Today, September 22, marks the 48th anniversary of the enactment of the Peace Corps Act. And two years from today we hope you'll be with us on the National Mall in Washington, DC as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Peace Corps.
That's right. It's only two years away!
It's going to be a big deal.
As you can imagine, a lot of planning for this significant milestone has taken place in the past four years...and much remains. You can find information and resources concerning the 50th anniversary on National Peace Corps Association's regularly updated 50th Anniversary page. Access the latest outline and brief description of events planned for the anniversary year. Learn how to donate materials to the Peace Corps Collection at Kennedy Library or to the Peace Corps's Digital Library. And much more.
The most recent addition to the page is a letter from the NPCA Board Chair, Jan Guifarro, providing an important update on NPCA's activities around the 50th, including plans for a commemorative space near the National Mall. We encourage you to read it.
Jan writes:
[You can read Executive Order 10924: Establishment of the Peace Corps here, at the National Archive's website. And this morning Garrison Keillor did a nice little piece as part of his daily Writer's Almanac show on National Public Radio. You can read it or listen to it here.]
The National Peace Corps Association is pleased to welcome Khalisa Jacobs as NPCA’s new Director of Development.
Khalisa joins us from Population Services International (PSI), where she served as their manager of major gifts. Prior to her time with PSI she worked in a variety of capacities in development teams, building her capital campaign skills. At the University of Florida she focused on events and the annual fund. In her time at Georgetown University she learned to execute the logistics of large galas, manage regional campaigns and mentor regional clubs. Reunions, regional campaigns and school-based campaigns were her focus at the University of Virginia. She holds a BA from the University of Virginia in Psychology and a MBA from the University of Florida.
“With a wealth of campaign and development experience and highly professional approach, Khalisa will be a great addition to the NPCA team,” says NPCA President Kevin Quigley. She will be a great asset to the Peace Corps community as we work to us meet our 50th Anniversary campaign goals.”
Unlike the majority of the NPCA staff, Khalisa is not a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. However she sees this as an opportunity to inspire a community that believes in the NPCA’s mission. Says Khalisa,
World renowned entertainer Peter Yarrow has been a great friend to the Peace Corps community for decades. He is fondly remembered by those who attended his performance in Chicago at NPCA's national conference in 2004. Recently, he put down his guitar, picked up a pen and added his voice to the MorePeaceCorps campaign, assisting with the successful effort to secure a $450 million funding recommendation in the House of Representatives.
Geri Critchley (Senegal 71-72) is one of many RPCV FOY’s (Friends of Yarrow!). At a recent concert in Vienna, Virginia, Geri along with NPCA President Kevin Quigley and former Senator Harris Wofford went backstage to present Peter with a "Bold New Peace Corps" t-shirt. As a critical moment for Peace Corps funding approaches, Peter pledges to continue to be a key voice in the campaign.
It was an exciting afternoon on Capitol Hill as Aaron Williams (Dominican Republic 67-70), President Obama's nominee to be the next Director of Peace Corps, went before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The meeting was chaired by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), who also served in the Dominican Republic.
Both Dodd and Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) expressed support for Williams. Dodd said he is excited at the prospects of working with Williams, while Isakson added "I commend the President on your appointment." Dodd says he plans to speak with Senate leadership to see if the confirmation can be completed before Congress breaks next week for its August recess.
The hour-long hearing included a question and answer session in which Williams indicated he wants to engage in a listening tour to engage the Peace Corps community, a "very rich and diverse population."
Williams noted he wants to look at every possible process Peace Corps is involved in, and conduct a wide-ranging assessment. This would include the country assessment process and possible re-alignment of country placements; medical screening of volunteers; recruitment practices, including making sure volunteers represent the face of America, and the monitoring and data collection on early termination rates.
Williams also spoke of the importance of Peace Corps' Third Goal, an issue that was raised further during questioning. Senator Isakson stated the agency is doing a "magnificent job" on the first two goals of Peace Corps, but more attention is needed to educate American citizens about the world, adding, "The Third Goal is going to fall on your shoulders." Williams said he wants to advance a Third Goal that has a robust focus, and stated in response to a comment by Senator Dodd, "I will be your ally on (Third Goal initiatives) because it is important to our nation."
(Photo credit: Office of Sen. Dodd)
The National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) is pleased to partner with The Globalist to launch a new program to promote global literacy. The program, “Global Connections,” will combine The Globalist’s online research and publication expertise with the NPCA’s expansive network of global educators, Global TeachNet.
Global Connections is designed to promote the global skills of high school students in the United States and to help them prepare for the globally competitive job market of the 21st century.
Global Connections provides teachers and students with access to informative, engaging and interactive features on the countries, issues and people shaping the global agenda. By exposing students to new ways of looking at the world and current events, Global Connections is an ideal supplement to traditional classroom materials.
The UPS Foundation has provided initial funding for the multi-year program. Starting this summer, the NPCA will recruit teachers and schools to use Global Connections’ materials in their classrooms. Over the course of the academic year, participating educators will begin to develop frameworks for infusing materials into high school classrooms and communities for broader dissemination around the United States.
Interested educators should contact NPCA at teachnet@peacecorpsconnect.org. Participating teachers will receive a free subscription to Global Connections (http://www.theglobalist.com/globalconnections/).
The National Peace Corps Association has been informed that President Obama will nominate Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) Aaron Williams (Dominican Republic, 1967 – 1970) as the next Director of the Peace Corps.
(See White House press release here.)
"Aaron Williams, as an RPCV who served in the Dominican Republic and a life-long development practitioner and consummate partnership builder, will bring an invaluable set of skills and experiences to the Directorship of the Peace Corps,” says National Peace Corps Association President Kevin Quigley.
“Aaron also understands deeply that the Peace Corps community is a valued ally in assisting the agency achieve its mission of making a more peaceful and prosperous world. Once he is confirmed by the Senate and takes up his position, we will be closer to a bolder Peace Corps, one that that fulfills more of the agency's promise."
Williams currently serves on the board of the National Peace Corps Association and is the Vice President for International Business Development with RTI International.
Williams has over 25 years of experience that spans policy formulation, strategic planning and the design and implementation of various development assistance programs. In his role as a senior USAID manager, where he attained the rank of Career Minister in the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, Mr. Williams provided policy and program leadership to major government organizational units, both in headquarters and field assignments (e.g. Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, and a $1 billion bilateral assistance program in South Africa). Mr. Williams has led project design teams in several countries, working in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), Africa, and Asia. Both at USAID and subsequently as Executive Vice President at the International Youth Foundation, he created and managed innovative public-private partnerships between global corporations, government entities (USG and host country), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and international foundations.
Williams has served as a member on several Boards, including the Institute for Sustainable Communities, the Society for International Development-Washington, D.C. and the Pan American Development Foundation. Williams is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Williams is a Chicago State University graduate and received his MBA from the University of Wisconsin.
Peace Corps Director nominee Aaron Williams (Dominican Rep. 67-70) (center) with NPCA Board member Hope Johnson (Malaysia 77-80) (left) and NPCA President Kevin Quigley (Thailand 76-79) (right) at the NPCA's recent Celebration of Service.
The NPCA’s Africa Rural Connect (ARC) online work-collaborative
space for development ideas for rural Africa launches tomorrow, Wednesday,
July 15th!
This is no small feat; in fact it has taken the combined efforts of the NPCA staff and an untold number of advisors, developers, designers, assistants, interns, strategists, moderators and many other helping hands. After months of labor, hours and hours of meetings, and literally 40 days and 40 nights of Web development, our ARC is at last being launched (pun intended).
What’s even better is that with the help of all of these individuals we have taken the simple concept of an online idea-sharing space and in a short time turned it into a full-blown high-tech online community, soon to be home to thousands of likeminded people, looking to share their own innovative ideas and similarly turn them into real-life, applicable, practical initiatives. So, even before the ARC website goes live, we already know one thing for sure: collaboration works, and it works well.
A special thanks to all those who were involved in the creation of ARC, and we hope to see everyone on July 15 www.AfricaRuralConnect.org, where you can post your ideas, comment and build on others’ ideas, or vote on which ideas you think have the most potential as implementable projects. Remember, the success of this network depends on YOU. Your connections, your input, and your help to get out the message to anyone and everyone who should be involved.
Part of the Africa Rural Connect team: Nick Whitmoyer (Whitmoyer), Rory Kelly (Wegora), Molly Mattessich (NPCA), Ernesto Gluecksmann (Infamia)
Director of Communication for the National Peace Corps Association. Be my friend on Facebook.com. :-)
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