Luigi Zeccardo served in Peace Corps Fiji Group 91 from 2014-2016. Group 91’s program was The Community Health Empowerment Project (CHEP) focusing on health education and capacity-building.  Luigi was placed on the Island of Koro, working at the health center in the Village of Nasau. Luigi is currently working in the Office of Safety and Security at Peace Corps HQ in Washington D.C.

Seokmin Kim served as a Youth Empowerment Worker from 2014-2016 with Group 91. With the Community Health Empowerment Project (CHEP), he focused on health education and capacity-building. He worked at Nadarivatu Primary School in Nadala Village (Nadarivatu District) and is currently getting a Masters in Environmental Management from the Nicholas School of the Environment with Duke University at Durham, NC.

Madeleine Pennock served in Peace Corps Fiji Group 91 from 2014-2016. Group 91’s program was The Community Health Empowerment Project (CHEP) focusing on health education and capacity-building.  Madeleine was placed in the capital city of Suva, working with the Ministry of Youth and Sports.  Madeleine traveled around Fiji facilitating youth empowerment camps. Madeleine is currently working at United States Citizenship and Immigration Services as an Immigration Officer. 

Cynthia Grant was a Fiji IX volunteer from 1971-1975.  Cynthia was assigned to Koro Junior Secondary School, Lelean Memorial School, Nuasori as a Math teacher. She is currently residing in Washington, DC.

Paul was a Fiji 24 volunteer from 1975 - 1977.  He was assigned to the Suva Grammar School, Adi Cakobau School (Savani). Paul was a Secondary Education Teacher in Math and English. He currently lives in Palo Alto, CA and leads the Global Alliances at Red Hat, Inc. He is trying to establish a FoFiji group here in the Bay Area with Fiji RPCVs and local Fijians. Paul is active with the ACS Old Girls and Crystal Queens.

Betty Ansin Smallwood served in Peace Corps Fiji Group IV from 1969-1971. Group IV’s program was Elementary and Secondary Education providing classroom teachers primarily in remote and hard-to-serve areas. Betty was placed on the island of Gau (in Lomaiviti), and taught 5^th grade at Navukailagi District School as a new teacher. She has been working in the field of ESL education ever since, teaching students (ages 5-55) and teachers (PK-12) in the US and around the world. Dr. Smallwood was the Director of PK-12 ELL Education at the Center for Applied Linguistics, in Washington, DC, where she is now a Senior Fellow. Betty is semi-retired and has returned to teaching!  She lives in Bethesda, MD.

David Downes was a Volunteer in the first Peace Corps Fiji group (1967-1969). He taught English at Navua High School and edited “SA!”, the PCV newsletter.  He was then on the PC staff from 1970 to 1985 as a trainer, recruiter, selection/placement officer, South Pacific Regional Program Officer (based in Suva), policy/planning and program analyst, and senior management staff member.  David, a founding member and former president of the Friends of Fiji board of directors, is retired and lives with his wife Willa (also a Fiji 1 RPCV) in Fairfax, VA.

Adriane Kline served on the island of Waya in the village of Yalobi from 2014-2016 as a part of Group 91. Working within the framework of a Community Health Empowerment Project, she taught life skills and healthy living courses to students at a primary school, completed a USAID water project, and partnered with the Ministry of Health by developing and conducting Non-Communicable Disease outreach programs with the local nursing staff. Adriane is currently living in Nashville, TN where she is finalize plans to start graduate school in pursuit of an MPH in the fall of 2018. 

John Cortright served in Peace Corps Fiji Group 92 from 2015-2017. Group 92’s program was The Community Youth Empowerment Project (CYEP) focusing on health education and capacity-building. John was placed in the Ministry of Education to build teacher capacity and implement a national health curriculum. He resided in the capital, Suva. John is currently in Washington D.C. assisting Friends of Fiji with our 50th Anniversary Celebration preparations.

Jay was a Fiji XXI volunteer in 1974 through 1976.  He was assigned to the Architects Section of the Public Works Department in Suva, where he worked on projects for the Ministry of Health, including some rural nursing stations, and the maternity wing at CWM hospital.  Jay met a young island beauty named Joanna Kleimann in Suva and they recently celebrated their 40 anniversary.  Work has taken them from California to the Marshall Islands, Japan, and finally to Annapolis MD.  He currently works for the Department of Veterans Affairs in DC.

Anne Baker served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Fiji group 56 from January 1985 until December 1986, then trained Fiji group 62 through January 1987. She was in the Education program, teaching Form VI physics and maths and Form V physical science at Lomaivuna High School (Naitasiri, Viti Levu). Anne moved to the Washington, DC area in 1996 to take a position with National Peace Corps Association, where she is currently Vice President. She started the Peace Corps trend in her family; six members/spouses over three generations have since served as volunteers, including her father and (currently) her niece.