News
The Question That Changed My Life: A Peace Corps Story to Raise Deaf Awareness
By Joshua Josa “How are you 25, finished your BA, and already a teacher? I’m older than you and in Class 8 for the fourth year.” When I first applied to the Peace Corps after finishing my BA at Cal State University, Northridge, I imagined two years of teaching, service, and adventure. I didn’t anticipate how profoundly the experience would change me—how the communities I served could show me so much value in sign languages and deaf ways of being. From 2009 to 2011, I served as a Deaf Education and Behavior Communication and Change Volunteer in Kenya. My time...
Reimagining Belonging in the Peace Corps: DEIA Panel Elevates Voices of Identity, Resistance, and Inclusion
At Peace Corps Connect 2025, the panel "Reimagining Belonging in the Peace Corps: Inclusion, Identity, and Impact" brought a deeply resonant and transformative conversation to the forefront of national service. Moderated by NPCA Board Member Jeffrey Janis (Ukraine 2004–06), the panel featured Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Josh Josa (Kenya 2010–12), Nicole Banister (South Africa 2013–16), and Deena Duwaik (Morocco 2016–18), each offering rich, intersectional perspectives on identity, equity, and representation. Josh Josa, a Deaf RPCV and former USAID DEIA advisor, spoke with clarity and conviction about the systemic barriers and breakthroughs experienced by volunteers with disabilities. His insights highlighted not...
Congress is Back…What’s Next?
Right after Labor Day, Congress returned to Capitol Hill following its weeks-long summer recess. A heavy agenda with a number of controversial matters are in store for members of the House and Senate. What’s next for matters pertaining to the Peace Corps? And how can you help? Peace Corps Funding: The annual appropriations process for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 2026) spending is virtually certain to – as has been the case for many years – be incomplete when the new federal fiscal year begins on October 1st. Work in September has been further complicated by the Trump administration’s proposal to...
Meet Our New 2025 Board Directors
National Peace Corps Association welcomes new Board Directors! We had an exceptional group of board candidates for the 2025 board elections, and we are deeply grateful to everyone who applied and shared their passion, expertise, and vision. Choosing just a few among so many outstanding individuals was no easy task. The six new board directors will officially begin as of the annual board meeting on September 27. As we look ahead, we also want to extend heartfelt thanks to our departing Board Directors—Faith Van Gilder, Gretchen Upholt, and Michael Roman—for their invaluable contributions and years of dedicated service. Their leadership...
Mobilizing for a Congressional Gold Medal
Following a successful Capitol Hill Advocacy Day, there is progress in the effort to bring forth legislation to recognize the significant work of Peace Corps Volunteers with passage of Congressional Gold Medal legislation for past and present volunteers. Bipartisan legislation in the House of Representatives is in the works, with hope that legislation will be introduced in the weeks after Congress returns from its summer recess. Work remains to have similar legislation introduced in the Senate. While more than 170 members of the Peace Corps community urged support for gold medal legislation during our Capitol Hill Day, we encourage you...
Inside NPCA: My Summer as an NPCA Intern
My Summer with the National Peace Corps Association By Hayden Johnson, NPCA Communications Intern This summer, I had the incredible opportunity of being a Communications Intern with the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA). Applying for internships in Washington, DC is an arduous process, particularly given the uncertainty that blanketed the city this past summer, but I was lucky enough to be accepted at my top choice. I am a Public Affairs undergraduate student at The Ohio State University, which means that I went into the summer with little to no experience in communications. However, it was not the type of...
New CEO at Peace Corps HQ
Peace Corps Announces Leadership Change Peace Corps announced a change in leadership, with Paul Shea (pictured) assuming the Chief Executive Officer role. “Kris Besch, from the Office of Global Operations, will assume the duties of Deputy Chief Executive Officer, and Karen Roberts, currently a senior advisor in the Office of the Director, will assume the duties of Acting Chief of Staff until the administration selects an individual to serve in the position.” We join Peace Corps in thanking Dr. Allison Greene (pictured) for her temporary role as CEO as she returns to her former position as the Director of Overseas Programming and Training Support. Allison inspired...
NPCA Leadership Transition Announcement
Leadership Transition Statement from John Lee Evans, NPCA Board Chair It is with profound gratitude for his service to National Peace Corps Association that I share the news NPCA President and CEO Dan Baker has decided to step down from his position at the end of the 2025 calendar year. Dan was selected as the Interim CEO in 2022 due to his widely recognized integrity and longtime commitment to the advancement of NPCA and the Peace Corps. Following his interim appointment, he was asked by the board of directors to stay on for another year and later graciously committed to a...
Jack’s Journey to Stand Up for Service
Jack's Journey to Stand Up for Service By Hayden Johnson (NPCA Communications Intern) From the remote villages of East Cameroon to the capital city of Yaoundé, Jack Alperstein’s (Cameroon 2017-2020) Peace Corps journey exemplifies not only dedication to global service but also a remarkable ability to reflect and communicate his experience. Through his blog, Jack and the Peace Corps, Alperstein brings his readers into the daily realities, challenges, and successes of international volunteer work with clarity, humility, and heart. Alperstein’s Peace Corps Experience Between 2017 and 2019, Alperstein served as a Health Volunteer in the East Region of Cameroon, where...
From Senegal to Rochester: A Return with Purpose
Peace Corps' Third Goal: To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. by Geri Critchley (RPCV Senegal 1971—1972) From Senegal to Rochester: A Return with Purpose Post Peace Corps, I had just finished directing The Experiment in International Living's Washington, D.C. office while supporting my (former) husband’s art career. He had declined a Neurology Residency at the Mayo Clinic, but after three years, he was (miraculously) accepted again, so we moved to Rochester, Minnesota. Influenced by the perspective I experienced in my small village in Senegal, I began mobilizing and networking to determine how...