Help Wanted: Peace Corps Alumni President
Help Wanted: Peace Corps Alumni President
By Kris Maher
From The Wall Street Journal Online
The National Peace Corps Association wants to enlist a president.
The alumni association for returned Peace Corps volunteers was created in 1979, 18 years after the U.S. Peace Corps, a federal agency, was founded. The association tries to improve conditions in developing countries by raising awareness about issues such as the AIDS pandemic and disaster relief. The group has about 15,000 members, or 10% of the total number of people who have served in the Peace Corps.
The president needn't be a former Peace Corps volunteer, says Carrie Hessler-Radelet, a board member who spent two years as a volunteer teaching at a high school in Western Samoa. The hire will be based at the group's Washington headquarters and earn a salary that will likely be in the high five figures, she adds.
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What core quality is the corps looking for?
"We basically need someone who's a great manager. Interpersonal skills are critical, because you have to deal with a wide range of constituents, from congressmen to the returned volunteer who just spent two years in Mali. An important function of the president will be to support membership efforts and fund-raising, I don't want to fail to mention that. They could come from a corporate background or a nonprofit background."
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Does the president face any special challenges if the U.S. invades Iraq?
"The president has responsibility for leading our advocacy efforts. The association has drafted a statement on peace. We're a very diverse group and we don't always agree. Even ... on Iraq, not everyone was antiwar. Those are the challenges of a membership organization."
