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Staff

Zack Klim

Director

Zack Klim, PhD
Director
Peace Corps Bangladesh, 2000-2001

Zack is a scholar-practitioner in international education with over 20 years of experience in non-profit leadership.  He is trained as a quantitative sociologist and his research uses organizational theory to examine social movements, organizational change and inequality in education.  Before joining the Musuem, Zack served as Executive Director of Global Affairs and Experiential Learning at NYU Steinhardt, where he collaborated with faculty to launch dozens of new programs worldwide, and forged hundreds of partnerships with schools, healthcare providers, INGOs and other organizations to deliver internships and service learning.  Prior to NYU, Zack was a Peace Corps volunteer in Bangladesh, public school teacher in New York City, human rights educator in Burma/Myanmar, and teacher trainer in Costa Rica and Honduras.  

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Volunteer Staff

Sedem Adiabu

DEI Team Co-Leader

Sedem Adiabu
Many Faces of Peace Corps Co-Leader
Zambia 2017-2019

Sedem Adiabu is the dynamic co-leader of the Museum’s Many Faces of Peace Corps group and a global health consultant committed to health justice and quality education. She possesses expertise in global health advocacy, research, operations management, and strategic stakeholder engagement. Throughout her career, she has led key projects aimed at strengthening the capacity of public health professionals, contributing to positive health outcomes in the U.S., Ghana, Zambia and South Sudan. Her work has focused on decolonizing global health, infectious disease prevention, nutrition, and resource creation for global health programs. Sedem is a passionate global citizen who continues to advocate for ethically-managed and locally-led solutions to international development challenges.

 

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Daniel Arnold

CRM and Membership Specialist

Daniel Arnold
CRM and Membership Specialist
Mali 2011-2012
Zambia, Peace Corps Response

Daniel Arnold owns Tabletop Monthly, a board game company recently featured on Time.com. As the former head strategist for a prominent ad agency, he developed go-to-market and lead-generation strategies for global brands in the Consumer Goods and Manufacturing sectors. During his Peace Corps service, Daniel supported small women-owned businesses in rural Mali, West Africa. His service was interrupted by the 2012 Malian coup d'etat, and he transitioned to a Response position at an organic food company in Zambia. Daniel has an MBA from Boston University's Questrom School of Business and lives with his wife and four children in Beachwood, Ohio.

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David Arnold

Story Editor

David Arnold
Story Editor
Ethiopia 1964- 1966

David Arnold is a Story Editor at the Museum. He worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for newspapers and taught journalism at universities in the United States. On a Fulbright grant he lectured in Lahore, Pakistan and in Nairobi, Kenya and created a public relations department at the National Museums of Kenya on a Ford Foundation grant. He edited the National Peace Corps Association’s WorldView magazine for 20 years and supervised Voice of America journalists broadcasting news to Ethiopia, Eritrea and the diaspora. He now writes articles for a village newsletter in Washington, D.C.

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Jane Bardon

Governance Committee

Jane Bardon
Governance Committee
Turkmenistan 2003 – 2005

Jane served as a Peace Corps health volunteer after retiring from the University of Minnesota. She had two careers at the University separated by time raising six children. She was a biostatistician in a medical research laboratory, and later an early computer professional in the University Libraries. She has many years of volunteer experience focused on governance and communications: Former NPCA Board Governance Chair, Minnesota RPCVs past President, and current Governance Chair, Minnesota Friendship Force Club, past President, current governance and communications. Jane and her late husband, Jack, were world travelers who explored all seven continents and over 120 countries.

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Katherine Shepherd Bender, Esq.

General Counsel

Katherine Shepherd Bender, Esq.
General Counsel
Paraguay 2002-2004

Katherine served as a Small Business Development Volunteer in Paraguay (2002-04). Her father, Philip Shepherd, served in Peru (1968-1971) as an agricultural extension volunteer and later served as the Director of Training in Tegucigalpa, Honduras (1980-1982). Katherine grew up in Miami, Florida, earned her B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University and her J.D. from Loyola University New Orleans. She founded her law firm, Bender & Robb, PLLC in 2021 and practices estate planning and probate in Miami. Katherine recently joined the team as General Counsel for the Museum and looks forward to sharing the Peace Corps experience with future generations.

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Justin D Bibee

Exhibits Team Member

Justin D Bibee, PhD
Exhibits Team Member
Morocco 2014-2016

Dr. Justin D. Bibee serves as a member of MPCE's Exhibits Team, contributing his expertise to the conceptualization and implementation of a 'traveling exhibit.' Dr. Bibee holds several notable roles within the realm of art and culture.  As the founder of The Justin Bibee Collection, he plays a pivotal role in curating local exhibits and preserving a diverse array of artworks. Additionally, Dr. Bibee serves as the Curator of Art at the Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island where he curates monthly rotating exhibits of fine tribal art. Dr. Bibee is the assistant director of the refugee resettlement department at the Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco from 2014 to 2016.

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Ashley Burke

Marketing Team Member

Ashley Burke
Marketing Team Member
Niger 2010-2011 and Rwanda 2011-2012

Ashley served as a Community Youth & Education volunteer in Niger (2010-2011) and Rwanda (2011-2012). She grew up in the Monterey area, where she also earned her MA in International Policy Studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. She currently lives in San Francisco and is a Communications Manager at an ed-tech startup as well as the President of the Northern California Peace Corps Association. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, wine, and spending time with her cat Sir Elton. Ashley helps with communications and marketing materials for the museum.

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Tim Dami

Governance Committee

Tim Dami
Governance Committee
Belize 2003

Timothy Dami, born in the Bronx in 1965, is a professional known for his impactful career in education, technology, and community service. His journey began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Belize in 2003, where he later developed a Computer Repair Program and managed DreamLight Computer Center. With degrees in Computer Information Systems and multiple Master’s degrees from DeVry University and Keller Graduate School, Mr. Dami has excelled as a lecturer and Academic Chair at the University of Belize. He is also a dedicated volunteer, serving on various boards and committees, and continues to inspire through his leadership and commitment to positive change.

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Sarah Fry

Collections Team Member

Sarah Fry
Collections Team Member
Peace Corps Benin, 1976-1978, Primary School Health Education Staff: OPTC/Health, 1979-1980, Technical Pre and In-Service Health Trainer (Zaire, Togo, Haiti, Madagascar)

Sarah recently joined the Collections Team to pre-accession (catalogue) donations at the Washington DC location.  She is a retired international health professional specializing in water, sanitation and hygiene programs in rural and urban communities and schools.  In addition to degrees in anthropology and public health, Sarah has a certificate in historic preservation.  Sarah maintains close ties with her Peace Corps Benin group.  She lives in Falls Church, Virginia.

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Evelyn Ganzglass

DEI Team Member

Evelyn Ganzglass
Many Faces Team Member
Somalia 1966-1968

Evelyn served with the Peace Corps in Somalia from 1966-68 as an English language teacher and Deputy Director of the Somali National Museum where she developed exhibits and organized student visits to the museum. In addition to her work at MPCE, she is a coordinator of the RPCV Oral History Archives Project (OHAP), which preserves the Peace Corps experience by conducting and archiving in-depth oral interviews of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, Peace Corps Staff and Host Country Counterparts. She led the development of the Many Faces of Peace Corps video project, a collaborative effort of OHAP and the MPCE. She is active with the Peace Corps Community for Refugees and served on the NPCA Board of Directors.

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Diane R Hemphill

Video Editor

Diane R Hemphill, BSB, MA
Video Editor
North Macedonia 2016-2018

Diane is a storyteller with an M.A. in non-profit managment from Washingon University. She produces videos to help RPCVs share their experiences. In 2023, the Museum of Peace Corps Experience was a finalist for the Ruppe Award. Diane interviewed members and introduced a video for the Many Faces of the Peace Corps. As a PCV in Community Development, Diane produced videos and still photography to raise funds and awareness for the Red Cross in Bitola and Together Macedonia. In addition, Diane’s site manager asked her to produce A Day in the Life of A Peace Corps Volunteer, an orientation video for income PCVs, which is shown to this day.

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Diane Hibino

DEI Team Member and Stories Editor

Diane Hibino
Many Faces of Peace Corps Co-Chair and Stories Editor
Bolivia 1967-1970

Diane has volunteered to edit stories for the Museum since 2020 and is a member of the Many Faces initiative to promote the voices of under-represented RPCVs. She served in the Peace Corps in Bolivia from 1967-1970 as a tuberculosis technician in the Yungas Valleys. She worked at Peace Corps headquarters followed by staff positions in Bolivia culminating as country director from 1993-1996. She has been a bi-lingual social worker in Connecticut, university administrator in Florida and has years of international development experience in Bolivia and South Africa. She teaches English to immigrants in the Washington, DC area and is active in the League of Women Voters working to educate voters and encourage civic engagement in her county.

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Alison Kahn

Designer

Alison Kahn
Designer
Benin 1976-1977

A museum volunteer since 2019, Ali helped organize the museum’s Washington debut exhibit at the Kennedy Center’s REACH opening festival. Her contributions have included editing stories and also the catalog for the anniversary exhibit, Peace Corps at 60: Inside the Volunteer Experience, at American University Museum in 2020. Ali is a writer, editor, and folklorist, with a special interest in oral history and documentary production. The author of three books, she has contributed to numerous National Geographic publications, Smithsonian exhibits, and others. She lives and pursues her freelance projects in Takoma Park, MD.

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David Koppers

Marketing Team Member

David Koppers
Marketing Team Member
Mongolia 2000-2002

David Koppers is a volunteer on the Marketing and Communications Team. He gives MPCE updates and posts about Peace Corps relevant topics on social media. In 2017 he earned his Master's degree from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver where he was an RPCV Coverdell Fellow. Since then he has worked with several non-profit organizations including the International Rescue Committee and the Asian Pacific Development Center. He is currently the Senior Career Coach at Mi Casa Resource Center in Denver, Colorado.

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Ky Huynh

Curator of Stories

Ky Huynh
Curator of Stories
Bangladesh, 2000-2001, Education

Ky Huynh leads the Museum’s Stories team in collecting unique and compelling personal stories. As an educator, Ky has worked with countless students in finding their narrative voice.

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Joey LaHuffman

DEI Team Member

Joey LaHuffman
Many Faces of Peace Corps Team Member
Guinea Bissau 1991-1993

Donald Joseph LaHuffman is currently working as a healthcare professional in MetroPlus Health Plan, New York City.  Donald’s hometown is Fayetteville, North Carolina. He is a graduate of EE Smith High School.  Donald is a graduate of North Carolina Central University,  Bachelor of Science Degree.  His goal was to have a career in Health Care working as a leader in  Public Health.  PEACE CORPS OPERATIONS FELLOW, Peace Corps Washington  was a  significant award for Donald.  Donald’s hobbies: golf, reading a good book, relaxing with family and community service.

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Judith Madden-Sturges

Collections Team Member

Judith Madden-Sturges
Collections Team Member

As a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) in Cusco, Peru, in 1964-65, Judith worked with the indigenous Inca peoples of the Andes, helping them market and sell their traditional handmade goods. As a RPCV, Judith returned to the University of Michigan to complete her degree in History of Art. As there were no Computer Science degrees yet, she then accepted a job at the IBM Field Test site where she was trained by IBM staff to be a Systems Engineer in Software development for the new IBM 360. In 1975, while employed by Digital Equipment Corporation, Judith volunteered to help DEC’s VP of engineering, Gordon Bell, begin the first Computer History Museum.



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Debbie Manget

Collections Team Leader

Debbie Manget
Collections Team Leader

Debbie is a Librarian and was director of the Conyers-Rockdale Library System for 25 years.  She started and grew the Library System through two construction projects.  Debbie served in the Peace Corps in St Lucia from 1978-1979, as a Home Economics teacher.  She has three children and five grandchildren.  In her free time, she enjoys playing the guitar, singing, hiking and being with the grandchildren. Debbie is a Georgia native and lives in Atlanta.



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Alyssa Ralston

Collections Team

Alyssa Ralston
Collections Team
Romania 2004-2006

Alyssa Ralston is an archivist at Linfield University and volunteers in collections management with the Museum. She served with the Peace Corps in Romania from 2004-2006, and is eternally grateful to the mentors who encouraged her to serve. In addition to archiving expertise, Alyssa also brings nonprofit development and technology industry experience to the Museum. A native of Sacramento, she holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Davis and a Masters in Library and Information Science from Dominican University near Chicago.



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Ariana Richard

Marketing and Communications Team Member

Arianna Richard
Marketing and Communications Team Member
Eswatini 2017-2019

Arianna Richard works with the Museum on communications and marketing and is the Vice President for Operations of the RPCV Ventures team. She remains involved with numerous RPCV groups in a volunteer capacity. At Oklahoma State University she studied Human Development and Family. Then she completed coursework for her Masters in International Development and left for Peace Corps service in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) in 2017. During her time in Eswatini, Arianna served her host community as a Community Health Extension volunteer. Arianna is bringing her RPCV community connections and engagement experience to the RPCV Ventures team to support RPCV businesses with a strong social impact mission.

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Susie (Parsons) Robillard

Finance Team Member

Susie (Parsons) Robillard
Finance Team Member
Ecuador 1968-1970

Susie assists with data entry of financial transactions for the museum. She was financial record keeper for a non-profit in Ithaca, NY, and ran an independent school supply business. Susie
taught ESL to adults and children, in addition to teaching in Friends Schools in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. As a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador, Susie coordinated an artisan cooperative. Susie’s family hosted an Ecuadorean family who were demonstrating artists at a juried arts festival in Pennsylvania. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, Paul whom she met while serving in Ecuador.

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Jeannette Sanchez

DEI Team Member

Jeannette Sanchez, MBA, MA, CDEIC
Many Faces Team Member
Ukraine and Guyana 2013-2015

Jeannette's an award-winning, certified Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, Justice (DEIBJ) Practitioner and Human Rights Consultant who has a lived passion for and commitment to DEIBJ, the work that it encompasses, and the people it touches. She has extensive experience as a consultant, facilitator, specialist, and analyst within corporate, academic, and non-profits environments. She's an RPCV-Response (Ukraine/Guyana) where she supported NGOs in their business and community endeavors working with leaders, educators, businesses, and those in the LGBTQIA+ and HIV/AIDS communities. She joined the Many Faces of Peace Corps project, collaborating on DEIBJ programs and awareness campaigns.

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Mary Kay Schoen

Stories Editor

Mary Kay Schoen
Stories Editor
Ghana 1967-1968

Mary Kay Schoen is an accomplished writer, journalist and editor. As a story editor at the Museum, she works with contributors to present not only what they did but what the learned in their years of service. She has written feature articles on health and education for the Washington Post and numerous association publications and worked as an editor for several educational associations. She now writes poetry—occasionally published—and volunteers as an English tutor for recent immigrants to her Alexandria, Virginia, community. As a Volunteer in Takoradi, Ghana, in 1967-68 she taught secondary school English.

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Sena Tensay

DEI Team Co-leader

Sena Tensay
Many Faces of Peace Corps Co-leader
Zambia 2016-2018

Sena Tensay has extensive experience in global health and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work, forged through hands-on experience in the Peace Corps in Zambia, health consulting contracts, and technical roles with USAID and other government agencies. She holds a degree in Global Health Policy and Management, resides in Washington DC, and is gearing up for a new role at USAID as a Management Program Analyst. She's also a sports enthusiast and enjoys tennis and is training for a 5k. She is also a brand ambassador and sales associate at ZAAF Collections, a luxury brand crafting exquisite leather goods made in Africa, which empowers local craftsmanship and designs.

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Christine A. Wolf

Marketing Team Member

Christine A. Wolf
Marketing Team Member
Poland 1996-98 

Christine A. Wolf is the Assistant Director of Global and International Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) . She is a returned Peace Corps volunteer (Poland) and earned her MS in Political Science as a Peace Corps Fellow from Illinois State University.

As the Assistant Director of Global Studies, she is focused on student development and experiential education, with expertise in international internships. She has co-lead study abroad experiences, taught global career courses, and developed internship sites in China, Japan, Korea, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Brazil, Italy, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France.

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Board of Directors

Anne Baker

Board Member

Anne Baker
Board Member
Fiji 1985-1987

Anne joined MPCE in 2023, bringing deep experience in the Peace Corps community and non-profit management. Following Peace Corps, she taught high school mathematics for nine years and earned an Ed.M. with a concentration in international education. In her more than 25 years at National Peace Corps Association – the last 18 years as Vice President and prior to her retirement in 2022 – she worked on and/or led efforts across the spectrum, from program management to finance, operations, fundraising and affiliate group relations. In addition to MPCE, she is involved with Friends of Fiji and Peace Corps Community for Refugees.

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Nicole Banister

Board Member

Nicole Banister
Board member
South Africa 2013-2016

Nicole is an award-winning TV show host, presenter, and international changemaker. She is the host of the celebrity interview series NIKKI BANZ LIVE and Start It Up–the Waterbear series showcasing one of the world’s most prestigious social entrepreneurship competitions. Nicole has traveled to 50+ countries and is a United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Fellow, a Georgetown University Hoya, and winner of Peace Corps’ 2023 Franklin H. Williams Emerging Leader Award. With expertise in strategic global partnerships, social media, and mass communication, Nicole is on the leadership committee of the Friends of South Africa RPCV Association and joined MPCE in 2023.

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Peter V. Deekle

Board Secretary and Collections Team Member

Peter V. Deekle
Board Member and Collections Team Member
Iran, 1968-1970, Education

Peter, a Museum volunteer since 2016, has served as Secretary to the Museum’s Board of Directors. A university administrator for over 45 years, he has had museum leadership experience chairing the Development Committee of the Providence Athenaeum. He currently plans programs for the American Library Association’s (ALA) International Sustainable Library Development Interest Group and continues to volunteer on ALA graduate education accrediting teams. Peter is a member of the Peace Corps Iran Association and the Peace Corps Community for Refugees.

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Nicola Dino

Board member, Exhibit Team Lead

Nicola Dino
Board member, Exhibit Team Lead
Ecuador 1994-1997

Nicola is a retired nurse, former Board President and tireless champion of the Musuem. She began volunteering with the Museum in 2002 after meeting the founders: Martin Kaplan, Bill Stein, and Mike Renning.  She was instrumental in sheparding the Musuem from a Portland-focused initiative to a national campaig and is driven to help recently returned volunteers extend service through the Museum and its mission to foster service to others. She has served as Secretary and then President on Board of Directors and was Co-Chair on the National Committee for the Museum with Pat Wand for many years. Her favorite part of the job is talking with RPCVs and other in the Peace Corps community and looking for way to get them involved with the work of the Museum.

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John Fleming

Board Advisor

John Fleming
Advisor
Malawi 1967-1969

John is Director Emeritus of the Cincinnati Museum Center, Former Director in Residence of the National Museum of African American Music, Former Chair of the American Association of State and Local History, and the Former President of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. After graduating from Howard University with a Ph.D. in American History in 1974, Fleming was invited to join the Ohio Historical Society as Project Director for the Development of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberfoce, Ohio. Since then, he has been a transformational leader in the American museum landscape, published four books, and authored more than 45 articles and book chapters. 

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Angie Harris

Board Vice President/Fundraising Consultant

Angie Harris
Board Member/Fundraising Consultant
Papua New Guinea 1991-1993

Angie joined MPCE in 2023 with experience in fundraising, education, and non-profit management. She holds an M.Ed from Peaboady/Vanderbilt. Prior to MPCE, Angie spent eight years abroad first as a Peace Corps Volunteer in PNG and then working independently in South Korea and Nepal. In Tennessee, her home state, she has held director roles, working with organizations such as the TN Foreign Language Institute, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Maryville College, TN Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, and Adopt A Classroom.org. Angie co-founded TN RPCVs and previously served on the NPCA Board. She is a board member of Keep Blount Beautiful.

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Chet Orloff

Board Member

Chet Orloff
Board Member
Afganistan 1972-1975

Chet Orloff was a Peace Corps volunteer (1972-75) in the provinces of Afghanistan. Following his return to Oregon, he served as a staff member and, ultimately, as the executive director of the Oregon Historical Society, as a professor of history, and urban and museum studies at Portland State University and the University of Oregon, founding president and director of the international Museum of the City, and as a volunteer board member of several local, state, and national organizations and committees.

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John Rude

Board President and Story Editor

John Rude
Board President and Story Editor
Peace Corps Ethiopia, 1962-1964, Education

Born in Panama and raised as an Army dependent, John grew up with a penchant for travel and languages. He earned a B.A. at Whitworth University in Spokane, WA, M.A.T. at Oberlin College, and a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. In 1962, John served in the first Peace Corps cohort sent to Eritrea, Ethiopia. John later taught English at high schools and community colleges and retired as Dean from East Los Angeles College in 2018. In his 40-year career, John wrote $100 million in grants for colleges and non-profits. Retiring in 2018, he now lives in Carmel, California.

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Brenda Sanchez

Board Advisor

Brenda Sanchez
Board Member 

Brenda Sanchez, FAIA, is a Senior Architect and Senior Design Manager for the Smithsonian Institution and has practiced Architecture for over 30 years. She has led numerous high-profile projects in planning, architecture, and facilities management - most recently for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. She currently heads the design effort for the revitalization of the Smithsonian Building, aka the Castle. Before joining the Smithsonian Institution she worked as Project Manager for American University, was sole proprietor of Brenda Sanchez Architects and was Project Architect for local award-winning and nationally recognized architectural firms. She was elevated to Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2012.

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Bill Saphir

Treasurer and Board Member

Bill Saphir
Treasurer and Board Member
Thailand 1967-1970

Bill is a Board member and the Museum’s Treasurer. He became involved in the Museum in 2005 after seeing the “Bringing the World Home” Exhibit at the Art Institute of Portland. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1967 to 1970 serving in Thailand’s National Malaria Eradication Project. Upon his return from the Peace Corps, he went to Graduate School receiving an MA in Education. After receiving his MBA, he worked for 40 years in hospital administration in the area of healthcare supply chain. Bill and his wife, Lynne, live in Portland, Oregon. They have 3 children, 8 grandchildren, and a dog.

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Mailing Address

Museum of the Peace Corps Experience
PO Box 2427
Oregon City, OR 97045
USA

Contact Us

1 (503) 381-4206
info@peacecorpsmuseum.org

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“For every young American who participates in the Peace Corps—who works in a foreign land—will know that he or she is sharing in the great common task of bringing to man that decent way of life, which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace.”
– President John F. Kennedy, March 1, 1961

The Committee for a Museum of the Peace Corps Experience is a 501(c)(3) private nonprofit organization. Tax ID: EIN # 93-1289853 
The Museum is not affiliated with the U.S. Peace Corps and not acting on behalf of the U.S. Peace Corps.

Museum of the Peace Corps Experience © 2024. All Rights Reserved.