Corps volunteers in Russia seems like a disconnect. But indeed between 1992 and 2003 722 Peace Corps . . .

  From the sticks of Mississippi to the jungles of Nicaragua, Kevin Cromley escaped the chaos of a turbulent youth,  and finally reached a point in his life where order prevailed. The order he so desperately desired. He would soon be scaling the corporate ladder and setting off on a methodical life of routine and comfort. Why then did he have a sinking feeling that something was off, as if his life was skewed and out of balance? On a mission for answers, he chucks caution to the wind and joined the Peace Corps, finding himself thrust back into the throes of chaos yet again. Will the disorder and chaos overtake him, steer him back towards the perilous ways of his youth? Or will he learn to operate within the disarray and confusion of a new language, new culture, and a new way of looking at life? More importantly, will . . .

The Description of Service or DOS was originally designed as the Personnel record for  each  individual Peace Corp Volunteer’s service.  It was used to verify service for employment and university applications as well as other needs for documentation of service. Initially, in early days, all terminating Volunteers in a specific group, received the same general description of program activities.  However, at a certain time, which I have not yet been able to determine, the DOS became a  V0lunteer’s own record of his or her First Goal program activities. It was written by the Volunteer and countersigned by the Country Director. The Office of Freedom Information Act reports there are over 190,000 DOS electronically catalogued and are available  to the Volunteer and anyone else. For more information DOS policy, visit: https://files.peacecorps.gov/documents/MS-285-Policy.pdf?_ga=2.162855740.1630460103.1599702479-1120743076.1599057042 The detail now required proves how historically valuable these documents are. Here are the instructions for preparing such a detailed . . .

  PEACE CORPS MUSEUM SEEKING VOLUNTEERS     The Museum of the Peace Corps Experience has accepted numerous objects and stories from Returned Peace Corps Volunteers — so many, in fact, that we are looking for more RPCVs to commit a few hours each week to curate Museum activities. Tasks in the following activities are waiting to be addressed as quickly as possible: MARKETING – reaching new audiences through newsletters, press relations and social media COLLECTIONS — managing and cataloging objects and curating exhibits WRITING/EDITING — editing stories for publication and creating outreach messages MULTIMEDIA — enhancing website and expanding virtual exhibits FUNDRAISING — researching and writing grant proposals and planning new fundraising methods BOARD — especially younger volunteers with leadership experience or service on other boards If you can offer assistance in any of these activities and can devote 2 – 5 hours/week, please send a description of your . . .

  Erin Meyer is a professor at INSEAD, one of the leading international business schools. Her work focuses on how the world’s most successful managers navigate the complexities of cultural differences in a global environment. She helps companies to develop organizational cultures that breed both flexibility and innovation and offers cutting-edge strategies to improve the effectiveness of projects that span the globe. Living and working in Africa, Europe, and the United States prompted Erin’s study of the communication patterns and business systems of different parts of the world. Her Culture Map framework allows international executives to pinpoint their leadership preferences, and compare their methods to the management styles of other cultures. Erin has taught thousands of executives from five continents to decode cross-cultural complexities impacting their success, and to work more effectively across these differences. More recently Erin conducted an in-depth study with Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and CEO of Netflix, . . .

  Open Book with Efrem Sigel, author of Juror Number 2 Sept 6, 2020 by Lindsey Hollenbaugh The Berkshire Eagle   Most people do everything they can to get out of serving jury duty, but on Nov. 20, 2017, Efrem Sigel found himself sitting in a Manhattan courtroom being told by a New York State Supreme Court judge: “This is the most serious case you could be involved in.” “All of a sudden, I’m on jury duty,” said Sigel in a phone interview from his Great Barrington home. “I even picked a week [Thanksgiving week] I thought not much was going on; but there I was in the courtroom. The judge offered us all an easy way out, but for some reason, I was really intrigued by it. Next thing I knew, I was on the jury. It’s all a matter of luck.” Sigel became Juror Number 2 in The . . .

Museum News Direct to You The Museum of the Peace Corps Experience wants to keep our members up-to-date. Once a month we’ll send you news of our latest projects, activities, stories, and exhibition plans. Our Inaugural Newsletter invites you to view – from the comfort of your home – “A Towering Task, The Story of the Peace Corps” documentary; announces the Many Faces of Peace Corps; encourages you and others to volunteer with the Museum; focuses on our active Marketing Team; and offers you ways to contribute objects, stories, and money. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome at contactus@peacecorpsmuseum.org Co-Chairs, Nicola Dino, RPCV Ecuador 1994-1997 Patricia Wand, RPCV Colombia 1963-1965 “A Towering Task” Peace Corps documentary! The Museum of the Peace Corps Experience hosts a screening of “A Towering Task,” the award-winning Peace Corps documentary, viewable September 18 – 30, 2020… Read More Museum Launches Many Faces of Peace Corps Peace Corps 60th . . .

  The organization that is hosting the event is the Constituency for Africa (CFA). A hyperlink to register for the event is posted on their event webpage.    

Gov. Wolf Receives Hubert H. Humphrey Award for Public Service NEWS PROVIDED BY Pennsylvania Office of the Governor September 10, 2020, 15:49 GMT Governor Tom Wolf (India 1968-70) received the American Political Science Association (APSA) Hubert H. Humphrey Award. This award, which was announced during a virtual ceremony at the APSA annual meeting, honors notable public service by a political scientist. Previous recipients of the award include Condoleezza Rice, Susan E. Rice, Henry G. Cisneros, Mark Hatfield, Madeline Albright, Donna E. Shalala, Brent Scowcroft and Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Tom Wolf embarked on a lifetime of public service early when he interrupted his undergraduate studies at Dartmouth to spend two years serving in the Peace Corps in India. He went on to earn a doctorate in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his doctoral thesis was awarded APSA’s E. E. Schattschneider Award for best dissertation in the field . . .

  John E. Lewis (Moldova (1995-97) is the creator, writer, and executive producer of the web series Lost in Moldova. He wrote the first few episodes while getting his MFA in TV and Screenwriting in LA. It’s loosely based on his Peace Corps experience — as well as the experiences of other Vols and RPCVs. Lost in Moldova was recently selected under the comedy category for Webfest Berlin.  Check out the first episode of the series. Take a look.  

  Days 10, 11 & 12: A Winter Storm And No Power By NATE HEGYI The Mountain West News Bureau   Nate Hegyi, rural reporter for the Mountain West News Bureau, is embarking on a 900-mile cycling trip crisscrossing the continental divide in August and September, interviewing and listening to Americans ahead of the 2020 election. September 5-7: Driggs, Idaho to Dubois, Wyoming, 48 miles I’m being chased by a cold front, which threatens to bring snow and freezing temperatures across the northern Rockies. Winter is coming and I’m in the high country. Alpine meadows and tall, green pine are smudged by wildfire smoke drifting in from nearby Yellowstone National Park. But I have a stiff tailwind and my legs feel good – I took two days off from reporting over Labor Day weekend to spend some time driving around the parks with my fiance, Christine, who came down from Missoula with our . . .