Peace Corps Community News

Benin: Jacqueline Lynch

A green thumb led Jacqueline Lynch to find her place in Portland’s gardening community. She designs and builds vegetable gardens for people who don’t have the time, skills or physical ability to do it themselves. She began the business four years ago with two clients. Today she is on the verge of giving up her childcare job to pursue her garden-for-hire career full time.

Benin: Jack Blanks

The Sacramento Sierra Chapter of the American Red Cross, which serves two million people, appointed Jack Blanks (74-77) of Fair Oaks as its chief executive officer. His impressive resume in international relief and development made him a prime candidate for the position. Blanks has worked with Project HOPE, a Virginia-based international health assistance agency, since 1996, most recently as the director for strategic alliances. In that position he supported the development of partnerships with corporations, foundations and other nonprofit groups. He also coordinated the organization’s disaster relief efforts after the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia and Hurricane Katrina in 2006. Prior to working for Project HOPE, Blanks served as executive director of the Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas and with Save the Children.

Benin: Claire Beckett

Claire Beckett’s (02-04) photography exhibit, “In Training: Soldiers before War,” recently opened at the Photography Gallery in the Fine Arts Center Galleries at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston. Her photographs of Army and National Guard soldiers in training are set in a variety of environments. The goal of her photography is to provide a window for people to see the soldiers as human beings, not to project any particular political message. Beckett has also shown her work at the Photographic Resource Center at Boston University and Bernard Toale Gallery in Boston. She will show a new exhibit entitled “Simulating Iraq” at Bernard Toale Gallery in October. Recipient of the 2007 Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant to Artists, Beckett earned an MFA in 2006 from the Massachusetts College of Art where she is now an instructor. She also teaches at the University of Connecticut.

Benin: Jennifer Poidatz

Jennifer Poidatz is no stranger to the suffering of people around the world. Last year she became the head of Catholic Relief Services’ program in India, but she has been a relief worker in Ghana, Rwanda,  Burundi, Angola and Sri Lanka. In her new position with CRS, Poidatz oversees 13 local offices that work with nearly 3,000 other organizations to carry out a variety of projects. CRS focuses on promoting social justice, providing equal access to resources for everyone and empowering marginalized groups. Poidatz’s office also works on eradicating child labor and strengthening community-based care and support systems for those affected with HIV/AIDS.

Benin: Sam Goldman

D.light Design, a company with roots as a class project at Stanford University, is launching its new product, the Forever-Bright. Sam Goldman is chief executive of the environmentally conscious company. The D.light Design is a small, white box that doubles as a light and power source that will last five years and is chargeable off of any power source. The back of the product houses power jacks which can be used to run other products. The D.light Design will launch in parts of India and Pakistan next month.