RPCVs in the news – Peace Corps Worldwide

Shay Youngblood (Dominica) — influential author and playwright, dies at 64

Jul 03 2024

DNYUZ July 3, 2024 Shay Youngblood (Dominica 1981-83), a novelist and playwright whose works about her upbringing by a churchgoing cohort of “Big Mamas” and her adventures in Paris as a young aspiring writer inspired a generation of young Black women, died on June 11 at the home of a friend, Kelley Alexander, in Peachtree City, Ga. She was 64. Ms. Alexander said the cause was ovarian cancer. Ms. Youngblood, whose mother died when she was 2 years old and whose father was not in her life, grew up in a housing project in Columbus, Ga., where she raised by her maternal grandmother and great-grandmother, along with a close circle of eccentric and adoring maternal stand-ins. The Big Mamas — stoic, arthritic and wise — had much to impart to the young Shay: their dim view of most men; their love of music, dancing and church; their often bawdy . . .

Ambassador William Roebuck (Cote d’Ivoire)

Jul 03 2024

RPCVs in the news — Ambassador William “Bill” Roebuck (Cote d’Ivoire 1978-81) is the executive vice president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. He most recently served as the deputy special envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and a senior advisor to the Special Representative for Syria Engagement Ambassador James Jeffrey. Prior to his appointment, Roebuck served as a senior advisor to Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk from January to December 2018. Roebuck served as ambassador to Bahrain from 2015-17. He was appointed deputy assistant secretary for Maghreb Affairs in January 2013 and assumed additional responsibility for Egypt Affairs in January 2014. He served as Chargé d’Affaires in Tripoli, Libya from January to June 2013, earning the Ryan C. Crocker Award for Outstanding Leadership in Expeditionary Diplomacy. From September 2010 to December 2012, he served as director for the Office of Maghreb Affairs in the . . .

Hog Farmer Paul Willis (Nigeria)

Jul 01 2024

RPCV in the news — Fancy Food Show honors Niman Ranch Founding Hog Farmer Founding Hog Farmer grows Niman Ranch from a one-family farm to a network of over 600 Certified Humane independent family farmers and ranchers. By Industry News At the Fancy Food Show, Niman Ranch’s Founding Hog Farmer Paul Willis (Nigeria 1973-75) received the Specialty Food Association Leadership Award for Sustainability. Willis grew Niman Ranch from his one-family farm to a network of over 600 Certified Humane independent family farmers and ranchers raising pork, beef and lamb sustainably and with no antibiotics, hormones or crates. Niman Ranch meats are served at many of the country’s fine restaurants, at values-driven fast-casual chains and in specialty grocers nationwide. “Paul Willis shows how the specialty food industry can drive change and build a better, more sustainable food system,” said Phil Robinson, SVP, member development at the Specialty Food Association. “Thanks . . .

Larry Kaplow (Guatemala) at NPR

Jul 01 2024

RPCVs in the news — Larry Kaplow (Guatemala 1988-91) edits the work of NPR’s correspondents in the Middle East and helps direct coverage about the region. That has included NPR’s work on the Syrian civil war, the Trump administration’s reduction in refugee admissions, the Iran nuclear deal, the US-backed fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. He has been at NPR since 2013, starting as an overnight news editor. He moved to the International Desk in 2014. He won NPR’s Newcomer Award and was part of teams that won an Overseas Press Club Award and an NPR Content Excellence Award. Prior to joining NPR, Kaplow reported from the Middle East for 12 years. He was the Cox Newspapers‘ Mideast correspondent from 1997 to 2003, reporting from Jerusalem during the Second Intifada as well as from Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon. He . . .

RPCV Courtney Bower joins the Ukraine Case Studies

Jun 26 2024

RPCVs in the news — The Ukraine Case Studies Team is delighted to be joined by Courtney Bower, a Ph.D. candidate in regional science at Cornell University and a Senior Fellow at the Portulans Institute. Courtney’s research examines technological resilience and regional innovation systems. Related topics of his research include the circular economy, post-war reconstruction, infrastructure policy, and Black Sea spatial imaginaries. Before attending Cornell, Courtney completed a tour of service as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in western Ukraine. Courtney joins the research team for the Ukraine Case Studies project to investigate technological resilience from a regional perspective. His work seeks to understand how Ukrainian regions will bounce back or bounce forward in response to wartime shocks across four dimensions: innovation, human capital, digital access, and ICT infrastructure. His study of technological resilience in Ukraine will be one of the embedded case studies of our larger project, and . . .

University Of Michigan’s Africa Oceanography School

Jun 17 2024

In the news — Oceanography School Receives Funding From Schmidt Sciences By Iednewsdesk Jun 14, 2024 A University of Michigan-led summer school for oceanographers in Ghana and Nigeria is part of a project to receive funding from Schmidt Sciences, a philanthropic organization started by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Wendy Schmidt. The Coastal Ocean Environment Summer School In Nigeria and Ghana, or COESSING, was founded by Brian Arbic, a physical oceanographer and U-M professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. The summer school, which is endorsed by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), is set to receive $125,000 each year from 2025-2028 and split between U-M and the University of Ghana. The school funding is included in a larger project called Ocean Margins Initiative. OMI is one of five projects that are part of the Ocean Biogeochemistry Virtual Institute, an initiative funded by Schmidt Sciences. OBVI has . . .

Leader in Arts and Entertainment: Kevin Giglinto (Romania)

Jun 14 2024

In the news — Kevin Giglinto (Romania 1994-96) joined the Marcus Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee in July 2023 as its new president and chief executive officer, with more than 25 years of experience. Over the past nine months, Giglinto’s initiatives have led to a 32% increase in venue attendance, the launch of a new series, and an investment in tools to broaden MPAC’s digital reach, according to Lori Craig, senior vice president, market leader for PNC Private Bank and chair of the Marcus Center board. “He was instrumental in creating MPAC’s latest performance lineup, the Culture Collective, designed to celebrate and elevate the contributions of artists of color across a spectrum of artistic disciplines. This new series aligns with MPAC’s commitment to racial equity, diversity and inclusion,” Craig said. Giglinto also launched a new internship program at the Marcus Center, providing young people a chance to explore a career . . .

Helping people in underserved areas live their healthiest lives

Jun 12 2024

Meet Samuel Edwards June 10, 2024 By Ashley Bell David Geffen School of Medicine Medical student Samuel Edwards remembers little from his early childhood in Accra, Ghana. When he hears the word “home,” he pictures Toledo, Ohio — where his parents eventually settled after moving to the United States. He counts his mother among his strongest motivations for pursuing a medical career. After she became sick in 2017, Samuel developed a more serious interest in learning as much about health and healthcare as possible. He’d thought about going to medical school previously, but her sickness anchored his future plans in a deeper sense of purpose. He began seeing medicine as more than something to study at school. “I realized medicine is what I’m called to do with my life.” After earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Medicine, Health, and Society from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, Samuel joined . . .

CorpsAfrica Expands to South Africa

Jun 08 2024

RPCVs in the news — WASHINGTON, DC, USA, June 5, 2024 CorpsAfrica is expanding its global presence by launching volunteer programs in South Africa, the organization announced this week. Founded in 2011 by former Peace Corps Volunteer Liz Fanning (Morocco 1993-95) CorpsAfrica recruits and trains educated African youth as volunteers to live and work in rural, under-resourced communities in their own countries. Operating on the core belief that African youth are the Continent’s greatest resource, the organization places volunteers in remote communities for up to one year, to facilitate small-scale, high-impact projects that are identified by the local community, many of which are related to health, economic empowerment, and climate change. Currently, CorpsAfrica has over 900 volunteers in ten African countries, with plans to eventually expand to all 54 African nations. Kelo Kubu, curator of TEDx Johannesburg, has been appointed as CorpsAfrica’s Country Director in South Africa. Kubu served as . . .

Peace Corps Volunteers donate Korean art collection worth $250,000

Jun 04 2024

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Karl Drobnic (Ethiopia, 1966-68) An American couple who came to Korea in 1969 to work as Peace Corps volunteers have donated the art they collected during their six years here. The 140 items donated last year were valued at a quarter of a million dollars, they said. At first, their family tried to talk the lively 70-somethings out of giving away such a large amount of their money. “But it’s money we never really had,” Gary Mintier remarked when sharing their story. Gary and his wife Mary Ann had done most of their art shopping in what they referred to as “Mary’s Alley,” an old term for central Seoul’s Insa-dong, which has been known for housing a market selling art and antiques. Most of the art they purchased was priced very cheaply, as Korea was a poor country in those days, and centuries-old . . .

Tony Waters (Thailand) — Editor of Ethnography

May 28 2024

Tony Waters is the chief editor of Ethnography.com. He was at the Sociology department at California State University at Chico where he had been a professor since 1996. In 2016 he found a new gig at Payap University in northern Thailand where he is on the faculty of the Peace Studies Department. He has also been a guest professor in Germany, and Tanzania. In the past, his main interests have been international development and refugees in Thailand, Tanzania, and California. This reflects a former career in the Peace Corps (Thailand 1980-82), and refugee camps in Thailand and Tanzania. His books include: Crime and Immigrant Youth (1999), Bureaucratizing the Good Samaritan (2001), The Persistence of Subsistence Agriculture: Life Beneath of the Marketplace (2007), When Killing is a Crime (2007), and Schooling, Bureaucracy, and Childhood: Bureaucratizing the Child (2012). His hobby is trying to learn new languages.

Rob Schmitz (China) is NPR’s International Correspondent

May 18 2024

In the news NPR newsletter Rob Schmitz (China 1996-98) is NPR’s international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, Schmitz has covered Germany’s levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic. Prior to covering Europe, Schmitz provided award-winning coverage of China for a decade, reporting on the country’s economic rise and increasing global influence. His reporting on China’s impact beyond its borders took him to countries such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand. Inside China, he’s interviewed elderly revolutionaries, young rappers, and live-streaming celebrity farmers who make up the diverse tapestry of one of the most fascinating countries on the planet. . . .

Dr. Justin Bibee (Morocco) to be awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters

May 04 2024

RPCV in the news — Justin Bibee is assistant director of Refugee Resettlement at Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island. In this capacity, he oversees Rhode Island’s largest refugee resettlement effort. Leveraging his profound expertise and rich background in refugee assistance, he leads a dedicated team of resettlement case managers, serving as the primary point of contact for refugees arriving in Rhode Island. On May 11 Justin will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Rhode Island College, Bibee is also a Global Fellow (’24) at the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Studies at Brown University, where he actively engages in collaborative interdisciplinary research addressing the root causes of human rights abuses and seeking viable solutions to the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. His commitment and achievements in the field of refugee resettlement earned him a Providence Business News 40 Under Forty Award in 2022. He collaborated with . . .

Published in American Diplomacy by Mark G. Wentling (Honduras, Togo)

May 02 2024

RPCVs in the news — Tough Love and the Diplomacy of Foreign Assistance May 2024 by Mark G. Wentling (Honduras 1967-69) & (Togo 1970-73) • • • Providing aid to low and middle-income countries (LMIC) is at the heart of our relationships with those countries. The concept is that needy countries on this list of 132 LMICs, particularly the 45 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the bottom range of this list, require external aid for their development. However, almost all the countries on the LMIC list are the same as they were over 30 years ago, and they are no closer to graduating into a higher income category. It is highly doubtful if any LMIC will achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals set for 2030. This raises several fundamental questions about the return on the US government’s investment. What are the cost-benefit and recurrent costs analyses? Do the returns justify the . . .