Home > Volunteers and Staff > Region 1
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Region: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Region 1 - Kyiv, Chernihiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv Oblasts
• Chernihiv
• Handiach
• Kharkiv
• Kiev
• Kobelyaky
• Kremenchug
• Lubny
• Okhtyrka
• Poltava
• Sumy
Regional Manager - Oleh Smiychyk
Bill Fordyce grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, graduated from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and then held several different positions at the Ohio House of Representatives, most recently drafting public policy for the House Minority Leader. As a PCV, he works at a Business Center in Chernihiv, overseeing their Social Partnership Program , which is designed to bring together entrepreneurs, NGOs, and local and state government. He likes his new home in Chernihiv despite its proximity to Chernobyl. The city is built on the site of an ancient fort and possesses the oldest churches in Ukraine.
Elaine Kornbau, ezma_peach@hotmail.com, is a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington D.C. where she majored in Studio Art and German. She is a volunteer in the historical town of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine where she teaches English and German at Collegiums #11.
Christina Del Vecchio, cedelvecchio@hotmail.com, graduated from the University of Florida with a dual major in History and rolling in more classes. She works in Poltavska Oblast in in the city of Handiach where she teaches various classes.
Bruce Grogan
Kevin Patrick Spence is from Williamsburg, Virginia. He graduated from a small school in Newport News, called Christopher Newport University. Through his involvement in many charities and organizations Kevin became interested in serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer. His hobbies include reading, traveling, and playing hockey and soccer. Kevin is currently working at the Kharkov State Polytechnic University in downtown Kharkov. The city of Kharkov is known as a "city of students" and was formally the capital of Ukraine. Kevin is teaching Business English and a variety of classes in the area of economics. After the Peace Corps, Kevin hopes to fulfill his lifelong ambition to see the world. He's also known to be a picky eater. Go McDonald's!
John Theis earned a BS in Finance in May 1999 from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He is now working at Kharkiv State Academy for Economics and Food Science. He is teaching economics and finance and also is responsible for the business English club.
Kelley Gove kelkius@hotmail.com graduated from UNH and Simmons. Her favorite color is purple, but a dark purple, not an old lady hair purple. She is a Librarian and was inspired by Party Girl to choose this noble profession. She likes long walks on the beach and is a Sagittarius. She'd prefer someone who sings like Greg Brown (looking like him would be a bonus) -- her kingdom for a falafel sandwich. She likes to de-pants unsuspecting Ukrainians while waiting for the trolleybus. She teaches at Kharkiv National University. Kharkiv is a big city far away from the mountains. Once she is really there and not just writing about it as if she is already there, she is hoping to find a place that serves good coffee.
Ward Kelman is an instructor of Business English and Economics at the Ukrainian Academy of Foreign Trade in the city of Kiev. Ward worked for twelve years in international trade prior to joining the Peace Corps. Originally from Detroit, he is a graduate of Western Michigan University. A lifelong student of history, Ward plans to visit Kiev's museums extensively during his two years of service.
Erik Levin hails from the town of Fallston, Maryland, a place with more cows than people. He majored in Japanese Language and Literature at the University of Maryland. After taking six years to graduate, he moved to Hawaii for a year and then taught in rural Japan for two years. Returning to the U.S., he got a Master’s Degree in Theoretical Linguistics from Indiana University. When he discovered that he did not want to spend the rest of his professional life analyzing verb forms, he joined the Peace Corps. Erik teaches English at Solomon University in Kiev.
Marvin Mayo works in Kiev at the National Bank of Ukraine's Periodicals Department in the English Digest Division. The National Bank was founded in 1991 and serves as the central bank. It carries out the nation's monetary policy. Among its many functions, the bank publishes several banking and economic periodicals in Ukrainian and English languages. Marvin is assigned to the Herald's Editing Department, reviewing and editing the periodical, "Herald of the National Bank of Ukraine."
Kelly French came from Madison, Wisconsin. She is serving in the city of Kobelyaky, located in the Poltava Oblast. She recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a degree in Resource Management-Environmental Education. Kelly teaches at a training complex/school in Kobelyaky, instructing courses in ecology to students in grades 5-11. She is developing an ecology curriculum for the school and starting an eco-club in town.
Patricia Anne Lillicotch is from Fredericksburg, Virginia. She graduated in 1997 from Bellevue University in Bellevue, Nebraska. Patricia has lived in many different countries, including Korea and Germany. She now works at the Kremenchug State Polytechnic University, where she teaches classes in the areas of business and marketing. Patricia also works with the International Department. She enjoys working to clean up the environment and helping the homeless animals in her city. Kremenchug is an industrialized city with eight factories (only four operating), four extraordinary parks, and a beautiful view of the Dnipro River.
Trisha Katzmaier, girlkatz@hotmail.com, went to the University of Redlands where she majored in writing. She is a major soccer buff, enjoys "rock and roll", good comedy, but not cats. Trisha works at the Lubny Lyceum #6 where she focuses on Literature, music in America, and gender issues.
Sarah Lashley lives in the Northeastern town of Okhtyrka, where she is working with the Okhtyrka Children-Youth Center. Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, Sarah earned a degree in Environmental Studies, with foci in International Politics and English from Allegheny College. Her days in Okhtyrka are filled with leading ecology and English study groups, as well as facilitating summer camps and bolstering student enthusiasm for environmentalism.
Christie Appelhanz swapped the wheat fields and sunflowers of Kansas for the ones in Ukraine. She is putting her three years experience as a business reporter at the Topeka Capital-Journal to work in Ukraine as a teacher of Junior Achievement and Business English. The staff and students at school No. 37 in Poltava have shown her exactly why Ukrainian hospitality is world famous. Christie serves as Peace Corps Group 20's representative on the Volunteer Advisory Committee in Kyiv. She graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in business communications.
Ken Beishir is teaching business English and financial markets at the European University of Finance in Poltava. Previously, Ken was employed as a financial consultant with Merrill Lynch and CIBC Oppenheimer in Houston, Texas. Additionally. In Poltava, Ken is also the sponsor for the University's English Club and its Business English Club.
Gwendolyn Goodman teaches Ecology English and also the first Biology course ever attempted at Poltava State Technical University located in the city of Poltava. Since there is no textbook available for the Biology class she has been asked to put together the resource for this 2 semester class. In the Ecology English class she teaches grammar the first week, Regular English the second week and the next week is devoted to Ecological topics.She has started an English Club, which is currently starting a University English paper. She has also joined the University Orchestra as a clarinet player. With her love of music she has initiated a music exhange program between her American school and the University in Poltava. The University band plays jazz and John Phillip Sousa marches while the American school plays traditional Ukrainian music.
Tom Dorgan, tomdorgan@hotmail.com, graduated from the State University of New York at Oswego with a degree in Secondary Education with minors in History and Anthropology. He really likes music and has enjoyed following Phish tours. He is working at Sumy State University where he teaches conversational English to third and forth year students.