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Ken
Sommers, President Friends
of Ukraine - Peace Corps 24 Glenwood Avenue, Unit 1 Walpole,
Massachusetts 60640 Phone:
(508) 668-3363 |
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Ken Sommers,
Sam Sezac, Harry Stevens, Luise
Faber and Avis Andrews from the 2002's Yaremcha II on
Cape Cod re-gathered with 15 other RPCVs in Chicago (where Peace Corps
staging in 1999 had occurred). On 29 July 2006, midway in this Yaremcha III
reunion, Friends of Ukraine President Suzie
(Wagner) Budak held FoU Board election. |
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JUST
FRIENDS: They came, they played, they organized. From California, Arizona, Nebraska,
Minnesota, Kentucky, Kirovograd/Pennyslvania, and New York came Dennis, Luise, Avis, Harry, Winnie, Marina, & Sam to visit Ken overlooking a
gorgeous bay in Orleans on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. They came to have fun,
for the first anniversary of the fun they had had in Ukraine at their Peace
Corps Close of Service (COS) "conference" in Yaremcha. Winnie had been there in 2001 even though her group 17 did not
COS until a year later. Marina had not been at
"Club Yaremeche" 17 months earlier in Ukraine, her native country,
but she was at Orleans with her boyfriend, Ken (they married there
on 13 December 2003), to serve as hostess (along with Ken's mother, Cathy, and
father, John) for "Club Yaremcha II." What a setting and what fun was
had by all: boating, whiffle ball, scrabble, singing, dancing, hiking,
swimming.
MORE THAN
JUST FRIENDS: Tom Williams, of group 6 in Kiev and now
of Louisiana where he lives with his Ukrainian wife, launched Friends of
Ukraine (FoU) in 2001 as a country-affiliate of the National Peace Corps
Association (see http://www.rpcv.org/). Currently the
Friends of Ukraine leadership consists of a Board of 15 which includes these 4
main officers:
Ken
Sommers: President (2006-2009)
Karen Groh: Vice
President (2006-2009)
Donna Braden: Treasurer (2006-2007; was VP during 2004-2006)
Erik Peterson: Secretary (2004-2007)
Former
presidents of Friends of Ukraine have included Sam Sezak (2002), Natasha Wanchek (2003), and Suzie (Wagner) Budak (2004-2006).
FoU is made
up of Returned (and some current) PCVs and staff of Peace Corps Ukraine, of
Ukrainian friends, and of others in the US and worldwide who share our goals.
- In Business -- we work as we
did in Ukraine to help develop Ukrainian businesses, the economy there,
free market processes and more.
- In Education -- we help match
colleges and universities in Ukraine and the US to form sister colleges
(aided by $300,000 3-year grants)
- In Media -- we have
launched media dialogs on current issues (for example, on wind energy) --
to advance democratic processes in Ukraine
- In Society -- we care about
Ukrainians and still work with orphanages and other social organizations
there to make a better life for all
A survey in late 2006 among all currently
involved in Friends of Ukraine will help to guide revision of FoU's mission,
purposes, projects and plans.
WHO AND
WHERE IN THE WORLD -- WE ARE:
Avis
Andrews is an RPCV, having served in Ukraine from 1999-2001. She
was a business facilitator working at the Donetsk Regional League of Business
and Professional Women, an NGO teaching women to start their own small and
medium-sized businesses. Donetsk is in eastern Ukraine where the depressed
mining economy has caused severe unemployment. Another program of the League
was to disseminate information about the trafficking of women and domestic
violence. As a secondary project, Avis helped organize and implement three 5k
fun runs to promote youth against drugs. Avis has returned to her home town of
Fremont, Nebraska where she has resumed her practice as an attorney.
Karl Beck was PC country director in Ukraine from 2000 to 2006. In 1967 Karl began
three years of PC teacher training service in a remote part of Lesotho where he
often spent several months without seeing another foreigner. Later until 1979,
Karl worked for PC in Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire and Togo before joining the State
Department where he set up the office that has responsibility for US assistance
to refugees in Africa. Beginning in 1981, he represented the US government to
the organizations in Geneva that help refugees and migrants and transferred in
1985 to the American Embassy in South Africa to initiate contacts with the
people who were leading the revolt against the apartheid government. In 1988-89
he was senior associate for South and Southern Africa at the Carneige Endowment
in Washington before joining the International Organization for Migration which
he represented to the German and Polish governments and for which he undertook
emergency program management assignments during crisis situations in Africa. At
PC Ukraine Karl has focused on Volunteer support and project and site
development with the goal of offering every volunteer a solid job in a
progressive organization. Karl's home is in South Florida.
Kelly Bedeian, as a PCV (group 6) in Dnipropetrovsk in 1996-98, taught English to
students from 3rd to 9th grade and ran an after-school program offering courses
outside of the standard curriculum. She also was a guest speaker at local,
national, and international educational conferences, judged the National Debate
Tournaments, and was Co-Director of the American Language and Cultural Retreat
of 1998. Kelly then spent 2 1/2 years in Minneapolis, Minnesota working as a
program manager for CONNECT/US-RUSSIA. CONNECT carries out a variety of
programs including the Community Connections exchange program, domestic
violence prevention and intervention programs, and more recently service
programs for victims of trafficking. In 2001 she began work for IREX managing
the Community Connection (CC) program in Armenia. The CC program is sponsored
by the US Department of State, Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs and
provides short term internships to Armenian professionals in the US. In Armeia
she is learning about her ethnic roots & language and traveling extensively
throughout the Caucasus and Eurasia.
Ken Beishir is an RPCV, having served in Ukraine from 2000-2003. Ken was a business
educator working at the Poltava Cooperative University in Poltava, Ukraine,
teaching Finance, Economics and Business Communications. He concentrated on the
critical thinking aspect of education and developed a series of case studies on
globalization that are still in use by PCVs and host country nationals in
Ukraine today. While in Poltava, Ken worked on many secondary projects
including various English and Business Clubs and helped in the expansion of the
English-language resource center at the Cooperative University. Additionally,
Ken was a frequent guest lecturer at seminars throughout Ukraine. Since
returning to Houston, Texas in May 2003, Ken has been employed in the mortgage
department for homebuilder Royce Builders, Hammersmith Financial LP.,
headquartered in Houston. Ken is a moderator and continuous contributor to the
Ukraine_Today Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ukraine_Today
Ken Bossong is a member of PCV Group #17 which originally arrived in
Ukraine in February 2000; he extended his term of service through June 30,
2003. Ken taught at the L'viv branch of the Ukrainian Academy of Public
Administration where he was both an English and business instructor. In
2000-2003, he helped to secure dependable Internet access for his school as
well as establish a distance-learning program to train local government
officials throughout Ukraine in the fundamentals of western-style public
administration. He assisted in the development of a "career
counseling" program for the students at his site to include training in
resume writing and interviews, a jobs bank, a jobs fair, and assistance in
applying for international scholarships. He now publishes an US-Ukraine
environmental newsletter in Washington DC, where he has involved Friends of
Ukraine in a number of Congressional efforts to help Ukraine
Donna
Braden, Ukraine, 1999-2001 (Group 15 - Environmental) left a
career in banking to join Peace Corps. Donna felt comfortable in Ukraine's
broad steppe-land. It reminded her of her farm home in Kansas. She served in
Kryvyi Rih, first as a Project Manager for the local chapter of the National
Ecological Society of Ukraine and later as a teacher of Ecology and American
Studies in a specialized school responsible for developing new curricula and
new teaching methodologies. She amazed her students with small group projects
and varied teaching techniques. Her favorite secondary project was assembling
almost 150 books in English for young people, gifts from friends at her church
in Chicago. Prior to this gift, the only books in English in the school's
library were language textbooks. Donna is now happily pursuing a new career at
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 office in Chicago. She served
as Friends of Ukraine's Vice President in 2004-2006 and is now FoU Treasurer.
With Karen Groh [whose FoU bio is requested], Donna organized FoU's reunion in
Chicago on 28-30 July 2006.
Suzie (Wagner) Budak served as a PCV (TEFL Group 13) from 1998-2001. During
her 2.5 years in Ladyzhin, Vinnystka region, Suzie and her Ukrainian colleagues
developed an English Language Resource Center for the district and organized
quarterly seminars that continue today. Suzanne's school (No. 4) began a
partnership with Kenmore High School in Akron, Ohio, which included a
conference call involving students from both schools, the mayors and the local
media. One of Suzie's most enjoyable projects was the "Small-town
Girls" Summer Camp (see Teresa Devore's bio) and the resulting "Teens
Against Drugs" civic project. Upon returning from Ukraine, Suzanne married
her childhood penpal, Hasan Efe Budak and in 2003 they had their very own
"Big Fat -Turkish-- Wedding". At the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
(HIAS Chicago), Suzie assisted Russian-speaking refugees & immigrants to
become American citizens, while advocating for immigrants on both state and
national issues. You can read more about this program on the agency's website
at http://www.jfcschicago.org/hias.
Now, as a busy new mother, Suzie has agreed to continue on the Friends
of Ukraine Board of Directors through 2009, folliowng having served in
2004-2006 as FoU's President.
Michael Burlingame was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine (Group 21) in
2001. Michael has a degree in International Relations from the State University
of New York at Brockport. His studies included a semester abroad in Beijing,
China. Before his service, Michael worked for BNP Paribas, a French investment
firm, doing asset management for 28 companies in the Merchant Banking Group.
Currently Michael works for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF (United Nation Children's
Fund)coordinating large scale fund raising events and assisting in the
management of celebrity relations. Michael lives in New York City and
facilitates the Friends of Ukraine - New York City Chapter, which has been
meeting quarterly.
Jason Campbell served as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1999-2001 in
Ukraine. He was a business development volunteer who taught economics and
designed and facilitated conferences on lobbying, civic education and business.
The project he is most proud of is "Civic Education: Your Responsibility
in Ukraine's Democracy" a civic education curriculum and manual he
authored. Another highlight of his service was the assistance he gave in
FoUnding the annual Management and Economic Simulation Exercise (MESE) with
Junior Achievement and the Kyiv Financial Lyceum. Jason then lived in
Washington, DC, and worked in the legislative department of the National
Association of Letter Carriers. There he also volunteered for the National
Peace Corps Association (NPCA) and Friends of Ukraine. Recently, he obtained a graduate degree
from Harvard University's Kennedy School. He lives in California. [bio update
requested]
Teresa Devore is an RPCV from Group 13. She taught English to 7-11
grade kids and worked on lots of teacher development projects in rural
Novodnistrovsk (Chernivsti Oblast). Teresa enjoyed working with colleagues on
grant writing and the resulting projects. The best project was a summer camp
with Suzie Wagner and 3 Ukrainian counselors
for 30 girls from Novodnistrovsk and Lydizhen focusing on leadership and
developing self-esteem through sports and group activities. Teresa was recently
enrolled in an MA program for TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) at
New York University. [bio update requested]
Luise
Faber is a RPCV, who served in Ukraine from 1999-2001. She was
assigned to the Kharkiv City Women's Business Center in as a business
facilitator. This NGO offered classes to unemployed and underemployed women
teaching them business classes with the goal of opening their own businesses,
in an area suffering much unemployment. As secondary projects, Luise helped
organize and implement three 5K Fun Runs promoting the Dangers of Drugs to
youth. Other projects she worked on were the Gender and Development and an
English Club. Luise has returned to Tucson, Arizona where she volunteers at Job
Corps helping youth at risk ages 15-23, tutoring K-3rd graders in reading and
continues her docent work at the Reid Park Zoo.
Ross
Felling was a Peace Corps Volunteer with group 14 from 1999 to
2001. His primary site was the Chernivtsi
Business Center where he worked as a Business Facilitator. One of his
secondary projects was teaching Business English and Sales classes at Chernivtsi National University. While in Chernivtsi,
Ross met his future wife; Yuliana, 'Juliana' and they were married in the
spring of 2001. Currently they live outside of Detroit where Ross works for
SBC/Ameritech in outside sales, and Juliana works for Russell A. Farrow, a
Customs/Brokerage company. Ross is the Moderator for the Yahoo Group on the
Internet (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FriendsOfUkraine/) though which Friends
of Ukraine share information and ideas.
Doug
Latham served in the Group V Business Development group from
1995 to 1997. During this time his home city was Chernivsti in southwest
Ukraine. His initial assignment was at Bukovina Financial College where he
worked with the English department and teaching the occasional finance class.
After demonstrating his flexibility by moving ten times in the first year and
searching for the meaning of life, Doug transferred sites (and divisions, sort
of) and spent the second year teaching English to the 3rd - 11th grades at
School 15 in Chernivtsi. He worked with occasional secondary projects such as
grant writing at the ecological center, and camp counseling at the English
Language retreat near Lugansk. In his spare time, he FoUnd a girlfriend who
would one day become his wife. These days, Doug and Galyna (married 1997), live
in Pelham, Alabama, with their three year old son/dog, Vovchyk. Doug recently
quit his job of six years due to frustration and is currently working on his
own, doing consulting for healthcare insurance providers. He is the Founder of
the Friends of Ukraine message board at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FriendsOfUkraine/
Songbae
Lee was a Peace Corps Volunteer with group 14 from 1999
until he was incorrectly accused of being a spy and required to leave after
serving for over a year as a business development consultant and teacher. After
returning to Washington, DC, and spending two weeks watching MTV and eating
Doritos and pizza, Songbae started volunteering at the US Ukraine FoUndation.
He later worked on small business development for the Ethiopian Community
Development Council and then later became the Washington Director for the
Korean American Coalition (KAC), a national immigration advocacy organization
based in Los Angeles. Prior to Peace Corps, Songbae worked in finance for a DC
based hotel company. After receiving a Master's Degree from the University of
Chicago Graduate School of Business, he worked in New York and is now working
in California. [bio update requested]
Patricia Lillicotch is a RPCV. Patty was a Business Educator at Kremenchug
State Polytechnic University in Kremenchug, Ukraine. Patty's degree is in
Marketing Management from Bellevue University in Bellevue, Nebraska. As of
2003, Patty was applying for jobs with the Federal Government in the DC area.
While waiting Patty was helping her mother with selling on Ebay and pet sitting
for family members. [bio update requested]
Judy Mandel was a PCV in Artemovsk, Ukraine (Donetsk region). She
was in group 20 as a business facilitator working for the City Administration.
She served as a consultant for any public organization that needs business
assistance. She worked with the Veterans of the Afghanistan War. There are 600
in the city of Artemovsk with only a population of 90,000. She worked with the
central library, the Dept of Archives, and one of the 3 orphanages in
Artemovsk. As her COS date approached, she said that she would like to see the
Friends of Ukraine become a strong and viable support group for PCVs. Judy is a
retired banker and hopes to do another PC tour in another country. [bio update
requested]
Jennifer
Meese was a member of Group 13 (1998-2000). While in
Chernivtsi she taught 10th and 11th formers at Gymnasium #4 and worked with
teachers throught the oblast recertification institute. During her time there,
Jennifer received two grants to write books for teachers. Her first, "Add
Colour" showed teachers how to make the mandated curriculum more
communicative and student-centered. It has been republished a few times by
other PCVs and has been distributed throughout the country. Her second book,
"Happy Writing" shares writing tips, techniques, and tools for
teaching writing to students. Jennifer spent her final three months of service
as a trainer for group 19 in Cherkassy. She returned to Minnesota, finished her
Masters in Teaching English as a Second Langauge, and got a job teaching ESL to
students in K-12 in the St. Francis school district (a small town north of
Minneapolis). Jennifer lives with Pookie, her cat she got while in Ukraine.
Dennis
O'Donnell obtained a flock of 250 sheep from Heifer International
FoUndation to have allocated to 50 Crim Tatar families in the settlement of
Yani Mali within Sudak. Dennis served in 1999-2001 in Sudak as a business
development PCV advising the United Nations Integration (of Tartars) &
Development Program. He retreated to his hermitage in California's Trinity
Alps, where he was director of the Indian Creek Lodge. He recently took a new
job with Americorps in Buffalo, New York.
[bio update requested]
Erik
Peterson served as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1999 to 2001 in
Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine. He worked as a business development consultant for the
Center of International Cooperation and taught finance and communications
courses at the Dnipropetrvosk State Institute of Economics and Finance. He
developed the first-ever volunteer website for any Peace Corps country at
http://co.net/ukraine, now superceded by http://pcukraine.org/ and by http://Friends.PCUkraine.org. Shortly after
completing his Peace Corps assignment, Erik moved to Kazakhstan where he joined
a local conglomerate as a regional director based in Atyrau. Erik then resided
in Washington D.C. and wass a project manager at the U.S. Civilian Research and
Development FoUndation, a non-profit organization which promotes technical and
scientific collaboration between the United States and the countries of the
former Soviet Union. He recently
received a Master's Degree from Dartmouth College and is working now in
Baltimore, Maryland. [bio update requested]
Virginia J. Pulver and her spouse Mark S. Pulver, arrived in Ukraine
with Group 28 (2005-07). With an appetite stimulated by living abroad
(Spain 1973-78) and eager to travel, Virginia joined the US Air Force (AF) and
served for 21 years (1978-99). Highlights of her diverse AF career include
7-years as avionics technician on fighter aircraft, a 4-year stint of
recruiting (health care professionals) in Boston, MA; 5-years in Spain, this
time as the AF Training Advisor for the southern Mediterranean (where she was
recognized as Command Training Manager of the Year); and several years
directing AF On-the-Job Training (OJT) policy in San Antonio, TX. During those
same demanding years, she earned an AA, BS and MA and raised two kids!
Immediately prior to joining PC, Virginia served as an AF Junior ROTC instructor,
teaching high school students in an economically depressed area of SC. The Pulvers currently live and work in
the Hero-city, Kerch, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, and a
formerly closed community situated on the easternmost tip of the Crimean
Peninsula. Despite a medical
condition that resulted in closing Virginia's official PC service, she
continues to assist her spouse in his PCV activities at the Kerch Central
Library System (19 libraries). She
is the enthusiastic backbone of a popular weekly English Conversation Club and
she directs an African literacy project (CALEB Library Project - see www.pulverpages.com). She also mentors (via e-mail) many
fledgling PCVs as they prepare to come to Ukraine. Virginia enjoys writing and hopes to
one day publish a novel. She is
the Membership Co-Chair for FoU (Aug 2006-07).
Kelly Oberg Purdy served as an Environmental Facilitator with group 22
from 2002-2004. Her primary site was with the Crimean Association Ekologiya I Mir in Simferopol. Kelly
met her husband Colin Purdy in Ukraine (also group 22, based in Chernivtsy);
they were married in August 2004. Kelly now works as Development &
Communications Associate for Global
Greengrants Fund - an international nonprofit that provides small grants
to grassroots groups around the world. Through her work at Greengrants, Kelly
continues to be involved with Ekologiya I Mir and many other worthy
environmental, human rights and social justice groups in Ukraine and around the
world. Kelly also serves on the Board of the Peace Corps / VISTA Alumni of Colorado.
Bob Reno, RPCV from group 3
(1994-1996), is currently living in Tashkent, Uzbekistan with his wife Anzhela.
Bob was a Small Enterprise Development (SED) Volunteer in Khmelnitsky (the
"Heartland of Ukraine") working with the Economic Committee in the
Oblast Rada. Upon completion of PC, Bob worked for IREX in Kyiv, first on their
Internet Access and Training Program, then later as Country Director. After
some time off in the US, where Bob worked briefly at the PC headquarters, he
returned to the field and is now working with IREX again as the Regional
Program Manager for the FSA Undergraduate Program (formerly administered by
ACCELS) in Central Asia. Though travel to Ukraine does not come often, Anzhela
(native of Khmelnitsky) does make sure he gets back to Mother in the Motherland
at regular intervals.
Stephanie Richard served in Peace Corps Ukraine TEFL Group 13 from
1998-2000. She was the first volunteer assigned to Myrhorod where she worked
for School Number 9, the Poltava Teachers Association and the Myrhorod Mayor's
Office. While working in Ukraine, Stephanie was dedicated to empowering
individuals through developing personal leadership skills. After designing and
piloting a yearlong leadership curriculum with Myrhorod schools and publishing
the 300-page manual, "Leading is Action", she conducted
leadership-training seminars for over 500 teachers throughout Ukraine. During
her time in Myrhorod, Stephanie also worked closely with the Public Health
Minister to develop a five-year "Healthy City Plan" so that Myrhorod
could become part of an international city project supported by the World
Health Organization. Upon returning to the United States, Stephanie lived in
Washington DC and attended the Washington College of Law at American University.
She now lives and works in California. [bio update requested]
Elizabeth
Roen was a member of PC Ukraine group 10, and she lived in
Uzhhorod, Ukraine from 1997 - 1999. She was a teacher of English at a high
school. Her secondary projects included creating an English language resource
room, starting an English conversation club for students, and participating in
the creation of a nationwide youth leadership training program. After Peace
Corps, Elizabeth worked for the Center for Citizen Initiatives in San
Francisco. At this non-profit organization she was a program coordinator for a
US state department funded program that brought Russian business leaders to the
US for month long professional internships. In the spring of 2001, Elizabeth
returned to Ukraine to work for Project Harmony as a program coordinator for
the Community Connections program for Ukraine. She lived in L'viv, Ukraine from
April 2001 until April of 2003. Elizabeth, as a Peace Corps Fellow at Carnegie
Mellon University's H.J. Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management in
Pittsburgh obtained a Masters of Science in August 2004. [bio update requested]
Sam Sezak served as a PCV from
1999-2001 in Lviv, Ukraine. He was a business development volunteer assigned to
a USAID Land Privatisation and Rural Economic Development Program where he
assisted with the development of over 10 farmers marketing/ production
cooperatives. He is most proud of the business conference series entitled New
Millennium, Principles in Progressive Global Business, which he created,
solicited funding for, recruited trainers for, and organized. Upon returning to
the United States, Sam lived in New York City and worked for Merrill Lynch in
Fixed Income Institutional Sales. He served as President of Friends of Ukraine
in 2002 asd is now as a Board memebr for FoU. [bio update requested]
Elsa Shartsis served in Ukraine 1999-2001. An attorney, she taught
international law and human rights at Volyn State University and was involved
in countless community and school projects, including the very popular and
still thriving English Club that she ran with her husband Jack (favorite E.C.
game: Jeopardy, with some cultural adaptation).
Jack Shartsis, a physician, served in Ukraine 1999-2001 as advisor to
a medical research team and later as English teacher and advisor at a language
institute. Jack advised local physicians and an epilepsy self-help group,
lectured widely on healthy living and problem-solving techniques, FoUnded a
chess club at a local school, and taught bridge to several Ukrainian friends.
Jack maintains friendships with several Ukrainian physicians and has privately
donated much medical equipment and literature to Ukrainians.
Jodi
Simek served as a Business Development, Group 11 Volunteer in
Ternopil, Ukraine in 1998-2000. She taught accounting and business
administration to university students at the Ternopil Academy of National
Economics and created an International Academic Advising Center. After Peace
Corps, she accepted a position with Project Harmony as Community Connections
Coordinator and Office Director of the L'viv Office. She returned to the United
States in Sept. 2001 and in April 2002 became International Outreach
Coordinator at the University of Kansas where she conducted school and
community outreach programs about Eastern Europe - especially Ukraine. In Dec.
2004, she earned her Master's degree in Ukrainian Studies from the University
of Kansas. She now works at
Washington State University. Jodi chairs the Ukraine-US Sister Colleges
Committee for FoU. [bio update requested]
Ken Sommers served as a PCV from 1999-2001 in Kirovograd, Ukraine.
He was a business development volunteer who taught economics and business
English at the local college. He is most proud of his relationship with the
Detskiy Dome Orphanage where he worked to improve living standards and raise
money for their organization. Ken received his MBA at Georgetown University
while serving as an Intern for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation,
which provides political risk insurance to emerging markets around the world.
He visits Ukraine often -- especially since marrying Marina in 2003. Ken serves
on the Board of UCARE, Ukrainian Chrildren's Aid and Relief Effort. In August
2002 he hosted the first reunion of PCUkraine Group 14 plus 2, which led to
plans for expanded Friends of Ukraine reunions. At such a reunion, Ken was elected FoU President on 29 July
2006 in Chicago. [bio update requested]
Marina Sommersspan
style='mso-bookmark:MN'> is a Ukrainian national, who studied English and business at the Community
College of Philadelphia. For eight years, in Kiev and Kirovograd, she worked as
an economist and accountant. She has traveled extensively in Europe and
throughout the United States. Her travels and acquaintence with the United
States Peace Corps inspired her to learn about other cultures and to work for
world peace. Marina co-hosted Yaremcha II at Cape Cod. Marina and Ken were married there a year later.
They now reside and work in Massachusetts.
Harry Stevens served in PC-Ukraine in Kherson
1999-2000, in Yalta in 2000-2001, and in the Crisis Corps in Alabama in
September-October 2005. In
2001-2006 Harry helped to organize Friends of Ukraine (FoU) for R/PCVs, PC
staff and others. He also
organized Friends of USA (FoUSA) in 2005 for those who served in the
post-Katrina Crisis Corps. He has
organized FoU projects in such areas as sister colleges, wind power for Crimea,
and US-Ukraine media dialogs. He
was a Massachusetts legislator (1965-68), Science Advisor to the Governor of
Puerto Rico (1969-72), professor at RPI and MIT (1970-74), CEO & Founder of
Participation Systems Inc. (1970-1986), and computer & management
consultant with IBM, the Pentagon, and recently with universities & media
in Minnesota, Georgia, Massachusetts & Ukraine. In Minnesota, he has hosted Ukrainian high school exchange
students and Ukrainian journalists here to study "independent
media." He is active in
politics (was a MN presidential elector in 2004), holds Georgia Tech B of EE
& MIT PhD (Economics) degrees, and enjoys his family & friends.
Natasha
Wanchek served as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1999 - 2001 in
Artemovsk (Donetsk Oblast). She worked with the Environmental and Cultural
Center "Bakhmat" as an NGO facilitator, assisting with project
planning and management, grant writing and organizational development.
Participating in the Master's International Program through Rutgers University,
Natasha conducted research on public participation related to environmental
organizations. As a secondary project, she conducted workshops for IREX
ProMedia, training more than 200 NGO representatives on how to better promote
their organizations through the media. After Peace Corps, she led a group of
Ukrainian journalists visiting the U.S. for two weeks as part of a ProMedia
election-campaign journalism program. She returned to Ukraine in 2002 as a business
development technical coordinator for Peace Corps PST-22. She now works at the
Media Development Loan Fund in New York. Natasha also volunteered for Friends
of Ukraine as treasurer/membership officer in 2002-2003 and then as FoU
President in 2003-2004
Yvonne Warbington (formerly Kemp) is a RPCV from Ukraine, 1999-2000 where
she was a business volunteer first with the USDA, then with the National
Cooperative Union. Her greatest achievement was a fund raising for the zoo in
Odessa to build a shelter for the baby elephant. She also started a Womens
English club and worked with the owner of a travel agency. She now lives in
Pembroke, Georgia and works in Savannah at Memorial Health University Medical Center
as Lead Credentialing Coordinator. Her job is to research physicians that want
to have privileges at the hospital and participate in the managed care
organization to make sure everything about them is in order. She is very active
in her church and also volunteers for Clean Coast, an organization that goes to
the barrier islands and cleans the beaches. (And Yvonne did not get re-married,
just returned to her maiden name!)
Ryan
Watkins has been interested in Ukraine since 1999, when he visited for the first
time. Since then, he has returned three times to visit. While in Ukraine, he
volunteered for the Environmental and Cultural Center "Bakhmat" in
Artemovsk, Ukraine, assisting with creation of the organization's web page. He
also volunteered for Peace Corps Ukraine, working with the web team on the
Peace Corps volunteer web site. From 1997 - 2000, Ryan worked at Microsoft as a
web design engineer, program manager, evangelist and webmaster. Before that, he
was director of technology for Dimension X, a San Francisco startup company.
Ryan lives in Brooklyn, NY. He volunteers for Friends of Ukraine as a
webmaster.
Tom Williams has a B.A. in History from the University of Notre Dame, a J.D. from
Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and an M.B.A. from
Metropolitan State University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tom is Regional
Manager for international trade for the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Based in New Orleans, he is responsible for trade development and financing
exports for small businesses in three states. Tom served in the Peace Corps in
1996 to 1998 in Kiev, Ukraine, where he worked on small business development
and taught business subjects at a major university. Previously he had owned and
operated a Sylvan Learning franchise in Southeast Florida and had worked for
the 3M Company in Minnesota, where he was responsible for minimizing tax costs
and risks on 3M's international operations. Prior to then he served as an Army
Lieutenant, an Infantry Platoon Leader and Company Executive Officer in the 4th
Infantry Division. Tom FoUnded Friends of Ukraine (FOU) in 2001 to strengthen
ties between returning Peace Corps volunteers and Ukrainian people.
Jennifer Leigh Wilson served as a TEFL, Group 13 Volunteer in Brody, L'viv
oblast, Ukraine from 1998-2000. After traveling in Western Europe during the
winter of 2000-2001, she returned to Ukraine and moved to Kharkiv where she
currently works as the Kharkiv Office Director of American Councils for
International Education: ACTR/ACCELS. With American Councils, Jennifer works on
a variety of educational exchange programs linking the US and Ukraine. She
spends quite a bit of time traveling in Eastern Ukraine and working with alumni
of US exchange programs as they implement different projects at home.For more
information please visit http://www.americancouncils-kharkiv.org.ua/ [bio update requested]
Winnie Yunker served as PCV in 2000-2002 in Kirovograd, Ukraine. She taught economics to
high school students and conversational English to elementary students at the
Kriograd Collegium. Many Ukrainain friends helped Winnie become involved
totally in the city's historic, cultural and everyday life - which led to her
diverse secondary projects: a seminar for prevention of domestic violence, an
English Club for women to help them interact in a changing economy, a
charitable softball tournament between Kiroviogars's professional baseball
players and Peace Corps volunteers, and an international Internet project for
teens on conflict resolution. For her entire service, Winnie was absorbed in
many aspects of daily life for Detskiy Dome Orphanage, including a monthly
birthday club, introducing American holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas and
Halloween), replacing needed supplies and purchasing winter coats, shoes and
clothing for the 80 school-age orphans. Thes efforts were accomplished with
only private donations and no tax money and are still ongoing. Since returning
to Kentucky in April 2002, Winnie has visited friends in Florida, Georgia and
the Northeast and is contemplating joining the Crisis Corps. [bio update
requested]
To join the Friends of Ukraine discussion group, visit
the website at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FriendsOfUkraine
or just send a blank email message to
friendsofukraine-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To see more official information about Friends of Ukraine
as an affiliate of the National Peace Corps
Association, click on
http://www.rpcv.org/pages/groupinfo.cfm?id=189&category=2
To join the Peace Corps Ukraine group to help future PCVs
prepare, visit the website at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peacecorpsukraine
or just send a blank email message to
peacecorpsukraine-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Last updated: 31 August 2006
Webmaster: Harry Stevens