Board of Directors

Malaysia 1981-1983, President president@barpcv.org

Formerly Vice President and Service Chair

Brian served from 1981 to 1983 in Malaysia. He received a BS in Chemistry from Bates College and and MBA from Babson. In the Peace Corps, he was a high school science teacher.  He has returned regularly to his old village and is still involved with school and village projects. Married with a college aged son, he retired from work in 2022 from  the marketing ThermoFisher,  a Waltham based scientific company.

Thailand 2019-2020, Treasurer (treasurer@barpcv.org)

Haotian served as a Youth in Development volunteer in Thailand from 2019 to 2020. He worked with the local municipality and schools to create engaging and educational experiences that foster growth and empower young people to become agents of change in their communities. Through summer camps, sport clubs, and interactive learning, he helped young people develop important skills such as leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving. As a member of the Asian American affinity group, Haotian has the opportunity to connect with others who understand the unique perspective of being a minority American. Haotian is proud to be a part of the Peace Corps and excited to join the BARPCV community.

Job Description

The Secretary sets monthly meeting timing, creates the monthly meeting agendas and appointments, takes detailed minutes at each meeting, and keeps the organization’s Google Documents organized.

Basic computer and organization skills are needed for this position. The secretary needs to be able to commit to attending 90% of monthly board meetings (currently 1st Monday of each month) and to find a replacement note-taker during absences.

Malawi 1995-97., Community Grants(grants@barpcv.org)

Karen served in the Peace Corps in Malawi as a secondary level science teacher from 1995-97. While teaching, she also developed a school laboratory for practicals and expanded the school library. After returning, she obtained an MS in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins. Since then, she has spent her career in the biomedical field at Dana Farber, Novartis, and AstraZeneca. She is an avid runner and has raced in Canada, Spain, Croatia, and Cyprus. She has three children and currently lives in Hopkinton, MA.

Burkina Faso 2015-2018, Events Chair (events@barpcv.org)

Andrew served in Burkina Faso. “Peace Corps service was one of the most important and fulfilling experiences of my life, and I love my village of Gogo in the Zounweogo Province, Burkina. While in Gogo, I was the director of the village preschool (Bisongo), coached a young women’s soccer team, organized and hosted 2 gender camps (one for men, one for women.) I trained incoming volunteers, organized and co-authored a volunteer guide on teaching preschool in Burkina, among other things.”

He is from Rochester on the Massachusetts south coast. He went to Bishop Stang High and played soccer as well as lacrosse. He enrolled at Endicott College in Elementary Education program where he received his Masters in Special Education. With friends and family as Peace Corps volunteers/affiliates, he admired Peace Corps and decided to apply. He was assigned to West Africa, and he was chosen to be a preschool education volunteer from 2015-2107.

Upon returning from service, he continued in the human services field and managed a variety of programs. He is now at Salem State University’s MSW program, where he is training to become a therapist.

Uganda 2016-2018, Sports Chair (sports@barpcv.org)

Slater served as an Agribusiness volunteer in Mubende, rural central Uganda, from 2016 through 2018. He primarily worked with local beekeepers teaching candle making, water harvesting, and permagardening.

Born and raised in Massachusetts, he returned to Boston upon completion of his service after spending a few months road tripping the US and Canada mostly living out of his car and camping. He is a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology, with a major in Game Design and Development and a minor History.

After working in the video game industry for a few years, Slater joined the Peace Corps. Upon completion of his service, Slater returned to his roots working as a software developer.

Slater has been a member of BARPCV since moving to Boston in 2019 and is passionate about hosting sports events to create opportunities for RPCVs to network and foster camaraderie. In his free time, he enjoys a variety of hobbies including wood carving, leather working, video games, Dungeons and Dragons, and cooking.

Namibia 2003-2005, TGIF Chair (TGIF@barpcv.org)

Alicia served as a Teacher Trainer in Swakopmund, Namibia – a tourist town on the south Atlantic coast of Africa. Namibia became independent in 1990 and adopted English as the official language at that time. In her role as a Teacher Trainer, Alicia was assigned to the Erongo region’s Teacher Resource Center (TRC), a part of the Ministry of Education. Alicia’s main role was to travel to primary schools in the region and work with teachers who were employed prior to independence and train them on how to teach English phonics to their learners.

After Peace Corps Alicia traveled to South Africa, Zanzibar, Egypt, Dubai, Germany and Great Britain before heading back to the States. Once reestablished in the U.S., she worked for an international non-profit that collaborated with developing countries to fortify food staples with micronutrients, combating widespread birth defects. Through this organization she was able to work throughout Rwanda and Honduras.

Alicia received her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Framingham State University and her Masters in International Education from SIT, World Learning. In her free time, you will find her either, behind the wheel of her car on a serendipitous road trip or on her couch, unable to move because her cat (Luna Lovegood) is on her lap. And everyone knows you can’t move if there’s a cat on you lap…

She looks forward to joining other Boston Area RPCV’s at the next TGIF!

Rebecca served as a Nonprofit Developer, assigned to both a youth center and a nonprofit named Spektri, in the town of Sagarejo. She wrote a project proposal to reconstruct and re-equip the Regional Hospital’s Gynecological Department and received funding for a Women’s Information Center from the Peace Corps Small Project’s Assistance Program. She also taught English classes to school age children at the youth center and received funding from the Peace Corps Partnership Program for a small computer lab. Prior to the Peace Corps, she received a B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Chris served as a forestry extension agent in Mali from 1987 to 1989.  He led projects in reforestation and soil conservation.  He took on secondary projects, digging two wells.

After Peace Corps, Chris spent most of his professional life as a software developer and a database engineer.

Chris enjoys exploring places, such as the Horseshoe Bend AZ shown on the picture (which reminds him of the Mopti region, where he served in the Peace Corps).

Zambia 2010-2013, President (president@barpcv.org)

Elise served as an Agriculture and Environment Volunteer in Zambia. She taught agroforestry and organic gardening to farmers in her village in order to promote better health and nutrition as well as environmental sustainability. She also took on secondary projects in appropriate technology innovation training and HIV/AIDS prevention education. Elise extended for a third year as PCVL, leading workshops and providing volunteer support. Upon returning to Boston, Elise earned her Master’s degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University and currently works as an outreach coordinator with the US Environmental Protection Agency. Elise joined the board as Communications Chair in 2015.

Sends out regular newsletters by email.  Updates the Facebook and Instragram pages.