Peace Corps Community in the News
Week of June 1, 2025
Opinion: Support, honor US Peace Corps and other civilian services now being dismantled, by Elizabeth Colton (Kenya 1968-70) in Citizen Times | June 1, 2025.
Now it’s time to remind our nation of President John F. Kennedy’s words: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” Now it’s urgent to speak out for civilians serving our country, including Peace Corps Volunteers and all. Now again it’s time to remind our nation of President John F. Kennedy’s long ago call to serve. Our civilian institutions have been badges of excellence admired worldwide. Let us honor and support USA civilian service.
PBS Shows Nashville The Good In Us, by Logan Langlois in The Tennessee Tribune | June 1, 2025.
Jerome Moore (Paraguay 2015) said after identifying the local community initiatives he wanted to cover, connecting with representatives in their organizations was easy since he was already so embedded in the community through his activity with local nonprofit work, community organizing, and community events. He said Nashville has a lot of people doing good work within it, and that the hard part of organizing the show ended up being choosing who to focus on.
RAS literature club bridges cultures by turning pages, by Bereket Alemayehu in The Korean Times | June 1, 2025.
Over the years, several different members have stepped up to lead the group. Since last August, it has been led by Jeremy Seligson (Ethiopia 1970-72), a long-term foreign resident of Korea, with assistance from scholar Peter Juhl. Under Seligson's guidance, the group has shifted from classics and short stories toward recently published, full-length novels by Korean authors. In May, they read "We Do Not Part" by Nobel Laureate Han Kang, which focuses on the Jeju April 3 Uprising and Massacre of 1948.
From California to an Eastern Cape village — a volunteer’s story, by Lulamile Feni in The Herald | June 2, 2025.
When California-born teacher Janet Wolfertz (South Africa 2024-25) arrived in the small village of Viedgesville, she turned heads. “At first, I think my presence in Viedgesville was understandably a bit of an anomaly. What is this strange old white lady doing walking the streets with her overloaded backpack and a massive tote bag full of toilet paper rolls? “But it didn’t take long for me to be welcomed wholeheartedly by the school staff, learners and the broader Viedgesville community.
Garamendi Picked To Fill CCWD Seat, by B.J. Hansen in My Mother Lode | June 2, 2025.
The Calaveras County Water District Board has selected Jack Garamendi (Paraguay 1996-98) to fill the open Division Two seat that was left vacant following the resignation of Cindy Secada. Garamendi, a fifth-generation Calaveras County resident, served eight years on the Calaveras Board of Supervisors, including two terms as chairman. He is a rancher, entrepreneur, and a former UC Merced Vice Chancellor. Additionally, he is a former Army Reserve Officer and Peace Corps volunteer, and holds degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, and California State University, Hayward.
Added Benefit Assignments, on PeaceCorps.gov | June 3, 2025.
The Peace Corps wants to enable more Volunteers to accept our bold invitation to serve. And, for answering the call, certain positions are temporarily eligible for added benefits: shorter assignments, higher readjustment allowances, and mid-service breaks.
Anacortes School District hires new Finance Director, in Anacortes Now | June 3, 2025.
The Anacortes School District has hired Brian Fraser (Madagascar 2008-09) as the new Executive Director of Finance and Operations. Brian’s approach to leadership emphasizes collaboration, transparency, and the vital connection between fiscal decisions and student learning. His diverse background as a teacher, school principal, and district leader provides him with a unique perspective on the operational needs of schools and the impact of financial decisions on the classroom.
Why keeping a journal of your life is so important, by Jim Moses (Federated States of Micronesia 1970-74) in Ionia Sentinel-Standard | June 4, 2025.
Journals (also called diaries) can be about anything. You can write one about a specific subject, like my time in the Peace Corps, but you can write about everyday life. I recently ran across a list of journal subjects. I can’t find the source for the list, so I won’t quote much from it, but it was broken down into subject headings with detailed events suggested under each.
22 U.S. Peace Corps Environment Volunteers Sworn into Service, by U.S. Mission Zambia | June 4, 2025.
Today the U.S. government proudly welcomed and swore into service 22 new Peace Corps Volunteers from the United States. The Volunteers arrived in Zambia on March 18 and will work alongside Zambian communities for two years to promote agricultural productivity, conservation, and food security. This initiative is implemented in close partnership with the Zambian Ministry of Green Economy and Environment through the Forestry Department.
Trump wants US Congress' seal of approval for aid cuts, by Anna Gawel in Devex Newswire | June, 4, 2025.
Tim Meisburger (Lesotho 1988-90), a controversial Trump appointee who headed USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance, has left the agency, telling staff last week that he would be transitioning to “a new position” with the U.S. Peace Corps, Elissa reports. Meisburger has been at the helm of BHA, as USAID was dismantled — and for a while, it was one of the last offices standing.
Opinion: State Sen. Orr turned a long-ago regret into a present-day result, by Jim 'Zig' Zeigler in 1819 News | June 4, 2025.
Arthur Orr (Nepal 1989-91) didn’t just serve in the Peace Corps in poverty-stricken Nepal for three years. He watched and identified a problem – girls were married off at young ages and were not able to get an education. They were “relegated to a lifetime of despair with little hope for a better existence.” Orr used his training and contacts to establish a college scholarship program for female students. When Orr left the Peace Corps, his program stayed there, making a difference.
Letters: Thanks to City Council for nod to Peace Corps, by Bennett Boeschenstein (Tanzania and Kenya 1966-69) in The Daily Sentinel | June 4, 2025.
The Grand Junction City Council issued a proclamation honoring the work of the U.S. Peace Corps at a recent public meeting. This proclamation has been issued annually by the Grand Junction City Council, recognizing the dozens of local returned Peace Corps volunteers and thousands of volunteers currently serving in jobs all over the world in teaching new skills and bringing peace and understanding to foreign countries!
More Than Math: Russ Petricka’s 50 years at Carleton, by Nhi Luong in Academics College News Student Life | June 4, 2025.
2025 marks Russ Petricka’s (Tanzania 1964-67) 50th year at Carleton. Before coming to Carleton, Russ worked for the United Farm Workers’ Union during the Grape Boycott in Montreal, Canada, and served as a Peace Corps math teacher in Moshi, Tanzania. Prior to that, he was a math major with a physics minor at St. Olaf. He started college thinking he’d become a ceramics engineer, but as he kept taking math classes, Russ got hooked on logic.
Out of My Mind: A Stranger in a Strange Land, by Jon Dobrer (Tunisia) in Fullerton Observer | June 5, 2025.
Nor was I particularly in “Culture shock,” when I lived in Tunisia for two years—teaching English for the Peace Corps. Again with a foreign language—actually two: Arabic and French. Sure, it felt exotic at times—particularly the first time I stepped in camel caca next to my home. “Damn,” I thought at first, but then i realized that this was pretty special and would remain in my memory banks longer than on my sandals.
Meet the 2025 Changemakers: Greg Silverman (Mali 2000-02), by NYC Food Policy Editor in Hunter College Food Policy Center | June 5, 2025.
Living in a variety of communities across the globe has allowed me the opportunity to always be learning, always be listening, and always remember how little I know. In each locale, I take the key model I learned in the Peace Corps, remember how little you know, take time to listen and learn, and find out how you can simply help, in ways your new neighbors want you to help. It’s one of the reasons I love helping lead the West Side Campaign Against Hunger; it’s a community, we work together, we learn from one another, and we share all.
Tibor Nagy: International students strengthen, NOT weaken, America, by Tibor Nagy in Abilene Reporter News | June 5, 2025.
Having served as a long-time U.S. diplomat overseas and then as Texas Tech’s Vice Provost for International Affairs for 15 years, I’m very familiar with all facets of international student programs. During my overseas tours I encountered two groups who universally liked America – those who had contact with Peace Corps volunteers in their home countries, and those who had studied at a U.S. university.
IPS Names Finalists for 2026 IPS Teachers of the Year, in Purdue University Alumni News | June 6, 2025.
Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) announced eight finalists for the 2026 IPS Teacher of the Year Award – educators who represent the district’s best in effective teaching, excellent instruction, and outstanding accomplishments in the classroom. One of the finalists was Purdue University College of Education alumna Emily Murseli (Kosovo 2017-19), a dedicated educator, creative, coach, and youth advocate with eight years of teaching experience in both Kosovo and Indianapolis.
Hawkes Library to Host Summer Camp, by Wayne Clark in Valley Times-News | June 6, 2025.
At the Thursday West Point Rotary Club meeting, Erin Anderson (Madagascar 2007-09), the summer camp’s program director, shared what will be taking place at the camp. Though still at a young age, Anderson has had an eventful life, including time in the Peace Corps in Madagascar and teaching at a charter school on Manhattan Island in New York City. She’s presently directing a research lab for Georgia State University, training today’s classroom teachers in the use of virtual reality.
Archdiocese has long ties to Catholic Relief Services' mission, in The Pilot | June 6, 2025.
It's hard for Ken Hackett (Ghana 1968-71) to think of the greatest challenge he experienced during his many years of service with Catholic Relief Services, including 18 as its president. There was the 1984-85 famine in Ethiopia, where Hackett saw the emaciated bodies of children "laid out like cords of wood." There was the Rwandan genocide, the 2004 Indonesian tsunami, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and countless wars, natural disasters, famines, and humanitarian crises in between. To him, no one crisis was more difficult than the other.
Our legacy, our resilience: A reflection about the Peace Corps, by Diane Glover (Philippines 2018-20) in PeaceCorps.gov | June 6, 2025.
There are times when people wonder about the relevancy of a tiny agency whose entire mission is based on spreading global peace and friendship. Then there are moments that remind me why the Peace Corps has endured. Moments that prove our impact is not just measured in years served, but also in lifetimes changed.
Thanks for sharing these resources — I particularly appreciated the opinion piece by Elizabeth Colton, “Support, honor US Peace Corps and other civilian services now being dismantled.” It’s a powerful reminder of the legacy of civilian service in this country and the quiet heroism of those who’ve answered that call — not with weapons, but with teaching, healing, building, and listening.
Colton captures something often overlooked: the deep, unbroken thread connecting the Peace Corps, USAID, the Foreign Service, and other civic institutions. Many USAID staff began their service as Peace Corps Volunteers — it’s a direct pipeline of idealism turned into lifelong public service. These aren’t just agencies. They’re a shared civic family, one that deserves to be strengthened, not dismantled. We need to protect and honor that legacy.