Global Reentry Presents: Jobs with Jodi

In this Jobs with Jodi Podcast episode, Career Services Specialist Jodi Hammer chats with RPCV and NPCA's new board chair, John Lee Evans, who shares his own experiences as well as his vision for NPCA.  FEATURED GUEST:John Lee Evans, NPCA's newly elected Board Chair, grew up in the Pacific Northwest and attended the University of Madrid in Spain as an undergraduate for one year. He served in the Peace Corps in Honduras 1975–78, where he worked with rural schoolteachers and agricultural cooperative leaders in a community development agency. Following the Peace Corps, he co-founded a language institute in San Diego that utilized accelerated learning techniques to teach Spanish to local professionals. He has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and has been in private practice for 30 years, which has included working with immigrant communities. He is a member of the Cultural Diversity Committee of the San Diego Psychological Association. He has presented at the American Psychological Association on cultural and political involvement. In 2008, he was elected to the San Diego Unified School Board, overseeing a diverse student body of over 100,000 students with an operational budget of $1.2 billion. He was elected to the board for a period of 12 years and served as President of the Board for three years. He led the Vision 2020 initiative that focused on increased academic achievement and equity and earned numerous national awards.PODCAST HOST: Jodi Hammer is an RPCV (Ecuador 1994–97), Job Coach, and host of the Global Reentry's Jobs with Jodi Podcast. In her role as Global Reentry Career Services Specialist with NPCA, she develops and delivers individual and group programming to foster Global Reentry's mission of providing career and transitional support to RPCVs worldwide. Need help with your next career opportunity after service? With the Global Reentry Program, National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) is here to help returned Volunteers with readjustment at home after service, provide resources to overcome challenges, and take the next steps toward healthy lives and successful careers. We're National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) — a mission-driven social impact organization that encourages and celebrates the lifelong commitment to Peace Corps ideals. NPCA supports a united and vibrant Peace Corps community of nearly a quarter-million individuals — including current and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, current and former staff, community partners around the globe, family, and friends — in our efforts to create a better world. Find out more, get the latest news for the Peace Corps community, sign up for our newsletter, and join. Basic membership is free: peacecorpsconnect.org

(August 12)Did you miss part or all of the Peace Corps Connect/Ideas Summit?  Then catch up on exciting information covered. Guest host Dan Baker, Director of the Global Reentry program, facilitates a report out on the Peace Corps Connect Ideas Summit and the informative town halls leading up to the event. Music: "Quiet Calculation" By Joseph McDade

Let's talk about career design versus just looking for a job.Join us for our monthly Career Coach Q&A featuring a conversation between Jobs with Jodi Podcast host and career coach Jodi Hammer, and fellow career consultant, Dr. Ronda Ansted.  This month we focused on those trying to narrow the options of target employment options, as well as other topics of interest to those participating in the live [virtual] recording of the podcast.  

Don't miss this panel discussion with USAID staff and Peace Corps community members Michael McCabe (Agency Senior Advisor on Youth) and Mara Mordini (Food For Peace program) and Abtin Forghani. They share their own career paths leading to USAID jobs, many words of wisdom, and answer questions from the live [virtual] audience.  

Join us for a special edition of Jobs with Jodi featuring RPCV Chad Ryerson from FEMA and Alex Garcia from Peace Corps Response, talking about the world of Emergency Management, including Peace Corps Responses latest plans for domestic deployment of evacuated RPCVs to work on COVID-19 response. 

Join us for our monthly Career Coach Q&A featuring a conversation between Jobs with Jodi Podcast host and career coach Jodi Hammer, and fellow career consultant, Dr. Ronda Ansted.  This month we focused on those trying to narrow the options of target employment options, as well as other topics of interest to those participating in the live [virtual] recording of the podcast.   

This week, our special RPCV guests focused on the world of Academia, describing the many opportunities to work within the field. Joseph Lanning, Professor and Program Director, shared his extensive career in academia and how he has been able to weave his Peace Corps host community into his work in academia!   Aly Dagang, Chair, MA Sustainable Development at SIT, shared from her own wealth of experience in a role supporting international programs. She also answered many questions on Graduate school & doctorate studies. 

 This week's special guest is RPCV Ashley Hamilton who has served as a USAID Foreign Service Officer, Payne Fellow, and more recently as founder and CEO of Prism Lacquers, a social enterprise startup. Ashley uses her platform "to highlight social justice issues and draw attention to the things we can do to help." 

This week we feature a conversation with RPCV Federal Executive and Career Coach, Jason Cochran. Jason highlighted his own interesting career and his current role working within the federal government as an executive within USDA's Foreign Ag Service, a big advocate for NCE hire. Plus, he shared tips and advice on the job search from a coaching perspective.  

Join us for our monthly Career Coach Q&A featuring a conversation between Jobs with Jodi Podcast host and career coach Jodi Hammer, and fellow career consultant, Dr. Ronda Ansted.  Together, they address many topics and answer questions on all things career.

This week, we chatted with Ambassador Greg Engle (ret.) who spoke to his distinguished career in diplomacy, sharing pearls of [career] wisdom for young (and other) professionals.  

Featured guest, RPCV and Diplomat Kathleen [Corey] Corey, speaks about her serendipitous career path which has included 32 years of dedicated service between Peace Corps leadership positions like Country Director of Sri Lanka and North Macedonia and Foreign Service Officer tours in Honduras and Argentina.  She also shares about the Women of Peace Corps Legacy affinity group she serves as the President of and spotlights the interesting work they are doing.

Join us for our monthly Career Coach Q&A that featured a conversation between Jobs with Jodi Podcast host and career coach Jodi Hammer, and fellow career consultant, Dr. Ronda Ansted.  Together, they addressed many topics and answered questions on all things career. 

This week, we hosted a conversation with RPCV & Executive Coach Jodi Glickman, as part of our Conversations with RPCV Leaders in Action theme. Jodi spoke on her own career and the impact of her Peace Corps service, as well as to the art of perfecting your pitch in the job search, a concept she's especially passionate about.  Come be inspired!

Join us for our monthly Career Coach Q&A that features a conversation between Jobs with Jodi Podcast host and career coach Jodi Hammer, and fellow career consultant, Dr. Ronda Ansted.  Together, they address many topics and answer questions on all things career.

This episode features Barry Moline, RPCV Guatemala (1988-90) and Executive Director at California Municipal Utilities Association, speaking from his substantial experience in the public sector, and sharing nuggets of wisdom as a Communications, Leadership, and Teamwork Expert.  His sage advice is helpful for anyone looking to be more productive in their professional life or job search. 

This week's podcast features several RPCVs working within the environmental or environmental advocacy field, speaking to their own careers, field of work, and tips for RPCV job seekers interested in this vital field.   These professionals will also spotlight some of the amazing work the RPCVs for Environmental Action (RPCV4EA) affinity group is doing and how interested persons can get involved virtually. Panelists include: Lila Holzman (RPCV-Panama) is the Energy Program Manager at As You Sow (environmental advocacy)Julien Joy (Ethiopia 2016-2018) is a master in public policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy SchoolCaitlin Dickson is a PC volunteer evacuated from Fiji in March; supported RPCVs for Environmental Action group as IT Specialist and recently landed a new job in the environmental field!Click here to access the RPCV4EA website. 

Confused by the federal hiring process?  Having trouble understanding the job posting with all the acronyms?  If so, this special edition of the Jobs with Jodi outlines the federal hiring process and clarifies Noncompetitive Eligibility (NCE) for the RPCV job seeker. 

Our monthly installment of career Q &A answering questions of the Returned Volunteer community with special focus on the holiday job search to NCE tips for the mid-career professional featuring a conversation between Jobs with Jodi Podcast host and career coach Jodi Hammer, and fellow career consultant, Dr. Ronda Ansted.  

This week's episode features a conversation with RPCV Maricarmen Smith-Martinez as part of our Conversations with RPCV Leaders in Action theme. Maricarmen speaks to her own experience, and her rise to her current role as both President of the NPCA Board of Directors, and her job as Director of the International Development Sector at Bixal, a woman-owned small business with nearly 20 years of experience working on large-scale digital communications and technology projects for clients ranging from USAID to the World Bank to the March of Dimes.