Madison Pickard hails originally from Washington state, but has been living in Thailand for the past 3 years. She served in Ecuador from ‘16-‘18 where she worked as a teacher trainer in the TEFL program. She will be studying Intercultural Communication and working with the Center for Global Engagement at UMBC.

Latisha Pledger is from Chesapeake, Virginia and went to Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. Latisha served as an education volunteer  in Liberia and was an active member on Peace Corps Liberia’s Gender Committee. Latisha will be studying Community Leadership and working with the Choice Jobs program at UMBC.

Larree Strickland comes from New Orleans and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Samoa as an English Literacy resource teacher. Larree will be studying Social Work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and working with Soccer Without Borders, Baltimore.

Betty Yu will be joining us from Phoenix, Arizona. She was a TEFL and Community Development volunteer in Peace Corps Mongolia. She will be studying for a Masters of Applied Sociology at UMBC and working with the Mayor’s office of Immigrant Affairs.

Andrea Moreno comes from San Antonia, Texas. She served in the Peace Corps in Cameroon as a secondary English teacher. She will be working with the Lakeland Community and STEAM Center and pursuing at Masters of Public Health at the University of Maryland Baltimore.

Allison Mitchell comes originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She served in the Peace Corps in Zambia , where she was a Rural Education Development volunteer. She will be studying for a Masters of Social Work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and working at the Commodore John Rogers Elementary-Middle School.

Taylor Gentry comes from Seattle, Washington. He was an education volunteer in Peace Corps Liberia, and will study for a Masters of Engineering Management here at UMBC while working with the Walden Circle Community Center.

Maia Scarabelli will be joining us from Honduras where she has been working as a teacher. In Peace Corps she was a TEFL volunteer in Myanmar and she will continue that work here at UMBC as she studies for a Masters in TESOL.

Anna McClain hails from Durham, NC. She served in the Peace Corps as an education volunteer in Ghana and will be studying Environmental Engineering. Her service placement will be via the iCARES program at UMBC.

Lydia Sannella comes from just north of San Francisco, CA. She served in the Peace Corps in Kosovo with the municipal Department of Culture, Youth, & Sport and with a women’s rights organization. She will be studying Applied Sociology and serving with UMBC’s food access partnership, Retriever Essentials.

Julissa Gómez Ruvalcaba comes from Northern California. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru where she was a youth development volunteer. She will be studying Applied Sociology and serving with the Choice program.

Valerie Navarro Pasión is from Baltimore County, MD and served in Peace Corps Paraguay as an environmental education and conservation volunteer. She will be studying Geography and Environmental Systems and serving with the Patterson Park Audubon Center.

Brandi Muller will be joining us from Washington, DC. As a Peace Corps volunteer, she was a community economic development volunteer in the Dominican Republic. She will be studying Community Leadership and serving with the Mayor’s office of Children and Family Success.

Ray McKetty is joining us from Greenville, SC. As a Peace Corps Volunteer he was a primary literacy advisor in Jamaica. He will be studying Community Leadership and serving with the McNair Scholars Program.

Markya Reed comes from Hanover, MD and served in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica as a youth development promoter. She will be studying Applied Sociology and her placement is with UMBC’s Center for Democracy and Civic Life.

Imani Davis is joining us from Washington, DC. She served in the Peace Corps in Kenya where she was a public health volunteer. She will be studying for a Masters of Social Work and serving with the Baltimore City Mayor’s office of Homeless Services.

Grant Clifton comes from Fresno, CA. As a Peace Corps volunteer he served in Indonesia as a Secondary Education English Teacher volunteer. He will be studying for a masters in TESOL and serving with the English Language Institute at UMBC.

Jok Abraham Thon is our inaugural Peaceworker Global Fellow. He joins us from Juba, South Sudan, where he is the founder and director of the Promise Land Secondary School. He will be studying for a Masters in Entrepreneurship and will be working at both The Shriver Center and UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement.