Ron Tschetter today designates March 2007 as Women’s History Month at the Peace Corps



“Women of the Peace Corps have made such tremendous and positive contributions. This month we’ll honor their dedication to changing lives one at a time. Our organization continues to be strengthened by their commitment to service all around the globe. I encourage employees to participate in the activities during Women’s History Month to celebrate the women who helped shape our communities and our Nation,” said Director Tschetter. Ron Tschetter is the seventeenth Director of the Peace Corps. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in India in the 1960's.

Ron Tschetter today designates March 2007 as Women’s History Month at the Peace Corps

Peace Corps Celebrates March as Women’s History Month

Caption: Director Tschetter participates in Volunteer Tia Tucker's English class during his recent visit to volunteers in Morocco.

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 1, 2007 - Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter today designated March 2007 as Women’s History Month at the Peace Corps. During the month of March, The United States highlights the achievements of women throughout history and emphasizes their vital impact on our future.

“Women of the Peace Corps have made such tremendous and positive contributions. This month we’ll honor their dedication to changing lives one at a time. Our organization continues to be strengthened by their commitment to service all around the globe. I encourage employees to participate in the activities during Women’s History Month to celebrate the women who helped shape our communities and our Nation,” said Director Tschetter.

Female Peace Corps Volunteers have consistently outnumbered male volunteers for the past 20 years. Currently, 59 percent of Peace Corps Volunteers are women. 4,537 Peace Corps Volunteers are women, out of the total 7,749 Americans serving as Volunteers around the world.

This year's national theme for Women’s History Month, Generations of Women Moving History Forward, follows the theme of the 1977 National Women’s Conference in Houston, Texas: We Are Here to Move History Forward. Director Tschetter added, “Then, now, and in the future we recognize and thank women from all backgrounds for their help in shaping our organization.”

Women have shown great leadership and passion in their Peace Corps service. The longest serving Director in Peace Corps history was a women, Loret Miller Ruppe. Carolyn Payton served as Director from 1977-1978, and returned Volunteer Jody Olsen currently serves as Deputy Director of the Peace Corps.

Other notable female volunteers in the Peace Corps are: Pamela W. Barnes (Paraguay, 1998-2000), President and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation; Anne Lynam Goddard (Kenya, 1982-1984) President of the Christian Children’s Fund; Maureen Orth (Colombia, 1964-1966) Special Correspondent for Vanity Fair magazine. (A more detailed listing can be found in the attached Fact Sheet.) Currently, the oldest serving Peace Corps Volunteer is a female, Margaret Pratley at age 80.

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: March, 2007; Ron Tschetter; Ron Tschetter (Director 2006 - ); Peace Corps India; Directory of India RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for India RPCVs; Women's Issues

When this story was posted in March 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:




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February 23, 2007: This Month's Top Stories Hill announces Draft Accord in North Korea Nuclear Talks 12 Feb Dodd builds connections in New Hampshire 19 Feb PCVs accused of counterinsurgency activities 19 Feb Harris Wofford declares support for Obama 18 Feb Tschetter becomes the first Director to visit Malawi 16 Feb New Fellows Program at Yale University 15 Feb Sidney Slover helps start donut production in Honduras 16 Feb Kevin O'Donnell's Daughter and Granddaughter are PCVs 14 Feb Joe Krueger helps restore Liberia's timber industry 14 Feb Peace Corps Hippies 13 Feb Maryland RPCVs to screen "American Idealist" on March 3 9 Feb Aaron Kase writes: Moon over Africa 8 Feb Margaret Krome writes: 'Rogue nations' aren't only threat 8 Feb Shays says he would Support McCain 8 Feb A Mistrial for Lieut. Watada 8 Feb Chris Matthews drops the F-bomb 8 Feb RPCVs - Believe it or not 07 Feb White House requests $334 Million for Peace Corps 5 Feb Carol Bellamy writes: We need an Earth Corps 3 Feb First Group of PCVs arrive in Cambodia 2 Feb Mae Jemison wears red for charity 2 Feb Dear Miss Lonelyhearts 30 Jan

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February 2, 2007: This Month's Top Stories Peace Corps Volunteers in Guinea Are Safe in Mali 28 Jan Lee Wilbur writes: Muslim media images are shocking 31 Jan Gregory Acker plays African drums for 3rd Goal 31 Jan "Jimi Sir" now available for free internet viewing 30 Jan Is Civilian Reserve just another Bush throwaway line? 30 Jan Tony Hall writes: What North Korea really wants 30 Jan Paul Tsongas remembered on 10th anniversary 28 Jan Ben Bell attends Washington march against Iraq war 27 Jan First Peace Corps Volunteers to Serve in Cambodia 26 Jan Phil Hardberger sees 'golden years' ahead for San Antonio 26 Jan Doyle wants smoking ban in Wisconsin 24 Jan Mark Udall to run for Colorado Senate Seat 17 Jan Meredith Walsh works with Burmese refugees 16 Jan Tschetter spends MLK Day with Habitat for Humanity 15 Jan Robert Buckley founds Himalayan Healers 14 Jan James Rupert writes: An aging king in Thailand 14 Jan Michael O'Hanlon writes: A Skeptic's Case For the Surge 14 Jan Senator Dodd opposes Iraq surge 11 Jan Pat Waak celebrates 2008 Democratic Convention 11 Jan Al Kamen writes: The six rules for Congressional Junkets 10 Jan Bill Moyers slams Bush on global warming 10 Jan Psychological biases favor conflict rather than concession 1 Jan

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The Peace Corps Library The Peace Corps Library is now available online with over 40,000 index entries in 500 categories. Looking for a Returned Volunteer? Check our RPCV Directory or leave a message on our Bulletin Board. New: Sign up to receive our free Monthly Magazine by email, research the History of the Peace Corps, or sign up for a daily news summary of Peace Corps stories. FAQ: Visit our FAQ for more information about PCOL.

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Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments.

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He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor.

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Meet Ron Tschetter - Our Next Director Read our story about Ron Tschetter's confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that was carried on C-Span. It was very different from the Vasquez hearings in 2001, very cut and dried with low attendance by the public. Among the highlights, Tschetter intends to make recruitment of baby boomers a priority, there are 20 countries under consideration for future programs, Senator Dodd intends to re-introduce his third goal Peace Corps legislation this session, Tschetter is a great admirer of Senator Coleman's quest for accountability, Dodd thinks management at PC may not put volunteers first, Dodd wants Tschetter to look into problems in medical selection, and Tschetter is not a blogger and knows little about the internet or guidelines for volunteer blogs. Read our recap of the hearings as well as Senator Coleman's statement and Tschetter's statement.

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Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process.

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The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace.

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PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

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History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help.

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