Peace Corps Community News

Bangladesh: Evelyn Ackermann

The University of South Carolina recently selected Evelyn Ackermann to be a Face of Y’ALL (Young Alumni Leaving a Legacy). She was selected as a graduate of the past decade who claimed to be one of Carolina’s biggest fans, is passionate about her college experience and wants to represent young alumni. In this position, Ackermann will be a VIP at university events, help make decisions about young alumni initiatives at Carolina, be a spokesperson for young alumni and be featured in Carolina publications as the Face of Y’ALL. Ackermann is currently a management consultant in strategy and operations with Deloitte Consulting LLP, but would like to return to Southeast Asia, possibly in the field of international development.

Belize: Barry Kitterman

Barry Kitterman has been awarded the Maria Thomas Fiction Award by the editors of the Peace Corps Writers for his book The Baker’s Boy. The story is a fictional account of a man haunted by his struggles and disillusionment from Peace Corps service. Kitterman, a creative writing professor at Austin Peay State University, spent 10 years writing and revising the novel. It was published by Southern Methodist University Press in the spring of 2008. The award is given annually to a work of high literary merit.

Brazil: Paul J. Mack

Paul J. Mack (69-70) was recently honored as one of 12 people who made outstanding civic and economic contributions in Brazil, his Peace Corps country of service. Mack has an extensive history of community service, including work as a community organizer with the mayor’s office in the city of Ipora (located southwest of Brasilia), where he helped facilitate the building of rural schools through the Peace Corps School Partnership Program when he was a volunteer. Mack is currently an educator and college professor in St. Louis, Missouri.

Bulgaria: Justin Ramirez

Justin Ramirez took the position of interim manager of the international student program at Long Beach City College in January and is continuing the job into his second semester. He hopes to expand students’ opportunities and get them more involved in the college community. Ramierz went to Cal State Long Beach as an undergraduate and studied law at Whittier Law School.

Cape Verde: Diane S. Gallagher

Diane S. Gallagher (90-92) has earned many awards, worked countless jobs and often volunteers with the Peace Corps to recruit 50+ volunteers … and there are no signs of her slowing down. Her resume is peppered with professional work as an art gallery owner, newspaper columnist, professional theatre and television actress, Peace Corps recruiter, human resources recruiter, U.S. census New England regional recruiting manager and, currently, as the nursing archivist and university archivist at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University. She has been named in Who’s Who of American Women. Additionally, Gallagher received the National Welfare to Work Award and the Special Achievement Award from the U.S. census office and was the recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2008. She has been interviewed by National Public Radio, and the Christian Science Monitor wrote an article about her award from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Liberia: Shelton Johnson

Sierra Club Books published Shelton Johnson’s (82-83) new book, From Gloryland: A Novel, which is about Yosemite’s African American Buffalo soldiers. Johnson is a ranger in the Division of Interpretation and Education at Yosemite National Park.

Malawi: Susanne Yarnall

Keuka College inducted Susanne Yarnall (68-70) into its Athletics Hall of Fame. Yarnall was a WAA officer and board member and participated in many intramurals, the Point Neamo Water Ski Program, crew and swimming. She was the sports editor for Keuka’s student newspaper as well. Yarnall was a teacher in the Brighton, NY, school district for 30 years and currently works as a substitute teacher.

Micronesia: Nathan Fitch

Photographer Nathan Fitch currently has his work on display in a new exhibit called “Double Vision” at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Fitch is a teacher at East Providence’s Top Drawer Art Center, a nonprofit visual arts organization providing art programs for adults with developmental disabilities. His subjects and collaborators in the exhibit are his students. Fitch has worked for the past year to compile a portfolio of the students’ work in the studios which is now on display.

Morocco: Gordon Gray

President Barack Obama nominated Gordon Gray (78-80) as the U.S. ambassador to Tunisia on June 11, 2009; Gray was confirmed by the Senate on July 10 and sworn in August 20. Gray joined the Foreign Service in 1982 and has nearly 30 years of experience, most of it related to the Middle East. His early positions included time in Pakistan, Jordan and Canada. He has also held Washington assignments in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and the Bureau of South Asian Affairs and on the Soviet desk. Gray has served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Egypt, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and the Senior Advisor to the Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. He received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University and his master’s degree from Columbia University. 

Bulgaria, Gabon: Jack Godwin

Jack Godwin (Gabon 82-84, Bulgaria 94-95) has received his fourth and final Fulbright scholarship. An administrator at Sacramento State, scholar and author, Godwin will use the scholarship to fund a three-week trip to Swansea University of Wales. He has received other Fulbright scholarships that have allowed him to participate in programs in Germany, Hungary and Japan.