July 2025 From the Field
By Jeanette Gottlieb
THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN!
In exactly two months and two days we will meet in Washington, D.C. for our last Reunion/Conference. If you have not yet registered, it is time to do so. Some of you have made hotel reservations but have not registered and some have registered but have not booked your hotel room. Please don”t delay in completing your plans. The program and registration form are available on our web site at peacecorpsiran.org. Final numbers for out caters will be needed around September 15th and that will be here very soon.
The conference co-chairs Skip Auld and Brad Hanson have worked long and hard to make this an exceptional event. Plenary and breakout session coordinators have put together extraordinary panels and speakers. Best of all we will have an opportunity to see old friends and to meet in person some of the names we only know from zoom meetings or our publications.
This Reunion/Conference also marks the beginning of the process to disband PCIA in 2026. There will be a session to discuss next steps and to examine ways to maintain what we have built without the umbrella of PCIA. The Board of PCIA has worked diligently to preserve our legacy and hopefully you have each placed items and stories in the Museum of the Peace Corps Experience and your letters and original documents in the Peace Corps Archive at American University.
If you have received your latest edition of World View magazine, you will be aware that NPCA and Peace Corps are emphasizing the Third Goal. During this, our final year of PCIA, we should document how Peace Corps service in Iran changed our lives and how it has paid dividends for the US. Some of those dividends may be as simple as inspiring others to join the Peace Corps or sharing our experiences with grade school children. For others the dividends to the US came in academic careers, the Foreign Service,or work in international organizations. Genna’s book, Land Between Two Waters, documented Peace Corps Iran but it is up to each of us to document the lasting impact of service.
Download this as a PDF file by clicking HERE.