 Good afternoon. I'm Susan Collins, the John and Sanford Wildeam here at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and I'm just delighted to see all of you with us this afternoon. It's a great honor for us to welcome back to the University of Michigan, Carrie Hesler-Radelet, who is the Acting Director of the Peace Corps. Before I begin, and I will introduce her more formally in a moment, I did want to acknowledge that there are a number of very special members of our audience, a number of returned Peace Corps volunteers, and this is a special partnership for the Ford School, and more generally for the University, and a wonderful set of dimensions that adds to the school to our engagement in so many different ways. In particular, I wanted to note that the Ford School's Towsley Policymaker in Residence, Richard Boucher, is a returned Peace Corps volunteer, and also the manager of our Education Policy Initiative, Mahima Madhavan, is also a returned Peace Corps volunteer, and so them, as well as all of the many others who are here in our audience, I wanted to thank you for your very important service and for your continued contributions as part of the Peace Corps and all that it entails. I'd also like to thank John Bryce Berger, who, with the International Center, has really helped us to pull this event together, and again we enjoy partnering in many, many ways with the Center, and so thank you for your leadership and for being here today. Well, a returned Peace Corps volunteer herself, Carrie, is something of a legacy in the Peace Corps community. As many here may know, both Carrie and her husband, Steve Rowlett, who I had the pleasure of meeting many, many years ago, both of them are returned Peace Corps volunteers. They served in Western Samoa from 1981 to 1983. That's right. Carrie's aunt, I understand, was the 10,000 Peace Corps volunteer and served in Turkey, and both of her grandparents served in Malaysia, and so that really is quite an important legacy. Well, her nephew is a student at the Ford School, one of our MPP students, Jimmy Shwaidouin, and he's very disappointed that to be here today, following in the broader legacy of global engagement. He is at the moment involved in a research project in Malawi, but I understand that his father is here, and so welcome. And so, again, it really is an extended family and one that we're very proud of. Well, since earning her master's degree in health policy and management from Harvard School of Public Health, Carrie really has devoted her energies to improving the lives of others, particularly in communities affected by HIV AIDS. Prior to her return to the Peace Corps, she directed the D.C. Office of John Snow Incorporated, which is a global health research and consulting firm. And as a Johns Hopkins fellow with USAID, she assisted the Indonesian government in implementing its first national aid strategy. She was the primary author of PEPFAR's first strategic plan under President George W. Bush, and then President Obama appointed Carrie as Deputy Peace Corps Director in 2010. And it was in that capacity that she visited Ann Arbor. We did a celebration that I know many in the room were engaged with to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, which, of course, was launched on our very own steps of the Michigan Union. And some of you may have taken a copy of the monograph that we prepared after the symposium that we did as part of that 50th anniversary, and I encourage you to take a look at Carrie's remarks during that symposium, which I think were very relevant then and as present today as well. Well, now she returns to us as the Acting Director, and she is leading the Peace Corps' first-ever assessment to prepare our next century's volunteers for successful international engagement. And I suspect we'll hear a little bit about that from her today. So I'd like to remind the audience that if you have questions, there are cards that were passed out as you came in, and we will have Ford School volunteers who will be making the rounds a little bit later today to collect those cards. With the help of Mahima as well as some of our Ford School returning Peace Corps volunteer students, we'll read your questions later on in the program. And if you're watching online, and I hope many of you are, please tweet your questions to us and use the hashtag policy talks. With that, it is my great pleasure to welcome the Director of the Peace Corps Acting Director, Carrie. Welcome. Thank you. Am I mic'd up enough? Can you hear me? There we go. It's really a privilege to be here. Great fun to be back in my home state of Michigan. I'm a Michigander. I'm way up north. I am delighted with my entire day here. We just signed a memorandum of understanding with the School of Information, which is our 11th agreement that we have with the University of Michigan. We're so excited. It's a real privilege to be here at the Ford School of Public Policy, and I am so very grateful to Dean Collins for all of her incredible work at the helm of this institution. And to thank you, I would like to present you with this Peace Corps coin. Oh my goodness. Commemorative coin also can be used as a paper weight. Something useful. It has no currency value. Well, it has a very special value. Exactly. So anyway, thank you so much. Thank you very much. U of M is such a great partner always. So thank you for that warm welcome, and I want to just acknowledge a few people who are so fantastic and instrumental to the success of our program here at the University of Michigan. First I want to mention Beth Sobolewski, who leads the Peace Corps Fellows Program at the Ford School, and to all of the Masters International and Fellows coordinators for all of the schools around here, around the University of Michigan. As I said, we have 11 agreements with seven schools, and that's extraordinary. I believe that is the largest partnership that we have with any university. So I just want to clap my hands for all of you. I want to thank John Greisberger, my old friend, and Bill Nolting at the International Center for all of their dedicated management of the International Center, and for helping keep Michigan in the top 10. I think this year you were at least the top tier. You were number three this year, is that right? University of Michigan? Four. Sorry. Four. Four. Next year it will be number one. Anyway, Michigan is always one of our top schools, and you all are so much a part of that. I also want to acknowledge Ambassador Richard Boucher, who Dean Collins just mentioned, who, along with being policymaker in residence, has also returned Peace Corps Volunteer. And I understand that we have Travis Gagnio from the Office of Congressman John Dingell, and Congressman Dingell's support has been so critical to Peace Corps throughout the years, so we're delighted to have him as well. It's really an honor to take place in the policy talks here, and such a pleasure to return to the University of Michigan, where you know that Peace Corps is proud to trace our roots. Nearly every member of the extended Peace Corps family knows by heart the prologue to our story. That is what happened here on this campus more than a half century ago, when President John F. Kennedy, or then Senator John F. Kennedy, climbed the steps at the Michigan Union in the wee hours of the night to deliver a spontaneous campaign speech to 5,000 students who were waiting for him. It was 2 a.m. It was here that Kennedy challenged America's youth to serve their nation by serving others around the world. It was here that Kennedy inspired a call to action, heartfelt, honest, and inspirational, striking a nerve with thousands of students who had waited up to hear him offering an idea and a vision that they wouldn't let go. It was here that the Michigan difference forever became a part of the Peace Corps story. It's a story that began as a bold experiment. At the time of its creation, Peace Corps was a model for overseas engagement that was entirely unknown and untested. And many, many said that it would never work. In fact, Sergeant Shriver is fond of saying that the reason that his brother-in-law, President Kennedy, appointed him to be the first director of the Peace Corps is because he wasn't quite sure this Peace Corps thing would work out and it would be easier to fire his relative than a political appointee. Yet the idea of Peace Corps, the idea that a small group of people, volunteers could serve their country in the cause of peace, struck a chord, first in Ann Arbor and then throughout the world. Since then more than a quarter million Peace Corps volunteers, including more than 2,500 University of Michigan graduates, have served in 139 countries around the world, tackling some of the world's most important challenges, from public health to food security to climate change to fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs. Peace Corps has always made the biggest difference at the last mile. Now at this time in history, we are making a name for ourselves at the edge of innovation as well, which is why I'm so excited about our new partnership with the School of Information, to use technology in ways that are new and different in development. As we speak Peace Corps volunteers are helping farmers in Kenya to use mobile technology to connect to markets. We're partnering with the private sector to sponsor business plans in the Dominican Republic for young entrepreneurs. We're promoting improved agricultural practices in Senegal using podcasts. We're furthering gender equality in Georgia using sports. We're designing text messaging platforms to help high school students in Nicaragua learn about reproductive health. In the face of modern day challenges, from HIV AIDS to climate change, we are better positioned than ever to help communities kindle change where it is most needed. As we move forward our charge is to forge a 21st century Peace Corps that bridges the founding ideals with the realities and opportunities of our modern times. I envision a Peace Corps that remains steadfast to its timeless goals, yet poised to harness today's revolutionary tools and technologies. I envision a Peace Corps that makes a measurable impact in the lives of the world's poor showing the world the generosity and the compassion that has always characterized the American people. I envision a Peace Corps that opens doors and changes lives in far away countries but also here at home. I think about volunteers like Mackenzie Knowing, a recent graduate of the Ford School and a recipient of a Coverdell Fellowship, a graduate fellowship that offers financial assistance for return Peace Corps volunteers. Before she came to Ann Arbor, Mackenzie served as an agricultural marketing volunteer in Guatemala teaching community development and business workshops to more than 500 coffee farmers. In the process Mackenzie learned a lot about economic development and coffee but she learned also how to be patient in building relationships how to work independently, how to spark innovation and sustain growth. All skills that she says are just as applicable here in her graduate studies at Ford as they were in her rural community in Guatemala. The best way we can serve volunteers like Mackenzie is to empower them with the tools and training they need to make a measurable difference in the world. When we talk about the future of the Peace Corps, what's at stake is not just the next chapter of a bold experiment. What's at stake is people's lives, people's potential, people's future here in abroad. Now that's been true from the very beginning of the Peace Corps yet there's no doubt that this is an era that is vastly different than the one in which Peace Corps was conceived. Consider this by the end of 1960 the United Nations had 99 member states. Today it has 193. In 1960 there were 3 billion people on earth. Today there are 7.2 billion. Thanks to technology the nations and peoples of the world are more closely linked than ever before. Now more than ever America's security and economic prosperity is inextricably linked with that of other nations. In a world that has grown simultaneously larger and smaller we have tremendous new opportunities to seize. According to the World Bank the past two decades have brought the most rapid development progress ever witnessed in the history of humankind. Without exception these have been quantified by rising incomes, increasing agricultural productivity and growing life expectancy. Even the poorest countries today have university trained leaders and poverty reduction plans. And our host countries have increasingly high expectations of the Americans who come to their shores. Our host countries expect Peace Corps volunteers will come trained and ready to make a difference in their communities. The work of Peace Corps helping to reduce poverty, fostering economic growth and building relationships in some of the most remote corners of the globe has never been more important. But it needs to be strategic and it needs to demonstrate the impact. In the words of President Kennedy, change is the law of life. Those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. The world has changed and we are changing with it most definitely. I'm here to tell you today that our gaze is fixed decidedly on the future and from that vantage point our belief is that the future of Peace Corps has never been brighter. Over these past four years as Dean Collins mentioned we have carried out the most extensive reform effort this agency has ever undertaken to modernize all aspects of our operations. Already we have dramatically improved the quality of our support for volunteers. We have strategically targeted Peace Corps resources and country departments to maximize impact using data to guide our decision making. And we have streamlined Peace Corps operations by using technology to create a culture of excellence and innovation. These reforms have positioned Peace Corps to make an even greater impact in the years to come. We're not done yet because the kind of change we're talking about takes many many years to accomplish. For starters we're expanding our reach. We recognize that we are no longer the only pathway for service for those who are drawn to international volunteer work. We are no longer the only avenue for college graduates with dreams of changing lives and making a difference. And that is to be celebrated for sure. There should be many ways for Americans to volunteer. There should be many avenues for dreamers and doers who want to make a difference in this world. And Peace Corps service is honestly not for everyone. But for those who are eager to see the world, to step outside their comfort zones, and to become part of something that's far greater than themselves, Peace Corps is the answer. I see Peace Corps as the gold standard for Americans who are drawn to service abroad, who are interested in not only imagining a better world, but in rolling up their sleeves and doing something about it. That's why we're revitalizing recruitment and outreach so that every single American knows about Peace Corps. We want to reignite the passion and characterize the early days of Peace Corps. Not just among volunteers who are already very passionate, but among the American population writ large. So we're embracing new media platforms to tell our story and casting a wider net than ever before. I've challenged our recruitment team to double the number of applications that we received. Not just to increase our reach, but to feel the volunteer force that reflects the rich diversity of the American people and represents the very best of our country. So we're stepping up our efforts to recruit in underrepresented communities in particular, so that our volunteer force represents the beautiful, multicultural nation that we are. And we're streamlining our selection and assignment process from start to finish, creating more transparent and more personalized systems than ever before. So everyone who has drawn to Peace Corps service has the best possible application service experience. Because even though we need a rigorous and competitive selection process to recruit the best and the brightest, it doesn't mean that it has to get mired in bureaucracy. And that's tough with the government. It's really hard. You're fighting a losing battle. But we have thrown down the gauntlet and have undertaken a sweeping reform of our volunteer application and recruitment process, making it easier, quicker, and more customer friendly. By way of review, we're working towards a shorter application. How many of you have filled out a Peace Corps application? How long did it take you? Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Well, we sat down and took the application. And those of us who know the agency, we sat down and took the application, took us eight hours to complete in one sitting. We're changing that now to one hour online application. It's going to change the whole process. And we're also streamlining how long it takes. We hope we have a goal of making sure that people get out the door in six to nine months. So that's a big change. In addition, our new online platform allows applicants to connect with the projects and countries that are interested, that interest them most. So if you go to our Peace Corps website, you'll see a world map. You can click on a bubble which shows a country. You can see what programs are available in that country, what volunteers are doing. Maybe in July there'll be a video of volunteers. You'll be able to see exactly what people are doing. Connect with blogs. Have a testimony from a host country counterpart. We want to make the experience much more interactive and interesting to our applicants. We want to teach people about our countries through the application process. We're very, very excited about this. So this is all new for Peace Corps. We think it's going to enable us to find the best possible candidates for Peace Corps service and therefore really serve our host countries in the best possible way by making the right match. We're working towards a modernized and flexible application and placement service that reflects both the needs of our applicants who have many choices but also our host country partners that really want to see the most experienced and skilled volunteers in place. Meanwhile, we're also transforming the way that we train and support our volunteers. We've undertaken an extensive reform of our program support and technical training for volunteers so that they can make an even larger development impact. Not just for the sake of the communities they serve, but also because we know that the most fulfilling, transformative experience comes from volunteers who are doing work that makes a real difference in the lives of the community in which they're serving. And as part of that, we're creating partnerships with universities and NGOs and other U.S. government agencies, other donor partners, so that we can match volunteers and align their work with other development efforts in their communities. It's really very exciting. Our volunteers work for the last mile and by working together with other development partners, we're able to ensure that their investments are owned by the community, sustained over time, implemented properly and monitored and evaluated. We're making a real difference at the last mile and we're very excited about that. In addition, our highest priority as an agency is the safety and security of our volunteers and their health as well. That's why we have enacted measures to strengthen the delivery of health systems to improve emergency response and to train volunteers to better assess situations and keep themselves and each other safe. That's a huge priority for us. We've created new Office of Victim Advocacy to support volunteers who become victims of crime. And we're also reinforcing our support for return Peace Corps volunteers who are continue to experience persistent health problems by expanding our post-service unit. So the health and safety of our volunteers is really our top priority. From recruitment to training to volunteer support, Peace Corps is stronger, more strategic and more ready than ever to meet the needs of the 21st century. But 53 years after our founding, I think we have to ask the question, is Peace Corps still relevant? And I'd like to answer that question by starting with a story. About a year ago, a little over a year ago, I had an opportunity to meet with Alpha Conde who is the president of the independent nation of Guinea, a small country in West Africa. He was invited to the United States by President Obama who was celebrating democracy in West Africa. So it's quite common for heads of Peace Corps countries when they come to the United States to request an audience with the Peace Corps director. And so I went and met with him. And it was a very formal sort of meeting. We sat down and we exchanged pleasantries. In my case, I thanked him for providing such a warm welcome to the Peace Corps volunteers that had served in Guinea. And for his point, he thanked us for the many years of Peace Corps service to his countrymen and women. And we exchanged little tokens of appreciation and I thought at that point that the meeting was over because he had a meeting with President Obama in just about 45 minutes. So I leapt to my feet thinking that the meeting was over. He was still seated on the couch. And he looked up at me. He put his hand on my elbow and he said, please, now that we've dispensed with the formalities, I'd like to speak to you from my heart. And this is what he said. When I was a young man, I lived in a small village in Central Guinea. And there was a Peace Corps volunteer who lived next door to me. His name was Joe. And he was an agroforestry volunteer. And he would work with the farmers all night. But in the evenings, he would come home and open his house to anyone, any of the students who wanted homework help. He had a kerosene lantern, plenty of kerosene. So students would come every night. He would help them with their English, with their French, with their bath, and with their science. And President Condi said, I went nearly every day. And at the end of about two years, it was time for me to take my university entrance exam. It's a national exam that all West African students have to take. And because of his help, I passed that exam. I was one of four people in my country that had passed the exam that year. I am confident that I would not have passed that exam without his help. But not only that, he helped me find the right university. I qualified for government scholarship because I had passed the exam. He helped me learn how to shop in a modern supermarket. He helped me celebrate holidays. His family became my family. And he's a lifelong friend to this day. I know that I would not be president if it weren't for his love and encouragement because he was the first person I can remember who ever believed that I had a future outside the boundaries of my village. But more important than his impact on my life, which was profound, was the impact of your volunteers on the lives of my people. Over the last six months I've been traveling to over 300 villages around my country. I went to villages way out east which is where Sierra Leone and Liberia come together with Guinea. It's sort of considered the Wild West although it's safe. He said, my own campaign staff wouldn't go out there with me. But there were Peace Corps volunteers there. I went way up north which is near the boundaries of Mali. It's very dry, doesn't rain for 10 months out of the year. Not much variation in the diet. He said to this day I don't have a pre-fee which is like a district governor. But there are Peace Corps volunteers there. I go to the central part of my country and there's a modern road there so it's easy for NGOs to get to that part of my country. He said they come, a lot of the large NGOs come and they do good work. They bring bags of cement, maybe they build a school, they bring food aid, they do trainings which are valuable. But at the end of the day they hop back in their big white SUVs and drive back to Conagry. And Peace Corps volunteers they stay. By your presence you tell me and you tell my people that the United States of America cares about my people. That we are so important to you that you're willing to leave everything that is near and dear to you. Your homes, your family, your friends. And come and live among us as one. To speak our language even though some of our languages are not written down. To eat our food even though it makes your belly sick. To learn our languages and our culture to work on our priorities side by side. Our priorities not your priorities. By your presence you validate us more than the millions of dollars that your country has sent to my country over the past 50 years. You validate us because we are family to you. You give us a hand up and not a hand out. And that makes all the difference. Now I hear the story at every trip I make and I just got back from West Africa two days ago. Sometimes it's a president, it's often a president. There are 12 presidents in Africa alone that credit their start to a Peace Corps volunteer. But sometimes it's a mayor, a taxi driver, a minister, a mom. All who felt that their lives were transformed by a Peace Corps volunteer. Sometimes four decades have passed since the last time that person saw their volunteer and yet they can tell me everything about that person. It's amazing. The interesting thing is that most Peace Corps volunteers don't feel that they made an impact. We all question that. Did I really do something of worth? And I'm here to tell you that you have. Maybe not in the way you think. I have no idea if Joe was a great agro forester. No idea. But I do know that he inspired the president of Guinea, a country that is democratic, it's fragile. But it has, it's oriented towards the United States. It shares our values. It has positive perceptions of the United States. And he credits his start to a Peace Corps volunteer. Most of us feel that we got more than we gave. And I think that that's the magic of Peace Corps. It's the incredible synergy that happens. The whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. And that's why in the 21st century I really believe that Peace Corps is more relevant than ever before. Our first goal is to help the people of interested their needs for trained men and women. It's a development goal. It's a capacity building goal. Although the past 50 years have demonstrated the period of largest transformation in terms of development progress in the years, billions of people still live in heart-wrenching poverty in conditions that breed instability and foster hopelessness. We spend billions of dollars each year trying to quell insurgencies and combat violence. Not to mention the millions of lives that are lost because of violence and war. Peace Corps works to reduce poverty, to foster economic and social justice, and prevent terrorism by engendering hope at the lowest levels of the community in the small villages and towns across the globe. At the last 10 miles where most development agencies, even most host governments, rarely reach and we're doing so at a fraction of the cost, consider the work of a volunteer named Ian Hennessey. He's a volunteer in Senegal. Following the tragic death of his neighbor's young child his neighbor was his best friend, his name was Sheikh Mohammed, was his best friend, who was a, Sheikh and Ian were community health volunteers and they worked together. And Sheikh had a four-year-old niece whose name was Jenaba, and Jenaba was the apple of his eye. Jenaba died of malaria. They were absolutely devastated. How could this have happened? They had just completed a bed net campaign that blanketed their community and yet Jenaba died of malaria. Well actually the community health team knew what, knew the reasons. They knew that malaria was accepted as a normal part of life in rural Senegal. That people just accepted the symptoms of malaria and so there's a latent reservoir right there. So the people, a mosquito bit a neighbor who had malaria and then it bit Jenaba. Jenaba died. So they developed a very innovative what we call proactive case detection approach. What they did is they went house to house once a week and they asked people in their community or in their each household do you have signs and symptoms of malaria? Do you have a headache? Do you have a fever? Do you have achy bones? Are you nauseous? And if they did they used a rapid diagnostic test kit that was given to them by the National Malaria Control Program. They tested the person on the spot for malaria and if they were positive for malaria they gave them co-artum which is the drug for malaria on the spot. In one rainy season there was a 90% reduction in malaria incidents in that village. And we know that because the centers for disease control did a study, a baseline study of this approach Ian went to Peace Corps and said I want to do this proactive case detection our country director said we'll go talk to the Centers for Disease Control let's see if they're up for it. And they created a case control model where we were able to document that incredible reduction in malaria incidents. So then we thought well maybe this approach is very small one village let's see what happens if we do five villages. So we set up another case control study. Five proactive case detection villages and five control villages. Same result in this case it was 88% reduction. Now right now we're doing on a district level we've got 17 volunteers and thousands of community health workers and they're helping to reduce malaria incidents in rural Senegal. They are actually contemplating the possibility of a malaria free state in southeastern Senegal for the first time ever. They're making a difference they're saving lives you know it's so rare that any of us can say we saved a life. Well Ian and Shayk they save lives. It's just one example of how Peace Corps volunteers are making a meaningful difference in partnership with others. In this case Ian partnered with the National Malaria Control Program of Senegal and with the Centers for Disease Control Peace Corps' second goal is to promote a better understanding of other peoples on the parts of Americans. These are the relationships that every Peace Corps volunteer fosters with their community. They are deep and powerful and profound and they are I think at the heart of every volunteer experience. I want you to consider the story of Martha Fedorowitz who's a University of Michigan graduate who is a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco. What she has learned in her time working with youth through computer classes and life skills training she says includes not just recognizing what others around the world don't have but acknowledging what they do have and learning to build off of those capacities. If the United States wants to make friends in an increasingly interconnected world we need to develop strong personal relationships with host country nationals not just the leaders of those countries but also the citizens of those countries. Peace Corps volunteers are the face of our country overseas not only among the leaders of the country, the rich the well educated are the powerful but they are the face of our nation among the vulnerable, the underserved those with untapped potential. People like Sheik and the young Alpha Konde who could be a catalyst for good in their community if only in the opportunity. Through the relationships our volunteers build with their communities they ensure that our partner nations share our values have positive perceptions of the United States and want to interact in a productive and positive way not only with our nations but the nations of the world. They're helping to create a much more stable environment and that's a good thing. Peace Corps third goal is to promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. This is the hardest to capture and this is what all of you return Peace Corps volunteers do every day. In a global age America really needs to have globally competent citizens people can engage effectively with other countries and thrive even as our own country is becoming increasingly diverse. We need people who can speak other language, who can understand other perspectives and can navigate across cultural divides especially the cultural divides within our own country. I ask you who is more competent than a Peace Corps volunteer who spent two years living and working immersed in the language and culture of another country who's worked side by side in their priorities. These Peace Corps volunteers are future leaders. These are all of you. You are our future leaders and the ripple effect of your Peace Corps service goes with you wherever you go for the rest of your life and there are some of you there who I know that have served 50 years ago and your life every single day has benefited from the fact that you're a Peace Corps volunteer and your communities benefit as well. I think about some of the return Peace Corps volunteers on campus here. People like John who's a Peace Corps volunteer Louise Baldwin also at the University of Michigan International Center who both helped enormously in our wonderful 50th anniversary celebration and who every single day continue to inspire people around them with their global outlook and their concern for others. We're so fortunate to have them among our mists. Or there's Marie Rock who's a graduate of University of Michigan who was inspired to apply for Peace Corps because she knew other return Peace Corps volunteers. And this is what she says, upon meeting a return volunteer for the first time I always felt amazed by the amount of guts they had. When I asked if they liked their service I usually received a small quiet smile. Now well into our service as a health volunteer at Cameroon. Marisa says, I understand what is behind that thoughtful smile. A world of cultural exchange, lifelong friendships, exciting professional breakthroughs and travel opportunities. That is all that is after all what is so inspiring about the Peace Corps. Two years of pushing boundaries, redefining comfort zones and endless learning. From helping people of our developing nation tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our times to building bridges between our nations and others to bringing home the dividends of Peace Corps service, we believe that Peace Corps remains one of America's best ideas. And what's the price tag for all this? One dollar for every American is our total annual budget. One dollar for every American. I believe that Peace Corps is one of America's most cost effective investments and we remain as committed as ever to proving the return on the investment to Congress and to return Peace Corps volunteers to our host nations and to the American people. People ask me why I'm so passionate about Peace Corps. Why is it that I'm so excited about it? Because I am truly passionate about Peace Corps. And I tell you that every day every single day I meet someone whose life has been changed by Peace Corps. Just last month I had a conversation with a guy named Vick. He had recently returned. He was in Malawi. He served with his wife Adrian and they lived in a small village near Lake Malawi. And he was a math teacher and Adrian was a health educator. And they had a small house in the center of town and because they had a modern American relationship he would help with household chores even though that was considered women's work in Malawi. So he would help with the cleaning and the cooking and he would even sometimes help with the laundry which is really a drag. And then on the weekends they would ride bikes around town and they would explore their countryside and really learn to know the village that they came to call home. So Vick was a teacher in high school and he taught math and on the last day what he told me actually what I said to him is Vick do you feel like you had an impact? Because I'm always interested in people whether or not they feel they've had an impact. And this is what he said to me. He said as he was packing up his house one of his shyest students came by and this was a student who hardly ever spoke in class. And so he was sort of surprised that this guy had even come by because he barely spoke. But this time he had something he wanted to say and this is what he had to say. He said Mr. Vick when I grow up I want to treat my wife like you treat yours. I see how you treat her, how you treat Miss Adrienne and that's how I want to treat my wife with love and respect. Now I have no idea if Vick was a good math and science teacher but I know that that young man's future wife is going to be really grateful to Vick for showing him a different path of how to be a man in a society where women are often not considered equal partners. That's just one example. You never really know where your impact is going to come. That's the power of Peace Corps. Our stories, the stories of volunteers are really stories of hope and of potential. They show what's possible when willing communities and committed hardworking men and women come together to make positive change across the globe. Working side by side to make a better future in the world that we all share. In the 21st century in the face of this, you know, fractured, difficult environment that we face out there, Peace Corps still makes a difference quietly every single day. And that's why Peace Corps matters now and into the future. So thank you very much and I'm happy to take any questions you might have. Thank you so much Kerry for coming here to speak at the Ford School about a program that I love and plenty of memories that I cherish. So thank you so much. My name is Nathan Geyer. I am a RPCV from Peru served in 2010 through 2012 and I'm a current MPP student here at the Ford School of Public Policy. And we met in Peru. Yes we did. We met in Peru. It was a lovely time. Yeah. So our first question is many Peace Corps country programs and partnerships with universities in country to help train volunteers in technical and cultural knowledge both prior to and during their service. What plans does a Peace Corps have for fostering relationships between its partner universities in the United States with these partner universities in Peace Corps host countries? That is a very good question. We have a new approach to technical training and program support called Focus in Train Up. So basically we have taken all the various things that Peace Corps volunteers do and really have tried to focus on those areas that have proven through evidence to be most effective at achieving development impact. And in each of our six sectors we have six sectors. I'll just mention them. Health, education agriculture, environment, youth development, and community economic development. In each of those sectors we have partners both here in this country and then in the countries where we work. I just returned from Benin, West Africa. I got back on Monday actually. And when I was there I visited a phenomenal Eco Green Village. It's a completely community sustainable village called Song-Ai which is supported by universities in Benin but also is supported by some of the universities here. It's an incredible place that is really a development innovation lab. And so one thing that Peace Corps can do is bring partners together. Peace Corps volunteers have a great opportunity to identify potential. And so they're often able to bring groups of people that would not ordinarily interact together. Another thing that's important is that Peace Corps volunteers can identify potential among rural individuals that may have promise in a way that others aren't. So we're very actively involved in YALI which is Young African's Leadership Initiative which is a big initiative of our government. The International Visitors Leadership Program. A lot of programs that bring international students and professionals to the United States for exchange. We're able to identify people that would normally not be engaged in that at all. Oftentimes it's only the urban, it's the well connected who get to participate in these programs. We're actually able to bring university students from some of the lesser known universities into these programs that then connect with university programs here. So I think that's a different way that we're able to engage. And then I think third of all is just through some of our initiatives in our sectoral areas. We have partners that are experts in agriculture and we have partners that are experts in health. I could imagine for example, I would really love actually to talk to the folks at the School of Public Health here about the possibility of having a fellows program at the School of Public Health because we work with universities of public health around the globe in all of our Peace Corps countries. And so just to be able to partner public health programs across the globe would be wonderful around the training of volunteers and the actual work on the ground. So I think there are lots of ways in which we can partner. My name is Kelsey Kennedy. I'm also a Master of Public Policy student here at the Ford School and also returned Peace Corps volunteer from Peru 2010 to 2012. I have the next question from the audience. This person asks, what do you think is the most tangible long term benefit of the Peace Corps 50 plus year effort? I would say all of you return Peace Corps volunteers in this room and actually I would like you to stand up. Stand up. I'll return Peace Corps volunteers. It's tangible long term impact of Peace Corps. Without question. Our next question is, do you foresee any new programs opening up that reflect new global trends such as volunteers specializing in IT or technological skills? You know, all of our volunteers are incredibly technosavvy, far more than I am. Just when I think I've mastered something, it becomes, you know, my son says, oh mom, this is so yesterday. But our volunteers know how to use technology emerging technology and that's one reason why I'm really excited about this new partnership with the School of Information. We just recently just in case you weren't there earlier today when we had our signing. We had four of the students from the School of Information that came out to Peace Corps and spent an alternative spring break with us and they helped us to develop some apps for Peace Corps volunteer use. Our volunteers are using technology in every sector, in every country. And they're doing it without a lot of, let's say, without our bureaucracy. We don't want to tamper too much because we'll ruin it, frankly. You don't want to get the US government involved in trying to manage the social media of our Peace Corps volunteers. But they're doing tremendous things really. And I really think this is the new horizon. I think that what is going to separate countries that are developed from those that are emerging is the technology divide. And our volunteers are really interested and they seem opportunities for development in each of their communities. I was, where was I? I guess it was when I was in Ghana, where there was a statistic that showed that there were more people who had cell phones that had latrines in Ghana. And I think that's true in many countries around the world. And the fastest growing mobile cell market is in Africa in this world today. So technology is part of all our work. We do have new initiatives. We're always doing new things. Just last year we launched the Global Health Service Partnership, which is a new initiative to bring doctors and nurses into Peace Corps service to serve for one year. We're teaching in medical schools and nursing schools or clinical hospitals where they do mentoring of health professionals. We're doing it one sixth the cost of other U.S. government agencies. And I believe that they'll be even more effective because they speak the language and understand the culture. We're very excited about that new program. So those are some of the innovations. And also we're entering new countries. We're just about to enter Kosovo and we just passed our congressional notification and we haven't signed the country agreement yet. So it's not complete but it will happen soon. So we look at all sorts of opportunities in terms of countries where we can serve but also in terms of new technical areas. We take our lead from our host countries. We are there at their invitation and so we do the kinds of projects that they're asking for. The next question asks, how does Peace Corps fight the negative consequences of globalization such as market dependency, resource extraction, and cultural degradation? Good question. You know it's hard because it is such a global economy now that every single, like I said I was just in Benin. I had a bitter cell phone connection in every part of Benin that I do in Washington DC. Honestly, every time I go across the Roosevelt bridge in Washington my call gets dropped but I was in the most remote corners of Benin and I had a very strong cell phone coverage and they knew what was happening in the world. So I don't actually think that it's possible to stop the globalization but I think what we really are trying to do is to keep people in their villages, helping them to be gainfully employed there, giving opportunity at the local level so they don't feel like they have to migrate into the slums for economic opportunities. And that's why I was really excited to visit this village, this eco village, which was completely sustainable. Every aspect of it. They produced more power than they used. They grew everything they needed. They did value chain production. They made all sorts of products that they sold which they then could use to buy their inputs. It was very exciting. I would say one answer to that would be that we're really trying to create economic and social opportunity in communities so that people can have a satisfying and healthy life in their communities and not feel the need to migrate so much. Also just by the fact that Peace Corps volunteers speak local languages I think is a huge testimony. I was in Togo just last week and there are, Togo is a tiny little country it's about the size of Delaware and there are more than 70 languages there. We teach 40 different languages in Peace Corps. Over the whole world we teach more than 200 different languages and the fact that our volunteers can learn local phrases and interact with people in their own language really amazes them. We had a 50th anniversary event at Togo a couple weeks ago and there were a bunch of Peace Corps volunteers who stood up as part of the program and spoke in the language that they had been instructed. Most of which and it was attended by a whole bunch of ministers and the president and what have you. It was a very formal occasion marking our 50th anniversary. The ministers were amazed that they heard Peace Corps volunteers speaking languages that they themselves had not heard spoken in the capital for years. And I think that's probably the best validation. That's what the Alpha Conde story is all about is that we validate them by learning their language and learning their culture and wanting to know about their holidays and being so interested in them. That's very validating. Our next question is what do you see as the most difficult challenges that face the Peace Corps today? Are there issues that keep you up at night as you look forward? The most difficult challenges you know I want to avoid just saying budget although budget is an issue we are very constrained by our budget. We can only grow as much as we have budget for. You know the world it's interesting because I think many people think that the world is a more violent place than it used to be but in fact that's not true. All research has shown that in fact the world is a much less violent place but the thing that keeps me up at night is volunteer safety without question. Health and safety is my biggest concern always. It's what keeps me up at night every night. I have so much confidence in our volunteers to adapt from a development perspective. They are constantly innovating. I'm amazed every time I go to the field to see what they're doing so I don't have concerns in that area. I'm not concerned about getting recruits because we always get amazing volunteers although I have challenged our team to double the size of our applications double the number of applications. I think that Americans are by definition a generous and compassionate people who are interested in the rest of the world so I believe that we're going to always get the people that we need. We have the ability of having a diverse workforce that really reflects our multicultural nation but the thing that keeps me up at night is health and safety. Even though I've had my own folks do this research the truth of the matter is and we just have an epidemiologist on our staff who has run the numbers and we have found that actually in terms of risk and mortality is actually your chances are better as being a Peace Corps volunteer than living in the United States. If we comparing the reports that's actually true. That's actually true. I just got the numbers yesterday. On the subject of recruitment another audience member asks I'm currently a junior at the University of Michigan considering the Peace Corps what would you say to prospective students weighing the Peace Corps against other options in the private or public sectors? I guess what I would say is what is your objective to get out of it? What do you want out of the experience? There are many options out there and probably depends on how much you want to immerse yourself in the culture and work on the priorities of your community. If you're really interested in getting in there, learning another language intensively, living a life that resembles that of your neighbors working on their priorities and growing yourself through that process then I would say Peace Corps is for you. It's not without its hardships. It's definitely not for everyone. If you want to be in a capital city and have access to the nearest movies probably Peace Corps is not your thing but if you want to connect in a deeply profound way with members of that community in a way that's really hard if you're in a capital city and if you don't speak the language. I would say Peace Corps would be for you and if you are interested in development and think you'd like to go on to a career in international development or diplomacy I would say also Peace Corps will definitely give you a head start. So it depends on what your goals are. Once again thank you. We had plenty of great questions from the audience and from Twitter but unfortunately we are running out of time so this is going to be our last question. Do you have any advice for someone submitting their Peace Corps application this weekend? That's my answer. Do it. Yeah. Okay. Thank you so much Harry that was wonderful. Our audience for joining us for all of the questions. I hope that you will join us again on Monday. Ambassador Richard Boucher will be doing another policy talks on Networks to Policy and we would love to see all of you here for that. I hope you'll continue this conversation. We have a reception out in our great hall so please stay and continue the discussion. Our guest will be joining us. And last but not least, please join me in a final thank you for Acting Director Kerry. Thank you so much.