A Million Miles: My Peace Corps Journey
A Conversation with Former Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen and Friends
Virtual event, April 16 at 7:00pm EDT
Join us for a book talk on Former Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen’s new memoir A Million Miles: My Peace Corps Journey (The University of Utah Press 2024), featuring Jonathan Zimmerman (RPCV Nepal 83-85), Meleia Rose (RPCV Malawi 07-09), and Jody Olsen (RPCV Tunisia 66-68). The event will be hosted by Zack Klim, Director of the Museum of the Peace Corps Experience. The author and featured guests will discuss the book and the case for citizen diplomacy.
When Jody Olsen enlisted as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tunisia in 1966, she was fleeing familial tragedy and societal norms of her Salt Lake City upbringing. Her service in Tunisia upended her religious and cultural beliefs and propelled her into a six-decade career with the Peace Corps, culminating in her directorship of the agency.
Olsen’s captivating memoir reveals the personal and professional challenges she faced throughout her career, which spanned the Reagan era, 9/11, and the Trump administration. She writes candidly about her struggles as a woman in leadership, as well as personal hardships such as the sudden death of her brother and her emotionally difficult divorce after her husband’s coming out. This memoir is a sharp, vulnerable portrait, a testament to the transformative power of leadership and self-discovery.
Author Jody Olsen has generously donated royalties from sales of the memoir to the Museum of the Peace Corps Experience when purchased through The Utah University Press.
Receive 35% off your hardcover or paperback purchase with the promo code: MUSEUM
Panelists
Josephine (Jody) Olsen served as Peace Corps Director, 2018 – 2021. In March, 2020, because of the COVID pandemic, she led the successful nine-day evacuation of all 7,000 Peace Corps Volunteers from 61 countries to the US. Jody was a Peace Corps Volunteer, Tunisia, 1966-1968, and has served the agency in five other senior positions. She co-chairs Women of Peace Corps Legacy (WPCL), chairs the Peace Corps Park Advisory Committee, and University of MD, College of Education Board of Visitors, and serves on the the Maryland Governor’s Commission for Service and Volunteerism. Jody received a B.S. from the University of Utah, and a Master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.
Jonathan Zimmerman is Professor of History of Education and Berkowitz Professor in Education at the University of Pennsylvania. Zimmerman served in the Peace Corps as an English teacher in Nepal from 1983 to 1985; he also taught social studies in the public schools of Vermont and Maryland. He is the author of Innocents Abroad: American Teachers in the American Century and eight other books. He is also a frequent contributor to The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and other popular newspapers and magazines. Before coming to Penn, Zimmerman taught for twenty years at New York University, where he received its Distinguished Teaching Award.
Meleia Rose started her Peace Corps journey as an education volunteer working in Malamo, Malawi. Following service, she joined the Peace Corps as a recruiter and later became a Third Goal Program Specialist. She developed and supported a wide range of cross-cultural programming including coordinating Peace Corps Week, alumni group activities and storytelling events. Since then she has worked as a program analyst and learning specialist in federal agencies. She is currently an HR specialist for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). All opinions expressed are solely Meleia’s and she does not speak for OPM or the federal government. She holds a B.A. in biology from Hartwick College and an M.A. in Geography from Michigan State University.
Host
Zack Klim joined MPCE as Director in January of 2023. He is a sociologist by training and a scholar-practitioner in international education with over 20 years of experience in nonprofit leadership. Prior to the Museum, Zack served as Executive Director of Global Affairs at New York University’s School of Education. There he collaborated with faculty to launch dozens of academic programs worldwide, and forged hundreds of partnerships with schools, healthcare providers, INGOs and other organizations to deliver internships and service learning. Zack was also a Peace Corps volunteer in Bangladesh, public school teacher in New York City, human rights educator in Burma/Myanmar, and a teacher trainer in Costa Rica and Honduras.
