Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Michael J. Duberstein can be contacted at michaelddubersteinanflplayersdcom
Country of Service: Liberia
Training Group: III
Cities you served in: Monrovia
Arrival Year: 1963
Departure Year: 1965
Work Description: Public Administration
Bring us up to date on your life after the peace corps:
Ford Foundation Fellow for International Development (for RCPVs) at
UCLA for M.A. in Economics. Spent decade working in Congress, for Joint
Economic Committee, Legislative Director for Rep. George E. Brown, Jr. of
California--the only C.O. ever elected to Congress and the first Member
of the House to oppose the Vietnam War--and as Legislative Analyst for
Rep. Ronald V. Dellums of California. Moved to West Virginia and ran
old-time country store. Returned to D.C. as Executive Director of ACT'79,
the Appropriate Community Technology Fair and Conference, then
assisted other communities around the country to develop their own
resource-based programs through ACTION. When Reagan eliminated
those funds--naturally, what else--I spent three months backpacking
through Asia. Then, in 1981, I became the Director of Research for the
National Football League Players Association and I have now been with
the NFLPA going on 21 years. When I retire in 2005, my wife and I will
move to Maui. We have a 17-year old daughter who plans to become a
film-maker.
Any thoughts you have now looking back on peace corps days?:
(1) It didn't take me long to realize that I was learning more from my
Peace Corps service than I ever could contribute.
(2) I had many dreams about things I seemed to have left unresolved in
Liberia. Until after the day I rode into Katmandu in a cab from the airport
and was struck by a sudden epiphany: That we are the anomoly in the
world, and that there were so many parallels between Nepal and Liberia
and that no matter what Volunteers can and have done, we are still only
chipping away at the abject needs out there.
Originally posted: January 9, 2002
