Peace Corps Community in the News, Part I
Week of February 16, 2025
Editor’s note: Due to the exceptionally high volume of content this week related to the Peace Corps community, today’s digest will focus on publications related to the impact of Trump administration policies. We will share other Peace Corps community news items on Sunday morning.
Opinion | USAID essential for U.S. interests abroad, by Todd Larson (Togo 1983-85) in The Cap Times | February 15, 2025.
From the Peace Corps to the UN to the Obama administration, I consistently observed firsthand that U.S. leadership on the international stage helps others, yes. But let’s talk the cold, hard strategy of naked self-interest. In equal or greater measure, U.S. leadership on the international stage helps the U.S. Living in a mud hut for two years while serving in the Peace Corps, my neighbors came to appreciate Americans as friends and partners rather than imperialists.
Community Matters: Sounding the alarm on government takeover, by John Burns, in the Petaluma Argus-Courier | February 17, 2025.
The life-changing experience inspired Brenda Barrett (Nicaragua 1996-98; staff 1994-96) to pursue a career in international development, which began with stints at the U.S. Peace Corps and UN Refugee Agency. “This isn’t about saving taxpayer money,” says the USAID veteran and Petaluma resident.
Americans can be proud of USAID in Herald-Citizen | February 17, 2025
I grew up in Cookeville. I attended First Baptist Church, where I learned about Jesus’ exhortations to feed the hungry, care for the sick, visit prisoners and love our neighbors...And like many young people, I wanted to see the world. My travels took me farther than most — study abroad in Spain supported by Cookeville Rotary Club, Peace Corps in Senegal, and then a job with USAID, which took me to Kenya, Congo, Pakistan, Jordan, and more over the last 15 years.
Trump administration terminates US Attorney Gary Restaino for District of Arizona, by Lauren De Young in Arizona Republic | February 18, 2025.
Gary Restaino served as U.S. attorney after two years in the Peace Corps in Paraguay (1991-93) and 18 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Arizona, according to the Department of Justice. During his tenure, he oversaw around 180 assistant U.S. attorneys and had a brief stint as the acting director of the ATF in 2022.
Commentary: Peace through victory or surrender in Ukraine? by Glenn R. Anderson (Ukraine 2016-20) in Orlando Sentinel | February 19, 2025.
“I’ve lived in Ukraine for over eight years, first as a Peace Corps volunteer, and now a visiting professor. When the full-scale invasion began, I was overwhelmed by the response of everyday Americans...However, our government has already conceded to Russia’s demands even before negotiations begin, indicating their path to peace is surrender. This is something Ukraine will never agree to. Nor should we.”
Letter to the editor: Closure of USAID a Major Mistake, by Michael Lang (Panama 1967-69), in VoicesNews.com February 19, 2025.
The closure of USAID is a major mistake. As a former community development Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Panama, for several years I worked in conjunction with a USAID project in the community of San Miguelito located outside of Panama City. The project, partnered with the Panamanian housing agency IVU, entailed rehousing former illegal squatters and assisting them to become homeowners in a comprehensively planned, newly developed site.
JFK Library in Boston abruptly closes due to Trump executive order, by Brandon Truitt, Neal Riley on CBS News | February 19, 2025
Former Congressman Joe Kennedy III (Dominican Republic 2004-06), President Kennedy's grand nephew, said the library got a call from the National Archives Tuesday morning, informing them all probationary employees were being laid off effective immediately. "So, the idea that somehow targeting libraries is going to be the right way to balance the budget or address efficiencies across government," Kennedy said.
JFK Library closed until further notice: Joe Kennedy III reacts, on CBS News Boston | February 20, 2025.
Embracing resilience: Keyshaun Scott in Colombia, by Pablo Martínez-Sistac Barreto in Meer | February 20, 2025.
Keyshaun Scott (Colombia 2022-24) has been living in Bogotá for the past year and in Colombia for almost three. He originally arrived as a member of the U.S. Peace Corps in the historic town of San Basilio de Palenque. The “first free town of the Americas”, a settlement of runaway slaves, was Keyshaun’s base of operations for over a year. There, he forgot all the modern comforts of his native New York and learned how to shower with a bucket, wash clothes by hand, and patiently wait out hours-long blackouts.
Opinion | Madison Peace Corps alums work to counter Trump policies, By Paul Fanlund in the Cap Times | February 20, 2025.
The name of the local group is RPCV Madison. Since 1982, it has raised more than $1.5 million for local programs and international development projects. It is stepping up its efforts just as Trump is blocking humanitarian aid abroad through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and targeting immigrants for removal through executive orders.
VOICES: The human cost of USAID’s collapse, by Jerry Smedley, in Dayton Daily News | February 20, 2025.
My son is a Foreign Service Officer with USAID, a career he worked tirelessly to achieve. Before joining the agency, he earned a doctorate in teacher education, served in the U.S. Peace Corps, and trained the next generation of American educators. In 2018, under the Trump administration, he was hired as an Education Officer at USAID — a dream job that allowed him to represent the American people, strengthen U.S. foreign policy, and improve lives worldwide.
OPINION | MICKEY FREEMAN: Save USAID, by Mickey Freeman (Kenya 2003-05) in Arkansas Online | February 21, 2025.
The subject of keeping or closing the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is a hot topic. Most of us only know what we see and hear in the news media about USAID. As a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer to Kenya, I saw directly the benefit of investing in foreign aid. So, let's explore the issue.
The Human Faces of the USAID Shutdown, by Nancy Clair (Colombia 1977-79) in The Bulwark | February 21, 2025.
My own career in this field goes back some fifty years. I began in 1977 as a Peace Corps volunteer. I was a malaria health worker in a remote Colombian Village in the Choco, the western region bordering Panama to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Through my work educating villagers about malaria, dispensing malaria medication to the sick, and studying the mosquito that transmits the disease, I learned firsthand that building relationships with people from other countries is one of the best foreign policy tools that America has.
Fired US Forest Service and National Park Service workers say cuts will be felt on fire lines, on WSJM | February 21, 2025.
“Maybe, this is that Peace Corps volunteer in me that looks for mission-driven work. I know that’s just my personality type. I need to be working somewhere that I feel it’s important,” Eric Anderson (Kenya 2000-02) said. “I very much want to go back and work for the place that I was just fired from. I live what I do. These are all very qualified, excellent people doing good work that needs to be done and they’re just slashed without any real cause.”
Judge clears way for Trump administration to pull thousands of USAID staffers off the job, by Ellen Knickmeyer/Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press | February 21, 2025.
A federal judge on Friday cleared the way for one of the Trump administration’s remaining steps in its dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, allowing it to move forward with pulling thousands of USAID staffers off the job in the United States and around the world. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols rejected pleas to keep his temporary stay on the government’s plan to remove all but a small fraction of USAID staffers from their posts.
Editor’s note: In 2019, USAID estimated that over 400 of its staff members were returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs).
