The Global Presenters program is a collaborative effort between the Center for Diversity Education and the WNC Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs). This free program provides global presenters to K -12 classrooms in Western North Carolina. RPCVs are trained to apply effective and age-appropriate strategies to:
- Give students the opportunity to engage in cultural exploration and thought provoking dialogue.
- Help them gain an understanding of our diverse world, its peoples, and the shared responsibility for global sustainability.
- Give them a broad range of diverse perspectives as they begin to discover their own worldview.
The RPCVs' 2 years or more of international living experience give them a unique set of intercultural communication skills, stories to share, and personal connections to communities in distant places.
Here are just some of the ways you can use Global Presenters:
- Cultural presentations
- Global citizen talks
- Participation in Career Fairs and International Days
- Making connections to 21st century themes like global awareness, world languages, cross‑cultural communication, collaboration, service learning, civic literacy, environmental literacy, public health, and entrepreneurship
- Making connections to other countries, classrooms, development projects, and service learning
To request a Global Presenter, contact the program coordinator, Margaret Davis, at [email protected] who will connect teachers and volunteers.
Learn more about the Global Presenters by reading their profiles below.
Margaret Davis
"One of the goals of the Peace Corps is 'To bring the world back home.' I take this quite seriously and feel that we can help young people to discover the world beyond their own environment and inspire them to learn about other cultures and areas of the world."
Years served: 1967-1969
NC Residence: Buncombe County
Country of PC service: Sierra Leone
Global Area of Expertise: Education, Teacher Training
Employment or professional experience: Juvenile Justice, Training Design and Development, Training of Trainers
Experience and active interests in other countries/continents: Have traveled extensively in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia
Languages: Some French, Some Spanish
WNC local areas of interest/connections: Hiking, Gardening, Teaching at OLLI, Global Education Coordinator for WNC RPCVs
School audience age group preference: Any
Contact Margaret:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (828) 254-4522
Dr. Jack Allison
"My three years with the US Peace Corps were the most meaningful of my life, until I met my wife, Sue Wilson. Peace Corps is also forever, for I have returned to Malawi for an AIDS awareness/education/project in 1994, 2005 & 2008. I relish sharing my experiences in Africa."
NC Residence: Buncombe County
Countries of PC service: Malawi, Central Africa
Years served: 1967-1969
Global Area of Expertise: Medicine/Public Health
Current Employment/Profession: Physician, Department of Emergency Care, Western Carolina University; also 21st Century Radiation Oncology
Employment or professional experience: Sterling Distinguished Professor & Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University; President, American College of Emergency Physicians nationally; Chair of the Board, Emergency Medicine Foundation; Chair, CECBEMS; Chief of Staff, VA Medical Center, Syracuse, NY; Chief of Staff, Charles George VA Medical Center, Asheville, NC
Experience and active interests in other countries/continents: Medicine in Somalia; public health in Malawi, Zambia & Tanzania
Languages: Chichewa; some Swahili; some Spanish
WNC local areas of interest/connections: WNCRPCV Group; Warren Wilson College; HOPE to HOME
School audience age group preference: All
Jeanne Coffin
"I was penpal to a class of fourth graders during my time in Peace Corps. I loved communicating with them, and would love to do so again. They were bright spots to my months, and I felt that we learned from each other."
NC Residence: Buncombe County
Country of PC service: Morocco
Years served: 2008-2010
Global Area of Expertise: Environmental challenges, agriculture, zoonotic disease
Current Employment/Profession: Veterinary Assistant
Employment or professional experience: Research assistant
Experience and active interests in other countries/continents: Study in Tanzania, travel through Southern and East Africa, research in Uganda, Peace Corps in Morocco, travel and friends in the UK and East Asia.
Languages: English, Tamazight, Spanish, Swahili, Arabic
WNC local areas of interest/connections: Agriculture, public health
School audience age group preference: Any
Shannon Cornelius
"When we take the time to learn about how other people live in the world, we allow ourselves to develop compassion and understanding, pretty soon we see only the ways we are similar to others instead of focusing on the differences."
NC Residence: Buncombe County
Country of PC service: Ghana
Years served: 2000-2002
Global Area of Expertise: Public health, Water and sanitation, HIV/AIDS prevention, Health education, Community development, Geography
Employment or professional experience: MSW in non-profit management; experience in Public Health HIV/AIDS programs; experience working in international development with non-profit organizations
Experience and active interests in other countries/continents: Have lived in or traveled extensively in Spain, Germany, Ghana, Cuba and Brazil
Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Twi (Ghanaian language)
WNC local areas of interest/connections: I practice and teach yoga
School audience age group preference: Any
Bruce Frank
"My intensive 2 year experience in the Peace Corps, living and working in another country, was the best experience of my life. I would like to share this with young people and motivate them to have similar experiences."
NC Residence: Buncombe County
Country of PC service: El Salvador
Years served: 1969-1971
Areas of Experience with PC and/or other international organization: Peace Corps – farming, cattle, community projects, cooperatives
United Nations – helping countries to fight poverty and injustice; human resources; management; “people” issues
Employment or professional experience: Peace Corps 1969–1971; Community Organizer – Puerto Rican community – Springfield, MA; United Nations Development Programme – 1972 – 2002; and in retirement – served in Chile, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ethiopia, Thailand, USA, Switzerland; Also served with UN Program on HIV/AIDS; and with UN Regional Program for Africa ESL – 2006 - 2007
Experience and active interests in other countries/continents: Life-long connection with El Salvador, worked on all continents in dozens of countries.
Languages: Spanish, French, some German, Italian and Portuguese
WNC local areas of interest/connections: Lifelong learning, hiking and biking, story-telling, writing, world travel, volunteering with community groups and students
School audience age group preference: 6-12
Sybil Groulx
"I believe strongly in early literacy education and want to continue the Peace Corps goals of sustainability. I also want to reconnect with RPCVs and become actively involved in whatever way I can."
NC Residence: Buncombe County
Countries of PC service: Guatemala; Papua New Guinea
Years served: 1991-1993; 1996-1998
Global Area of Expertise: Guatemala: agriculture, club organization, education; Papua New Guinea: Education (English Teacher), Home Economics, Library Skills
Employment or professional experience: Fabric Designer, Fashion Color Coordinator
Experience and active interests in other countries/continents: K-8 English Teacher with special attention to Literacy; Liaison officer between host country and foreign English teaching staff (China, Thailand).
Languages: English, Spanish
WNC local areas of interest/connections: Literacy: 10,000 Villages, Manna Food Bank volunteer
School audience age group preference: K-5, 6-8
Lynn Lederer
"I am passionate about the need for each one of us to be a global citizen and to develop empathy through personal connections with others."
NC Residence: Buncombe County
Countries of PC service: Tunisia 68-70 (TEFL volunteer); Central African Republic 1980-1982 – (Co-Director); Namibia- 1997 (Acting APCD-Education)
Years served: 1968-1970; 1980-1982; 1997
Global Area of Expertise: Education, Health (maternal, newborn and child health, reproductive health, HIV, nutrition), local NGO development, democracy and governance, micro-finance, agriculture (in response to household food insecurity)
Current Employment/Profession: Retired
Employment or professional experience: Sahel Field Office Director – Save the Children US (based in Bamako, Mali, overseeing Save the Children programs in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea (Conakry); Chief of Party of the Health Communication Partnership in Zambia; Chief of Party of Suaahara, an integrated nutrition project in Nepal.
Experience and active interests in other countries/continents: Since my initial Peace Corps experience, I have had the privilege of working with multi-cultural groups both in the U.S. and other parts of the world. After my first Peace Corps experience, I worked for ten years for a high school student exchange program (AFS) which promotes “peace through understanding”. I’ve lived and worked in the Central African Republic (as a co-Director of the Peace Corps along with my husband, Les), Namibia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea (Conakry), Zambia and Nepal. I have helped to backstop (from the U.S.) refugee resettlement and repatriation programs in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Languages: French
WNC local areas of interest/connections: All
School audience age group preference: All
Leslie "Les" Long
"I believe it’s critically important for young people to get a sense of the wider world; to appreciate the diversity, creativity, and vibrancy of other cultures; and to develop a curiosity that will lead them to continue to listen to and inquire about what is happening both locally and beyond."
NC Residence: Buncombe County
Country of PC service: Central African Republic (Co-Director)
Years served: 1980-1982
Global Area of Expertise: Local NGO capacity development, education (school management/capacity development), health (HIV—in particular for most at risk populations), micro-finance
Current Employment/Profession: Retired/Part-time consultant
Employment or professional experience: Africa and Middle East Regional Director, AFS Intercultural Programs; Chief of Party, READ (a local NGO capacity building project) in Namibia, Acting Country Director Mali- World Education; Project Director, Corridors of Hope Zambia -FHI 360, consulting in Bangladesh, Liberia, Guinea, Laos, Indonesia.
Experience and active interests in other countries/continents: I have lived and worked in Ghana, the Central African Republic, Namibia, Mali, Zambia, Nepal and have had intensive involvement with programs in South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Jordan, Israel and Tunisia.
Languages: French
WNC local areas of interest/connections: All
School audience age group preference: All
Charles "Chuck" Moseley
"I hope to share PC experience and philosophy with the community."
NC Residence: Madison County
Country of PC service: Somali Republic (Somalia)
Years served: 1966-1968
Global Area of Expertise: Taught TEFL and other courses in English at Somali middle school and organized various school programs and activities
Current Employment/Profession: Retired
Employment or professional experience: Occupational therapist, hospital management, university professor and department chair (Health Care Administration and Policy)
Experience and active interests in other countries/continents: Traveled in East Africa, Europe, Soviet Union, Turkey, Morocco, Mexico, Canada and China; member Somali RPCV Google group; student of world religions
Languages: English
WNC local areas of interest/connections: SHIPP volunteer; OLLI student and planning committeemember; member, Arboretum, local Audubon chapter and WNC RPCV Association
School audience age group preference: 6-12, college level
Isaiah Mosteller
"Developing strong and deep roots at home allows you to branch out abroad further and more intimately."
NC Residence: Buncombe County
Country of PC service: Marshall Islands (Micronesia)
Years served: 1995-1996
Global Area of Expertise: Teaching/Teacher training
Current Employment/Profession: Student travel/educational tours
Experience and active interests in other countries/continents: Europe and Latin America
Languages: Marshallese, Spanish
WNC local areas of interest/connections: Local music and dance, environmental education, academic themed tourism, Biltmore Estate (I work from home and am often busy with that, but at the same time frequently affords me the freedom to be out of the office).
School audience age group preference: Any
Elizabeth Pou
"I would like children to get exposure to other cultures and would like to share my knowledge of Armenian culture."
NC Residence: Buncombe County
Country of PC service: Armenia
Years served: 2007-2009
Global Area of Expertise: Community, small business development
Current Employment/Profession: Retired
Employment or professional experience: Legal practice, Human Resources executive, management consultant, mediation
Experience and active interests in other countries/continents: travels to Nepal, Rwanda and Botswana for peace building and economic development.
Languages: Armenian
WNC local areas of interest/connections: SCORE volunteer; teacher at Olli Asheville college for seniors; ESOL tutor.
School audience age group preference: K-5
Renee Raffini
“Une bougie ne perd rien en allumant une autre.”
[A candle loses nothing in lighting another candle.]
NC Residence: Buncombe County
Country of PC service: Cameroun
Years served: 1978-1980
Global Area of Expertise: Credit Union Development/Education
Current Employment/Profession: Retired
Employment or professional experience: Financial Economist with SEC for 5 years, taught High School French for 20 years.
Experience and active interests in other countries/continents: Lived/studied in France; daughter lives in Italy, so I travel there often.
Languages: French, a little Spanish, and a little Italian
WNC local areas of interest/connections: OLLI, teaching French, taking piano courses; I sing with the All Souls Cathedral Choir; leading a French conversation group on “meet-up”; Tennis at Asheville Racquet Club, Sister Cities Member (for Saumur group)
School audience age group preference: Any
Paola Salas
"We can’t afford to shelter our youth from the world. If we want a more peaceful, inclusive and tolerant future, we must expose students to other cultures, to spark their interest in diversity, and to allow them to challenge pre-conceived generalizations, from a young age."
NC Residence: Buncombe County
Native Country: Born in Panama City, Panama, and lived there until 17 years old. Returned there to see family every summer.
Areas of Experience with PC and/or other international organization: Education, Community Development, government institutions, comparative politics
Employment or professional experience: Student at UNCA (Political Science and Economics), WC Fellow with Hispanics in Philanthropy, a transitional non-profit that works on Latino issues and building the Latino community in the U.S. and connecting it back to Latin America.
Experience and active interests in other countries/continents: Latin America
Languages you speak: Spanish, French
School audience age group preference: All
Marty Stickle
"I would love to share the excitement of international work with young people."
NC Residence: Buncombe County
Country of PC service: Nigeria
Years served: 1964-1966
Areas of Experience with PC and/or other international organization: Taught biology & chemistry in secondary school and worked on farming experiments during school vacations
Employment or professional experience: High School biology teacher, AB Tech anatomy professor
Experience and active interests in other countries/continents: Traveled to Japan, Africa, NZ, and Australia as well as many European countries and Mexico and South America.
WNC local areas of interest/connections: Work with Hope to Home and Asheville Symphony
School audience age group preference: All
