RPCVs in the news – Peace Corps Worldwide

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 . . .

“Hi, I’m RPCV Bob Vila” (Panama)

May 02 2024

I’ve spent my career helping people upgrade their homes and improve their lives. You probably know me from TV, where for nearly 30 years I hosted a variety of shows—This Old House, Bob Vila’s Home Again, Bob Vila, and Restore America with Bob Vila. Oh, and let’s not forget my cameo appearances on Tim Allen’s sitcom, Home Improvement, where I got to star as myself. That was something else! Before my life in broadcasting, I launched my own residential remodeling and design business. Earlier still, I served as a Peace Corps volunteer, building houses and communities in Panama 1969-70. I learned firsthand about home building from my father, who built our family home by hand. I’ve written more than a dozen books about remodeling, buying your dream home, and visiting historic homes across America. It’s fair to say that buildings, especially homes, are my life’s work. Over the years I’ve supported many . . .

Michael Carson (Kenya) is new head of International Storytelling Center

Apr 25 2024

RPCVs in the news — WJHL Tri-Cities Michael Carson (Kenya 1989-91) is a non-profit executive who has devoted his career to social and economic development. His technical assistance and strategic advice has helped transform small businesses, community-led health clinics and schools, and agriculture enterprises in conflict settings and emerging economies. Michael has provided capacity building and organization development advice to organizations as diverse as the government of Guinea’s Ministry of Health, East African youth and women’s cooperative enterprises, the Arusha Municipal Council, the Zanzibar Handicraft Producers Association and Bosnian natural producers associations. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Michael started his international experience when he joined the Peace Corps. “I joined the Peace Corps in 1989 and went to Kenya and really gained a perspective for African culture, for international cultures,” said Carson. “And I have worked in International Affairs for almost 30 years.” Carson’s father grew up . . .

Sheila Crowley (Ukraine) is new chief operating officer of NED

Apr 18 2024

RPCVs in the news National Endowment for Democracy Washington, D.C.—The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has named Sheila Crowley (Ukraine 2001-03) as its new chief operating officer (COO) at a time of historic leadership change, growth, and transition for the organization. Crowley previously served as the Executive Vice President and COO at Global Communities, and the Acting Director of the U.S. Peace Corps. She joined the NED staff on April 16th, 2024. “We are delighted to welcome Sheila Crowley to the Endowment,” said NED President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Damon Wilson. “Her experience managing global teams and in the field grounds her in the importance of the work of NED partners and its core institutes around the world. Her passion for helping complex organizations deliver on their missions in tough environments will be critical to helping NED ensure that we are fit for the future at this consequential moment . . .

Kelsey Walters (Moldova) in “War in Ukraine Hurting Oklahoma Wheat Farmers”

Apr 17 2024

In the news — By Analyse Jester and Lisa Maslovskaya NonDoc Saturday, April 13, 2024 From a farm in Oklahoma to growing wheat in Moldova, Kelsey Walters (Moldova 2007-09) is now looking to her past to secure her future. Kelsey Walters grew up on her family’s sixth-generation farm in western Oklahoma. She graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in agriculture economics, and she was placed in Moldova as a Peace Corps volunteer where she met her husband, Iurie, and began a wheat farming operation. But now their livelihood and that of wheat growers across Oklahoma is threatened by the war in Ukraine. Russia has reopened ports out of the Black Sea, and Ukraine is exporting low-priced wheat, which means American farmers are struggling to match those prices and still make a profit. Some Oklahoma farmers are looking toward alternate crops. Since the invasion, Russia has gained roughly 20 percent of . . .

Guy Consolmagno (Kenya) found his “home” in the African Night Sky

Apr 13 2024

RPCVs in the news . . . ] ‘Pope’s Astronomer’ Explores Journey in Faith and Science at Fairfield U. Talk by Emilia Otte, CTExaminer 4/11/24 FAIRFIELD CT — In 1983, volunteer Guy Consolmagno lay in bed at a Peace Corps Training Facility in Kenya, feeling severely homesick. He had made up his mind to return to the United States the following day believing he wasn’t cut out to be an adventurer. But on his last night in Kenya, Consolmagno decided to take one final look at the night sky. “I later counted there were 15 of the brightest stars in the sky visible at that moment. Most of them are old friends of mine — stars that my dad had taught me when I was a kid, growing up on the shores of Lake Huron,” said Consolmagno, who has a doctorate in planetary sciences. “And I’m looking at this sky, and . . .

PayJoy created by RPCV Doug Ricket (Gambia)

Apr 12 2024

RPCVs in the news How PayJoy built a $300M business by letting the underserved use their smartphones as collateral for loans TechCrunch Mary Ann Azevedo Thu, April 11, 2024 at 7:34 AM PDT Lerato Motloung is a hardworking mother of two who is employed in a supermarket in Johannesburg, South Africa. But in February 2024, she found herself without a mobile phone after it was stolen and she could not afford to buy a new one. For nine months, Motloung had to go without the convenience and connectivity of a smartphone Then, a sign caught her eye – a sign about PayJoy, a startup that offers loans to the underserved in emerging markets. With the help of PayJoy, Motloung was able to purchase her first smartphone, becoming one of the millions of customers that the San Francisco-based company has helped since its inception in 2015. “She was its 10 millionth . . .

DARE TO SURVIVE: Hell has no fury like a woman conned by Carolyn V. Hamilton (Suriname)

Apr 10 2024

RPCVs in the news — Interview with author — Newschannel/Nebraska April 9, 2024 FINALIST IN INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS CONTEST Dare to Survive, based on a true story of a woman conned and imprisoned in South America for drug trafficking recognized for its outstanding writing, design and overall market appeal out of thousands of books submitted into the Book Excellence Awards. • • • Carolyn V. Hamilton (Suriname 1999-01) is a multiple award-winning author, artist, workshop leader & success coach for memoir writers. As the author of over 20 books, Carolyn’s writing spans multiple genres including thriller, true crime, writing, editing, art, and more. For her literary prowess, she has been recognized with numerous international literary awards including two Readers’ Favorite Book Awards and a Book Excellence Award. A multi-faceted talent, Carolyn spent 30+ years in the real world of “Mad Men” as a graphic designer, copywriter and marketing executive. A graduate . . .

There’s an interagency or nongovernmental fix for our broken Peace Corps

Apr 05 2024

In the news — BY KEVIN QUIGLEY AND LEX RIEFFEL The Hill 4/03/24 Ask the next person you see what they know about the Peace Corps. Odds are the answer will be “never heard of it.” The Peace Corps is past middle age and losing its vigor. Its service model has hardly changed in a world vastly different from the 1960s Cold War era. In 1966, more than 15,000 volunteers served in more than 40 countries. By 2020, when volunteers were brought home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were barely 7,000. The number today is fewer than 3,000. We see three ways to make the Peace Corps more relevant: merge it into AmeriCorps, move it into the State Department, or transform it from a federal agency to a nongovernmental organization. Launched by President Kennedy in 1961, the Peace Corps is one of the boldest, most innovative foreign policy initiatives of the post-World War II period. Countries . . .

Guy Toby Marion (Afghanistan) offers look at ’70s Peace Corps service

Apr 03 2024

RPCVs in the news By Colleen Bidwill cbidwill@marinij.com Marin Independent Journal April 1, 2024 • • • When Guy Toby Marion joined the Peace Corps in 1971, it wasn’t his first choice to go to Afghanistan. In fact, the 22-year-old — whose previous travels were mainly family vacations to Mexico — wanted to go to South America to learn Spanish fluently. “I had a mentor in my college days who was from India,” he says. “I called him up and he said that the history of Afghanistan with Russia and India and all throughout from ancient times is fascinating. I was kind of swayed by that.” He took a position working as a high school science teacher trainer in Kapisa province, which he did for two school years, before teaching for three semesters on the faculty of engineering at Kabul University. He reflects on his experiences, from making moonshine out . . .

Sara L. Taylor (Bangladesh) | Asia Foundation representative in Mongolia

Mar 28 2024

In the news Sara L. Taylor is the Asia Foundation’s country new representative in Mongolia. She formerly served as country representative and deputy country representative in Bangladesh. The Foundation, with headquarters in San Francisco, is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Prior to rejoining the Foundation in 2023, she had more than two decades of experience in the field of international development in complex, fragile, and post-conflict contexts in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, with particular focus on women’s leadership and empowerment, civic engagement and citizen participation, and governance. Sara was the country director and legal representative in Colombia for Partners of the Americas during a period of historic political transition. From 2009 to 2014, she served as a democracy and governance officer at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where she worked across a broad range of . . .

RPCV Phil Lilienthal (Ethiopia) holds gala for his Global Camps Africa

Mar 24 2024

In the news — Phil Lilienthal’s (Ethiopia 1964-66) Global Camps Africa will be holding its annual Sizanani Gala on Sunday April 20 at The International Spy Museum in Washington DC from 6-10 pm. This year’s gala honoree is Dr. Anthony Fauci. Also, on hand will be 2022 Honoree MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, who will introduce Dr. Fauci. For those of you not familiar with Global Camps Africa, here’s the back story. After the Peace Corps, Phil and his late wife Lynn more than met the Peace Corps’ Goal Three of Bringing the Peace Corps Home. They managed his family’s famed Camp Winnebago in Maine, where they prioritized the recruitment of underprivileged and international students. Then in 2003, they decided to something more visionary, and launched Global Camps Africa, a non-profit organization providing thousands of South African children from the townships surrounding Johannesburg with a summer camp experience that includes AIDS education and life skills training. For more than 20 . . .

Patti Garamendi (Ethiopia) | Sacramento County Woman of the Year

Mar 20 2024

In the News — Patti Garamendi is Sacramento County Woman of the Year WALNUT GROVE – Patricia Garamendi (Ethiopia 1966-68), the matriarch of a Sacramento County ranching and political family who served in multiple gubernatorial appointments and federal roles, responsible for addressing matters such as world hunger and international trade, has been named Sacramento County Woman of the year by Sen. Bill Dodd. “Patti has devoted a lifetime to public service and I am proud to recognize her for her many achievements,” Sen. Dodd said. “While running her family’s ranch, Patti has worked tirelessly for two governors and held top federal posts responsible for feeding the poor all over the world. She’s a true dynamo and an inspiration for all.” Patti — A Peace Corps Volunteer “learns peace, lives peace and labors for peace from the beginning of their service to the end of their life.” I was inspired by . . .