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{{Organization
|OrganizationName=Peace Corps
|OrganizationType=Independent Agencies
|Mission=The Peace Corps promotes world peace and friendship by fulfilling three goals: helping interested countries meet their need for trained men and women, helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served, and helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
|CreationLegislation=Peace Corps Act of 1961
|Employees=1000
|Budget=$410M (FY 2024)
|OrganizationExecutive=Director
|Services=Volunteer service in education, health, environment, agriculture, youth in development, and community economic development; Training and cultural exchange; Technical assistance
|HeadquartersLocation=38.90695, -77.00545
|HeadquartersAddress=1275 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20526, USA
|Website=https://www.peacecorps.gov/
}}
{{Short description|U.S. international development program}}

{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name     = Peace Corps
| logo            = [[File:Peace corps logo16.svg|200px]]
| formed          = {{Start date|1961|03|01}}
| jurisdiction    = [[Federal government of the United States|United States Government]]
| headquarters    = [[Washington, D.C.]]
| budget          = {{USD}}410.5 million <br />([[Fiscal year|FY]] 2022)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://files.peacecorps.gov/documents/open-government/agency-financial-report-fy22.pdf|title=Agency Financial Report – FY 2024 [PDF]|website=Peace Corps|access-date=June 6, 2023}}</ref>
| chief1_name     = [[Carol Spahn]]
| chief1_position = Director
| chief2_name     = David E. White Jr.
| chief2_position = Deputy Director
| chief3_name     = Lauren Stephens
| chief3_position = Chief of Staff
| chief4_name     = 
| chief4_position = 
| website         = {{URL|peacecorps.gov}}
}}

The '''Peace Corps''' is an [[Independent agency of the U.S. government|independent agency]] and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an [[executive order]] (10924) of President [[John F. Kennedy]] and authorized by Congress the following September by the Peace Corps Act.<ref>{{usstat|75|612}}</ref>

The official goal of the Peace Corps is to assist [[Developing country|developing countries]] by providing skilled workers in fields such as education, health, entrepreneurship, [[women's empowerment]], and [[community development]]. Volunteers are [[Citizenship of the United States|American citizens]], typically with a [[college degree]], who are assigned to specific projects in certain countries based on their qualifications and experience. Following three months of technical training, Peace Corps members are expected to serve at least two years in the host country, after which they may request an extension of service. Volunteers are strongly encouraged to respect local customs, learn the prevailing language, and live in comparable conditions.

In its inaugural year, the Peace Corps had 900 volunteers serving 16 countries, reaching its peak in 1966 with 15,556 volunteers in 52 countries. Following budget cuts in 1989, the number of volunteers declined to 5,100, though subsequent increases in funding led to renewed growth into the 21st century; by its 50th anniversary in 2011, there were over 8,500 volunteers serving in 77 countries. Since its inception, more than 240,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps and served in 142 countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fact Sheet |url=http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/about/pc_facts.pdf |website=files.peacecorps.gov |date=September 30, 2015 |access-date=April 29, 2016}}</ref>

==History==

===1950–1959===
[[File:Kennedy greeting Peace Corps volunteers, 1961.jpg|thumb|right|John F. Kennedy greets volunteers on August 28, 1961]]
In 1950, [[Walter Reuther]], president of the [[United Auto Workers]], proposed, in an article titled, "A Proposal for a Total Peace Offensive," that the United States establish a voluntary agency for young Americans to be sent around the world to fulfill humanitarian and development objectives.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|last=Boyle|first=Kevin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mt4ZDgAAQBAJ&q=peace+corps|title=The UAW and the Heyday of American Liberalism, 1945–1968|date=1995-11-21|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-1-5017-1327-9|page=144}}</ref> Subsequently, throughout the 1950s, Reuther gave speeches to the following effect:<blockquote>I have been saying for a long time that I believe the more young Americans who are trained to join with other young people in the world to be sent abroad with slide rule, textbook, and medical kit to help people help themselves with the tools of peace, the fewer young people will need to be sent with guns and weapons of war.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Reuther|first=Walter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yS-RnQAACAAJ|title=Walter P. Reuther: Selected Papers|date=1961|publisher=Macmillan|page=136}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Reuther|first=Walter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yS-RnQAACAAJ|title=Walter P. Reuther: Selected Papers|date=1961|publisher=Macmillan|page=126}}</ref></blockquote>In addition, following the end of [[World War II]], various members of the [[United States Congress]] proposed bills to establish volunteer organizations in [[developing countries]]. In December 1951, Representative [[John F. Kennedy]] (D-[[Massachusetts]]) suggested to a group that "young college graduates would find a full life in bringing technical advice and assistance to the underprivileged and backward Middle East ... In that calling, these men would follow the constructive work done by the religious missionaries in these countries over the past 100 years."<ref name="leamer2001">{{cite book | title=The Kennedy Men: 1901–1963 | publisher=HarperCollins | author=Leamer, Laurence | year=2001 | isbn=978-0-688-16315-0 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/kennedymen19011900leam }}</ref>{{rp|337–338}} In 1952 Senator [[Brien McMahon]] (D-Connecticut) proposed an "army" of young Americans to act as "missionaries of democracy".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/01/26/archives/point-four-hoe-army-sought-by-mmahon.html|title=POINT FOUR 'HOE ARMY' SOUGHT BY M'MAHON|date=January 26, 1952|access-date=March 19, 2012|work=The New York Times}}</ref> Privately funded nonreligious organizations began sending volunteers overseas during the 1950s. While Kennedy is credited with the creation of the Peace Corps as president, the first initiative came from Senator [[Hubert H. Humphrey, Jr.]] (D-[[Minnesota]]), who introduced the first bill to create the Peace Corps in 1957—three years before Kennedy, as a presidential candidate, would raise the idea during a campaign speech at the [[University of Michigan]]. In his autobiography ''The Education of a Public Man'', Humphrey wrote,

{{quote|There were three bills of particular emotional importance to me: the Peace Corps, a disarmament agency, and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The President, knowing how I felt, asked me to introduce legislation for all three. I introduced the first Peace Corps bill in 1957. It did not meet with much enthusiasm. Some traditional diplomats quaked at the thought of thousands of young Americans scattered across their world. Many senators, including liberal ones, thought it silly and an unworkable idea. Now, with a young president urging its passage, it became possible and we pushed it rapidly through the Senate. It is fashionable now to suggest that Peace Corps Volunteers gained as much or more, from their experience as the countries they worked. That may be true, but it ought not demean their work. They touched many lives and made them better.<ref>{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=L6u94c-7wX8C&pg=PA184 | title = The Education of a Public Man | isbn = 9780816618972 | last1 = Humphrey | first1 = Hubert H | year = 1991| publisher = U of Minnesota Press }}</ref>}}
[[File:Peace Corps headquarters.JPG|upright|thumb|The former Peace Corps headquarters at 1111 20th Street, NW in downtown Washington, D.C.]]

Only in 1959 did the idea receive serious attention in Washington when Congressman [[Henry S. Reuss]] of [[Wisconsin]] proposed a "Point Four Youth Corps". In 1960, he and Senator [[Richard L. Neuberger]] of [[Oregon]] introduced identical measures calling for a nongovernmental study of the idea's "advisability and practicability". Both the [[United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs|House Foreign Affairs Committee]] and the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] endorsed the study, the latter writing the Reuss proposal into the pending [[Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan|Mutual Security legislation]]. In this form it became law in June 1960. In August the Mutual Security Appropriations Act was enacted, making available US$10,000 for the study, and in November ICA contracted with [[Maurice Albertson]], [[Andrew E. Rice]], and Pauline E. Birky of [[Colorado State University]] Research Foundation<ref name="m.rockymountainnews.com">{{cite web|last=Gerber |first=Anna |url=http://source.colostate.edu/tops-in-peace-corps-volunteers-again/ |title=Tops in Peace Corps Volunteers, again |publisher=SOURCE, [[Colorado State University]] |date=February 27, 2015 |access-date=December 10, 2015}}</ref> for the study.<ref>{{Cite book|title=New Frontiers for American Youth: Perspective on the Peace Corps |publisher=Public Affairs Press|year=1961}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://lib.colostate.edu/archives/findingaids/university/upcc.html |title=Guide too the Peace Corps Collections|publisher=Colorado State University Special Collections|access-date=February 22, 2015}}</ref>

===1960–1969===
In August 1960, following the [[1960 Democratic National Convention]], Walter Reuther visited John F. Kennedy at the Kennedy compound in [[Hyannis Port, Massachusetts|Hyannisport]] to discuss Kennedy's platform and staffing of a future administration.<ref name="Carew 1993 101">{{Cite book|last=Carew|first=Anthony|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TgLSAAAAIAAJ&q=%22walter+reuther%22+%22peace+corps%22+kennedy&pg=PA101|title=Walter Reuther|date=1993|publisher=Manchester University Press|page=101}}</ref> It was there that Reuther got Kennedy to commit to creating the executive agency that would become the Peace Corps.<ref name="Carew 1993 101"/> Under Reuther's leadership, the United Auto Workers had earlier that summer put together a policy platform that included a "youth peace corps" to be sent to developing nations.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Boyle|first=Kevin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mt4ZDgAAQBAJ&q=peace+corps|title=The UAW and the Heyday of American Liberalism, 1945–1968|date=1995-11-21|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-1-5017-1327-9|page=142}}</ref> Subsequently, at the urging of Reuther,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Barnard|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y97uNsn4scQC&q=peace+corps&pg=PA568|title=American Vanguard: The United Auto Workers During the Reuther Years, 1935–1970|date=June 2005|publisher=Wayne State University Press|isbn=978-0-8143-3297-9|page=381}}</ref> John F. Kennedy announced the idea for such an organization on October 14, 1960, at a late-night campaign speech at the University of Michigan in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan|Ann Arbor]] on the steps of the [[Michigan Union]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Remarks of Senator John F. Kennedy |url=http://www.peacecorps.gov/about/history/speech/ |date=November 20, 2013 |orig-year=1960 |publisher=Peace Corps |access-date=August 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://forward.com/scribe/456379/as-the-peace-corps-turns-60-we-must-revisit-its-lessons/|title=As the Peace Corps turns 60, we must revisit its lessons|last=Cosgrove|first=Elliot|date=October 14, 2020|work=[[The Forward]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019175241/https://forward.com/scribe/456379/as-the-peace-corps-turns-60-we-must-revisit-its-lessons/|archive-date=October 19, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> He later dubbed the proposed organization the "Peace Corps." A brass marker commemorates the place where Kennedy stood. In the weeks after the 1960 election, the study group at Colorado State University released their feasibility a few days before Kennedy's Presidential Inauguration in January 1961.<ref>Albertson, Maurice L., Pauline E. Birky, and Andrew E. Rice. 1961. ''The Peace Corps Final Report.'' Colorado State University Research Foundation, Fort Collins. January 1961.</ref>

Critics opposed the program. Kennedy's opponent, [[Richard M. Nixon]], predicted it would become a "cult of [[escapism]]" and "a haven for [[draft dodger]]s."<ref name="founding_docs">"[https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/peace-corps/ Teaching With Documents: Founding Documents of the Peace Corps]." National Archives and Records Administration.</ref><ref name="gibson">Megan Gibson. "[https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2094254_2094247_2094252,00.html Top 10 Things You Didn't Know About the Peace Corps]" (September 22, 2011). ''Time''.</ref><ref name="tobin">James Tobin. "[http://peacecorps.umich.edu/Tobin.html JFK at the Union: The Unknown Story of the Peace Corps Speech]." [[National Peace Corps Association]]/University of Michigan.</ref>

While others doubted whether recent graduates had the necessary skills and maturity for such a task, the idea was popular among students, and Kennedy pursued it. He asked respected academics such as [[Max Millikan]] and [[Chester Bowles]] to help him outline the organization and its goals. During his inaugural address, Kennedy again promised to create the program: "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/inaug/kennedy.htm |title=Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy |access-date=May 11, 2007 |author=The Avalon Project |year=1997 |work=The Avalon Project at Yale Law School |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070514235348/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/inaug/kennedy.htm |archive-date=May 14, 2007  }}</ref> President Kennedy in a speech at the White House on June 22, 1962, "Remarks to Student Volunteers Participating in Operation Crossroads Africa", acknowledged that [[Operation Crossroads Africa|Operation Crossroads for Africa]] was the basis for the development of the Peace Corps. "This group and this effort really were the progenitors of the Peace Corps and what this organization has been doing for a number of years led to the establishment of what I consider to be the most encouraging indication of the desire for service not only in this country but all around the world that we have seen in recent years".<ref>June 22, 1962 Remarks to Student Volunteers Participating in Operation Crossroads Africa. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=8730</ref> The Peace Corps website answered the question "Who Inspired the Creation of the Peace Corps?", acknowledging that the Peace Corps was based on Operation Crossroads Africa founded by [[James Herman Robinson|Rev. James H. Robinson]].<ref>(2005) [http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/2027011.html "Who Inspired the Creation of the Peace Corps".] Peace Corps Online.</ref>

{{listen
|title=Establishment of the Peace Corps
|filename=JFK Establishment of the Peace Corps edit.ogg
|description =[[John F. Kennedy]]'s announcement of the establishment of the Peace Corps
|image=[[File:Executive Order 10924 from NARA.jpg|alt=Physical text copy of the Executive Order establishing the Peace Corps|100px|thumb|Executive Order 10924]]
}}
On March 1, 1961, Kennedy signed [[executive order (United States)|Executive Order]] 10924 that officially started the Peace Corps. Concerned with the growing tide of revolutionary sentiment in the [[Third World]], Kennedy saw the Peace Corps as a means of countering the [[stereotype]] of the "[[Ugly American (pejorative)|Ugly American]]" and "[[American imperialism|Yankee imperialism]]," especially in the emerging nations of post-colonial Africa and Asia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=92 |title=Executive Order 10924: Establishment of the Peace Corps. (1961) |publisher=Ourdocuments.gov |access-date=October 16, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jah/87.1/br_135.html |title=Organization of American Historians |publisher=Historycooperative.org |date=June 1, 2000 |access-date=October 16, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629162204/http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jah/87.1/br_135.html |archive-date=June 29, 2012  }}</ref> Kennedy appointed his brother-in-law, [[Sargent Shriver]], to be the program's first director. Shriver fleshed out the organization and his [[think tank]] outlined the organization's goals and set the initial number of volunteers. The Peace Corps began recruiting in July 1962; [[Bob Hope]] recorded radio and television announcements hailing the program.

Until about 1967, applicants had to pass a placement test of "general aptitude" (knowledge of various skills needed for Peace Corps assignments) and language aptitude.
<ref name="Cotton 1975 8">{{Cite book|last=Cotton|first=John W|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED110672.pdf|title=Par for the Corps: A Review of the Literature on Selection, Training, and Performance of Peace Corps Volunteers |date=1975|publisher=ERIC|page=8}}</ref>
<ref name="Lombas 2011 31">{{Cite thesis|last=Lombas|first=Leith L|url=https://scholar.colorado.edu/downloads/rv042t20t|title=INDIVIDUALISM IN ACTION: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS |date=2021|publisher=University of Colorado|page=31}}</ref> After an address from Kennedy, who was introduced by Rev. Russell Fuller of Memorial Christian Church, [[Disciples of Christ]], on August 28, 1961, the first group of volunteers left for [[Ghana]] and [[Tanganyika (1961–1964)|Tanganyika]] (now part of [[Tanzania]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vpo.go.tz/document_storage/historical_overview.pdf |title=Background history of the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar |access-date=April 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125124815/http://www.vpo.go.tz/document_storage/historical_overview.pdf |archive-date=January 25, 2013 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> The program was formally authorized by [[Congress of the United States|Congress]] on September 22, 1961, and within two years over 7,300 volunteers were serving in 44 countries. This number increased to 15,000 in June 1966, the largest number in the organization's history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/4074.html |title=US History – The Peace Corps |publisher=Peace Corps Online |access-date=January 19, 2011}}</ref>

The organization experienced controversy in its first year of operation. On October 13, 1961, a [[postcard]] from a volunteer named Margery Jane Michelmore in [[Nigeria]] to a friend in the U.S. described her situation in Nigeria as "squalor and absolutely primitive living conditions."<ref name="squalor">{{Cite news|title=Peace Corps Girl Stirs Anger In Nigeria by Alleging 'Squalor' |page=10 |work=The New York Times |date=October 16, 1961<!-- |access-date=September 18, 2006 -->}}</ref><ref name="infamous">{{cite web|url=http://www.peacecorpswriters.org/pages/2000/0001/001pchist.html |title=The infamous Peace Corps postcard |access-date=May 11, 2007 |year=2007 |work=Peace Corps Writers }}</ref> This postcard never made it out of the country.<ref name="infamous" /> The [[University of Ibadan]] College Students Union demanded deportation and accused the volunteers of being "America's international [[Espionage|spies]]" and the project as "a scheme designed to foster [[neocolonialism]]."<ref name="postcard">{{Cite news|title=Postcard to Friend Reporting 'Primitive Living' Leads to Protest by Students |page=10 |work=The New York Times |date=October 16, 1961<!-- |access-date=September 18, 2006 -->}}</ref> Soon the international press picked up the story, leading several people in the U.S. administration to question the program.<ref name="healing">{{Cite news|title=RIFT ON PEACE CORPS HEALING IN NIGERIA |page=7 |work=The New York Times |date=November 7, 1961<!-- |access-date=September 18, 2006 -->}}</ref> Nigerian students protested the program, while the American volunteers sequestered themselves and eventually began a [[hunger strike]].<ref name="infamous" /> After several days, the Nigerian students agreed to open a dialogue with the Americans.

===Policies===
{{listen
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| filename = JFK Establishment of the Peace Corps edit.ogg
| description = John F. Kennedy's announcement of the establishment of the Peace Corps
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The theme of enabling Americans to volunteer in poor countries appealed to Kennedy because it fit in with his campaign themes of self-sacrifice and [[Volunteering|volunteerism]], while also providing a way to redefine American relations with the [[Third World]]. Upon taking office, Kennedy issued an executive order establishing the Peace Corps. Shriver, not Kennedy, energetically lobbied Congress for approval. Kennedy proudly took the credit, and ensured that it remained free of CIA influence. He largely left its administration to Shriver. To avoid the appearance of favoritism to the [[Catholic Church]], the Corps did not place its volunteers with any religious agencies.<ref>David Allen, "The Peace Corps in US foreign relations and church–state politics." ''Historical Journal'' 58.1 (2015): 245–273.</ref> In the first twenty-five years, more than 100,000 Americans served in 44 countries as part of the program. Most volunteers taught English in local schools, but many became involved in activities like construction and food delivery. Shriver practiced affirmative action, and women comprised about 40 percent of the first 7000 volunteers. Given the paucity of black college graduates, racial minorities never reached five percent. The Corps developed its own training program, based on nine weeks at an American university, with a focus on conversational language, world affairs, and desired job skills.<ref>David S. Busch, "Service Learning: The Peace Corps, American Higher Education, and the Limits of Modernist Ideas of Development and Citizenship." ''History of Education Quarterly'' 58.4 (2018): 475–505.</ref> That was followed by three weeks at a Peace Corps camp in Puerto Rico, and week or two of orientation the home and the host country.<ref>{{cite book | last = Bernstein | first = Irving | date = 1991 | title = Promises Kept: John F. Kennedy's New Frontier | pp = 259–279}}</ref><ref>Gerald T. Rice, ''The bold experiment: JFK's Peace Corps'' (1985).</ref>

===1970–1999===
In July 1971, President [[Richard Nixon]], an opponent of the program,<ref name="founding_docs" /><ref name="gibson" /><ref name="tobin" /> brought the Peace Corps under the umbrella agency [[ACTION (U.S. government agency)|ACTION]]. President [[Jimmy Carter]], an advocate of the program, said that his mother, who had served as a nurse in the program, had "one of the most glorious experiences of her life" in the Peace Corps.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/2029056.html |title=Jimmy Carter said his mother's service in the Peace Corps as a nurse when she was 70 years old "was one of the most glorious experiences of her life." |access-date=May 11, 2007 |author=Yee, Daniel |year=2005 |work=Peace Corps Online }}</ref> In 1979, he made it fully autonomous in an executive order. This independent status was further secured by 1981 legislation making the organization an independent federal agency.

In 1976, [[Murder of Deborah Gardner|Deborah Gardner]] was found murdered in her home in Tonga, where she was serving in the Peace Corps. Dennis Priven, a fellow Peace Corps worker, was later charged with the murder by the Tonga government.<ref name="Murder in Peacecorps">[http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/classics/deborah_gardner/1.html],.</ref> He was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and was sentenced to serve time in a mental institution in Washington D.C. Priven was never admitted to any institution, and the handling of the case has been heavily criticized.<ref name="Deborah Gardner's Death">{{cite web|last=Weiss |first=Philip |url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/crimelaw/features/n_10403/ |title=Deborah Gardner's death – Murder in the Peace Corps – Dennis Priven |publisher=Nymag.com |date=May 21, 2005 |access-date=October 16, 2011}}</ref>

===2000–present===
Although the earliest volunteers were typically thought of as generalists, the Peace Corps had requests for technical personnel from the start. For example, geologists were among the first volunteers requested by [[Ghana]], an early volunteer host. An article in ''Geotimes'' (a trade publication) in 1963, reviewed the program, with a follow-up history of Peace Corps [[geoscientists]] appearing in that publication in 2004.<ref>Hastings, David, ed., 2004.  Geoscientists in the Peace Corps.  ''Geotimes'', August 2004.</ref> During the Nixon Administration the Peace Corps included foresters, [[computer scientist]]s, and [[small business]] advisers among its volunteers.

In 1982, President [[Ronald Reagan]] appointed director [[Loret Miller Ruppe]], who initiated business-related programs. For the first time, a significant number of conservative and [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] volunteers joined the Corps, as the organization continued to reflect the evolving political and social conditions in the United States. Funding cuts during the early 1980s reduced the number of volunteers to 5,380, its lowest level since the early years. Funding increased in 1985, when Congress began raising the number of volunteers, reaching 10,000 in 1992.
[[File:Madagascar Peace Corps volunteers swearing in, April 2006.jpg|thumb|Peace Corps trainees swearing in as volunteers in [[Madagascar]], April 26, 2006.]]

After the 2001 September 11 attacks, which alerted the U.S. to growing [[Anti-Americanism|anti-U.S. sentiment]] in the Middle East, President [[George W. Bush]] pledged to double the size of the organization within five years as a part of the [[War on Terrorism]]. For the 2004 fiscal year, Congress increased the budget to US$325&nbsp;million, US$30&nbsp;million above that of 2003 but US$30&nbsp;million below the President's request.

As part of an [[economic stimulus]] package in 2008, President [[Barack Obama]] proposed to double the size of the Peace Corps.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/NationalServicePlanFactSheet.pdf |title=Microsoft Word - Fact Sheet National Service 070408 FINAL.doc |access-date=January 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304053818/http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/NationalServicePlanFactSheet.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2010 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> However, {{as of|2010|lc=y}}, the amount requested was insufficient to reach this goal by 2011. In fact, the number of applicants to the Peace Corps declined steadily from a high of 15,384 in 2009 to 10,118 in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shapiro |first1=T. Rees |title=Peace Corps announces major changes to application process |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/peace-corps-announces-major-changes-to-application-process/2014/07/14/f1cff488-0931-11e4-bbf1-cc51275e7f8f_story.html |access-date=June 2, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 14, 2014}}</ref> Congress raised the 2010 appropriation from the US$373&nbsp;million requested by the President to US$400&nbsp;million, and proposed bills would raise this further for 2011 and 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/221/double-the-peace-corps/ |title=The Obameter: Double the Peace Corps – Obama promise No. 221 |publisher=PolitiFact |access-date=January 19, 2011}}</ref> According to former director [[Gaddi Vasquez]], the Peace Corps is trying to recruit more diverse volunteers of different ages and make it look "more like America".<ref>{{cite web |author=Boston – AP |url=http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/peace-3345-corps-percent.html |title=Peace Corps eyes recruitment of minorities, older Americans, peace, corps, percent – Regional News – WRGB CBS 6 Albany |location=42.652579;-73.756232 |publisher=Cbs6albany.com |date=March 4, 2006 |access-date=January 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717140631/http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/peace-3345-corps-percent.html |archive-date=July 17, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A ''Harvard International Review'' article from 2007 proposed to expand the Peace Corps, revisit its mission, and equip it with new technology.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hir.harvard.edu/index.php?page=article&id=1336&p=2 |title=The Technologies of Peace – &#124; Harvard International Review |publisher=Hir.harvard.edu |date=May 2, 2007 |access-date=January 19, 2011 |archive-date=April 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426213624/http://hir.harvard.edu/index.php?page=article&id=1336&p=2 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1961 only 1% of volunteers were over 50, compared with 5% today. Ethnic minorities currently comprise 34% of volunteers,<ref name="fast facts">{{cite web|title=Fast Facts|url=http://www.peacecorps.gov/about/fastfacts/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704173553/https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/fast-facts/|archive-date=July 4, 2021|access-date=July 27, 2021|website=Peace Corps}}</ref> compared to around 35% of the U.S. population.<ref name=s0201>{{cite web |url=http://www.factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201TPR&-reg=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201:451;ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201PR:451;ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201T:451;ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201TPR:451&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-format= |title=United States – Selected Population Profile in the United States (White alone, not Hispanic or Latino) |work=2009 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=December 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110719084318/http://www.factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201TPR&-reg=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201:451;ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201PR:451;ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201T:451;ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201TPR:451&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-format= |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2009, Casey Frazee, who was sexually assaulted while serving in South Africa, created First Response Action, an [[advocacy group]] for a stronger Peace Corps response for volunteers who are survivors or victims of physical and sexual violence.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.firstresponseaction.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=82 |title=Peace Corps Under Fire |last=Stiffman |first=Eden |date=April 8, 2011 |publisher=First Response Action |access-date=May 10, 2011 |archive-date=September 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906042921/http://firstresponseaction.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=82 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.michiganreview.com/archives/2939 |title=History |work=Michigan Review |access-date=May 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518194753/http://www.michiganreview.com/archives/2939 |archive-date=May 18, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2010, concerns about the safety of volunteers were illustrated by a report, compiled from official public documents, listing hundreds of violent crimes against volunteers since 1989.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxkRh3HV6t8pcmxkeVhTYmIzX0U/view |title=Violent Crimes Against Peace Corps Volunteers |last=Sheppard |first=Mike |year=2011 |access-date=June 5, 2015}}</ref> In 2011, a ''[[20/20 (US television series)|20/20]]'' investigation found that "more than 1,000 young American women have been raped or sexually assaulted in the last decade while serving as Peace Corps volunteers in foreign countries."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/peace-corps-gang-rape-volunteer-jess-smochek-us/story?id=12599341 |title=Peace Corps Gang Rape: Volunteer Says U.S. Agency Ignored Warnings |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |access-date=May 10, 2011|date=2011-05-10 }}</ref>

In a historic first, all Peace Corps volunteers worldwide were withdrawn from their host countries on March 15, 2020, due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name=coronavirus>{{cite web|website=Peace Corps |date=March 15, 2020|title=Peace Corps announces suspension of Volunteer activities, evacuations due to COVID-19|access-date=Apr 6, 2020 |url=https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-announces-suspension-volunteer-activities-evacuations-due-covid-19/}}</ref> Volunteers were not eligible for unemployment or health benefits, although some Members of Congress said they should be. Legislators also called upon [[Federal Emergency Management Agency|FEMA]] to hire Peace Corps volunteers until the end of their service.<ref>[https://thehill.com/policy/finance/490877-lawmakers-call-for-unemployment-benefits-for-evacuated-peace-corps-volunteers Lawmakers call for unemployment benefits for evacuated Peace Corps volunteers] The Hill, 2 Apr 2020</ref>

In June 2020, the Peace Corps ended its programs in China.<ref name=":Li2">{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Hongshan |title=Fighting on the Cultural Front: U.S.-China Relations in the Cold War |date=2024 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=9780231207058 |location=New York, NY |pages=333 |doi=10.7312/li--20704 |jstor=10.7312/li--20704}}</ref>

==Application and volunteer process==
[[File:Peace Corps ad, State 1990-06- Iss 334 (IA sim state-magazine 1990-06 334) (page 27 crop).jpg|thumb|371x371px|Recruitment advert placed in a 1990 issue of ''[[State Magazine]]'']]
The application for the Peace Corps takes up to one hour, unless one talks to a recruiter. The applicant must be at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen and, according to a 2018 document, is advised to apply six to nine months before they want to leave. They must go through an interview.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.peacecorps.gov/apply/ |title=One must be 18 years old and a U.S. Citizen to apply |website=Peacecorps |access-date=October 8, 2016}}</ref>

Applicants can apply to only one placement every year. Placements can be sorted through the Peace Corps’ six project sectors: Agriculture, Environment, Community Economic Development, Health, Education, and Youth in Development. Applicants may also narrow down their application of choice by country they want to serve in various regions of the world.

Peace Corps volunteers are expected to serve for two years in the foreign country, with three months of training before swearing in to service.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Is Peace Corps Right for Me? |url=https://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/is-peace-corps-right-for-me/ |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=Peace Corps}}</ref> This occurs in-country with host country national trainers in language and assignment skills.

Prior to 2014, the application process took about a year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-announces-historic-changes-to-application-and-selection-process/ |title=Peace Corps Announces Historic Changes to Application and Selection Process |website=Peacecorps |access-date=October 8, 2016}}</ref>

There is no maximum age limit to joining the Peace Corps. Married couples may join but cannot have any "dependent children". Most positions require a volunteer to have at least a bachelor's degree but this can vary depending on the field one is volunteering in. Volunteers in the Peace Corps do not receive wages but transportation costs are paid for and a stipend is given for "basic expenses". Anyone who has worked for an intelligence agency is ineligible. All volunteers must provide their medical information.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 14, 2021 |title=CHRON. |url=https://work.chron.com/requirements-us-postal-service-jobs-13466.html |access-date=April 12, 2024}}</ref>

==Initiatives==
The Peace Corps aims to educate community members on the different illnesses that are present in developing countries as well as what treatments exist in order prevent these illnesses from spreading. Volunteers are also often there in order to teach community members about modern agricultural techniques in order for them to more effectively produce food for themselves and each other (Peace Corps). The Corps is also a proponent of equal education and moves to allow for equal education opportunities for girls in countries like Liberia and Ethiopia. In 2015, the organization partnered with [[United States Agency for International Development]] (USAID) to implement First Lady [[Michelle Obama]]'s [[Let Girls Learn]] initiative.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/06/27/fact-sheet-first-lady-announces-new-let-girls-learn-committment-liberia | work=[[whitehouse.gov]] | title=FACT SHEET: First Lady Announces New Let Girls Learn Commitment in Liberia| via=[[NARA|National Archives]] | date=2016-06-27}}</ref>

===Eradicating malaria in Africa===
The Corps launched its initiative to engage volunteers in [[malaria]] control efforts in 2011. The initiative, which grew out of malaria prevention programs in Peace Corps Senegal, now includes volunteers in 24 African countries.<ref>Hessler-Radelet, Carrie; [[R. Timothy Ziemer|Ziemer, Tim]]; (April 24, 2013)[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/carrie-hesslerradelet/peace-corps-volunteers-ex_1_b_3146460.html "Peace Corps Volunteers Extend Malaria Efforts to Villages and Towns Across Africa"], ''[[Huffington Post]]''. Retrieved 2013-05-10.</ref><ref>[http://allafrica.com/stories/201304280011.html "Africa: Prevention Focus of Peace Corps' World Malaria Day Events"], [[AllAfrica.com]]. April 26, 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-10.</ref>

===Environment===
The Corps offers a variety of environmental programs. Needs assessments determine which programs apply to each country. Programs include effective and efficient forms of farming, recycling, park management, environmental education, and developing [[alternative fuel]] sources.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/what-volunteers-do/#environment|title=Environment &#124; What Do Volunteers Do? &#124; Peace Corps|publisher=Peacecorps.gov|access-date=October 5, 2017}}</ref> Volunteers must have some combination of academic degrees and practical experience.

The three major programs are Protected-Areas Management, Environment Education or Awareness, and Forestry.

In ''Protected areas management'', volunteers work with parks or other programs to teach resource conservation. Volunteer activities include technical training, working with park staff on wildlife preservation, organizing community-based conservation programs for sustainable use of forests or marine resources, and creating activities for raising revenue to protect the environment.

''Environment Education or Awareness'' focuses on communities that have environmental issues regarding farming and income. Programs include teaching in elementary and secondary schools; environmental education to youth programs; creation of environmental groups; support forest and marine resource sustainability; ways of generating money; urban sanitation management; and educating farmers about soil conservation, forestry, and vegetable gardening.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whatvol.env.enved |title=Environment Education or Awareness &#124; What Do Volunteers Do? &#124; Peace Corps |publisher=Peacecorps.gov |date=September 30, 2010 |access-date=January 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112120800/http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whatvol.env.enved |archive-date=January 12, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''Forestry'' programs help communities conserve natural resources through projects such as soil conservation, flood control, creation of sustainable fuels, agroforestry (e.g., fruit and vegetable production), alley cropping, and protection of [[biodiversity]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whatvol.env.forestry |title=Forestry &#124; What Do Volunteers Do? &#124; Peace Corps |publisher=Peacecorps.gov |date=September 30, 2010 |access-date=January 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112120604/http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whatvol.env.forestry |archive-date=January 12, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Peace Corps Response===
Peace Corps Response, formerly named the Crisis Corps, was created by Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan in 1996.<ref name=PCOLGearancrisiscorps>[http://www.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/former/hotline/hotline110102.pdf Peace Corps Hotline. "Crisis Corps: Opportunity to serve again" by Melinda Bridges. November 1, 2002.] (PDF)  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127175629/http://www.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/former/hotline/hotline110102.pdf |date=November 27, 2007 }}</ref> Gearan modeled the Crisis Corps after the [[National Peace Corps Association]]'s successful Emergency Response Network (ERN) of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers willing to respond to crises when needed. ERN emerged in response to the 1994 [[Rwandan genocide]].<ref>Arnold, David. "Helping Rwanda." WorldView, Spring 1995, Vol. 8, No. 2. pg. 21</ref> On November 19, 2007, Peace Corps Director Ronald Tschetter changed Crisis Corps's name to Peace Corps Response.<ref name=peacecorpsresponsecrisiscorps>{{cite web |url=http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.press.view&news_id=1275 |title=Peace Corps "Peace Corps Press Release" November 19, 2007 |publisher=Peacecorps.gov |date=November 19, 2007 |access-date=October 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816211016/http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.press.view&news_id=1275 |archive-date=August 16, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The change to Peace Corps Response allowed Peace Corps to include projects that did not rise to the level of a crisis. The program deploys former volunteers on high-impact assignments that typically range from three to twelve months in duration.

Peace Corps Response volunteers generally receive the same allowances and benefits as their Peace Corps counterparts, including round-trip transportation, living and readjustment allowances, and medical care. Minimum qualifications include completion of at least one year of Peace Corps service, including training, in addition to medical and legal clearances. The Crisis Corps title was retained as a unique branch within Peace Corps Response, designed for volunteers who are deployed to true "crisis" situations, such as disaster relief following hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions and other catastrophes.

===Education and languages===
Peace Corps has created resources for teachers in the US and abroad to teach 101 languages.<ref name="livel">{{cite web |url=https://www.livelingua.com/peace-corps-language-courses.php |title=Peace Corps Language Courses |website=www.livelingua.com |access-date=October 10, 2017}}</ref><ref name="yojik">{{cite web |url=https://fsi-languages.yojik.eu/languages/peacecorps.html |title=The Peace-Corps Courses |last=Streit |first=Eric |website=fsi-languages.yojik.eu |access-date=October 10, 2017}}</ref> Resources vary by language, and include text, recordings, lesson plans and teaching notes.

==Laws governing the Peace Corps==

===Executive orders===
Peace Corps was originally established by Executive Order, and has been modified by several subsequent executive orders including:

* 1961 – [[wikisource:Executive Order 10924|Executive Order 10924]] – Establishment and administration of the Peace Corps in the Department of State (Kennedy)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=58862#axzz2h5e1bA5T |title=John F. Kennedy: "Executive Order 10924 – Establishment and Administration of the Peace Corps in the Department of State," March 1, 1961 |author1=Peters, Gerhard |author2=Woolley, John T |work=The American Presidency Project |publisher=University of California – Santa Barbara |access-date=October 7, 2013 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143239/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=58862#axzz2h5e1bA5T |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* 1962 – [[wikisource:Executive Order 11041|Executive Order 11041]] – Continuance and administration of the Peace Corps in the Department of State (Kennedy)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=58980#axzz2h5e1bA5T |title=John F. Kennedy: "Executive Order 11041," August 6, 1962 |author1=Peters, Gerhard |author2=Woolley, John T |work=The American Presidency Project |publisher=University of California – Santa Barbara |access-date=October 7, 2013 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142323/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=58980#axzz2h5e1bA5T |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* 1963 – [[wikisource:Executive Order 11103|Executive Order 11103]] – Providing for the appointment of former Peace Corps volunteers to the civilian career services (Kennedy)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/11103.html |title=Executive Orders |publisher=Archives.gov |access-date=January 19, 2011}}</ref>
* 1971 – [[wikisource:Executive Order 11603|Executive Order 11603]] – Assigning additional functions to the Director of ACTION (Nixon)
* 1979 – [[wikisource:Executive Order 12137|Executive Order 12137]] – The Peace Corps (Carter)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12137.html |title=Executive Orders |publisher=Archives.gov |access-date=January 19, 2011}}</ref>

===Laws===
Federal laws governing the Peace Corps are contained in [[Title 22 of the United States Code]] – Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Chapter 34 – The Peace Corps.<ref name=uscode>{{UnitedStatesCode|22|2501|2523}}</ref>

===Code of Federal Regulations===
The Peace Corps is subject to Federal Regulations as prescribed by public law and executive order and contained in [[Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations]] under Chapter 3.

===Limitations on former volunteers===
Former members of the Peace Corps may not be assigned to [[military intelligence]] duties for a period of 4 years following Peace Corps service. Furthermore, they are forever prohibited from serving in a military intelligence posting to any country in which they volunteered.<ref>{{cite web | title = Enlisted Assignments and Utilization Management, Army Regulation 614–200 | publisher =  Department of the Army | date = February 26, 2009 | url = http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r614_200.pdf | access-date = August 1, 2009 }}</ref> Former members may not apply for employment with the Central Intelligence Agency for a period of 5 years following Peace Corps Service.

===Time limits on employment===
Peace Corps employees receive time-limited appointments, and most employees are limited to a maximum of five years of employment. This time limit was established to ensure that Peace Corps' staff remain fresh and innovative. A related rule specifies that former employees cannot be re-employed until after the same amount of time that they were employed. Volunteer service is not counted for the purposes of either rule.<ref name=fiveyearrule>{{cite web|url=http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/usc.cgi?ACTION=RETRIEVE&FILE=$$xa$$busc22.wais&start=6127969&SIZE=21991&TYPE=TEXT |title=United States Code: Browse Titles Page |publisher=Frwebgate.access.gpo.gov |access-date=January 19, 2011}}</ref>

==Union representation==
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2018}}
Non-supervisory domestic employees are represented by the [[American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees]] (AFSCME) Local 3548. The Federal Labor Relations Agency certified the Union on May 11, 1983. About 500 domestic employees are members. The current [[collective bargaining]] agreement became effective on April 21, 1995.

==Leadership==

===Directors===
On January 3, 2018, President [[Donald Trump]] nominated Josephine "Jody" Olsen as the 20th director of the Peace Corps.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/president-donald-j-trump-nominates-jody-olsen-be-director-peace-corps/|title=President Donald J. Trump nominates Jody Olsen to be Director of the Peace Corps|website=www.peacecorps.gov|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref> Olsen has a long history with the agency, serving as Acting Director in 2009, Deputy Director from 2002 to 2009, Chief of Staff from 1989 to 1992, Regional Director, North Africa Near East, Asia, Pacific from 1981 to 1984, and Country Director in Togo from 1979 to 1981. Olsen also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tunisia from 1966 to 1968.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.allgov.com/news/top-stories/director-of-the-peace-corps-who-is-jody-olsen-180119?news=860406|title=Director of the Peace Corps: Who Is Jody Olsen?|work=AllGov|access-date=September 4, 2018}}</ref> She left office on January 20, 2021.<ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/president-joe-biden-announces-acting-federal-agency-leadership/ www.whitehouse.gov]</ref> 

In April 2022, President Biden nominated [[Carol Spahn]] as director to succeed Olsen,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-06 |title=President Biden Announces Key Nominees |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/06/president-biden-announces-key-nominees-10/ |access-date=2022-04-06 |website=The White House |language=en-US}}</ref> and she was confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on December 13, 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/117th-congress/1958 |title=PN1958 — Carol Spahn — Peace Corps |website=United States Congress |access-date=2022-12-20}}</ref> Spahn was acting director from January 20, 2021, until November 16, 2021, and CEO from November 2021 to November 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://peacecorpsworldwide.org/new-head-of-the-peace-corps-thomas-peng-philippines/ |title=New Executive Officer of the Peace Corps: Thomas Peng (Philippines) |date=2022-11-28 |website=Peace Corps Worldwide |access-date=2022-12-20}}</ref> She had previously served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Romania and subsequently returned as Country Director in Malawi, then Chief of Operations for Eastern and Southern Africa, following a career in the [[Non-governmental organization|NGO]] and private sectors.

The full list of directors is as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!{{Abbr|No.|Number}}
!Image
!Director!!Service dates!!Appointed by!!Summary of Wikipedia page
|-
| 1
| [[File:Sargent Shriver 1961 (cropped 3x4).jpg|60px]]
| [[R. Sargent Shriver]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/sargent-shriver-founding-director-of-peace-corps-dies-at-95/2011/01/18/ABqGTSR_story.html|title=Sargent Shriver, founding director of Peace Corps, dies at 95|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=September 4, 2018}}</ref>|| 1961–1966<ref name=":1" />|| Kennedy<ref name=":1" />|| President Kennedy appointed Shriver three days after signing the executive order.<ref name=":2">{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-01-18/sargent-shriver-kennedy-kin-and-founder-of-u-s-peace-corps-dies-at-95|title=Terms of Service Violation|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=January 19, 2011 |access-date=September 4, 2018}}</ref> Volunteers arrived in five countries during 1961.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/jfk-peace-corps|title=John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps on this day in 1961|date=March 1, 2018|work=IrishCentral.com|access-date=September 4, 2018}}</ref> In just under six years, Shriver developed programs in 55 countries with more than 14,500 volunteers.<ref name=":2" />
|-
| 2
| [[File:Jack Vaughn (5574738012) (cropped).jpg|60px]]
| [[Jack Vaughn]] || 1966–1969 || Johnson || Vaughn improved marketing, programming, and volunteer support as large numbers of former volunteers joined the staff. He also promoted volunteer assignments in conservation, natural resource management, and community development.
|-
| 3
| [[File:Joe Blatchford (cropped).jpg|60px]]
| [[Joseph Blatchford]] || 1969–1971 || Nixon || Blatchford served as head of the new ACTION agency, which included the Corps. He created the Office of Returned Volunteers to help volunteers serve in their communities at home, and initiated New Directions, a program emphasizing volunteer skills.
|-
| 4
| [[File:Kevin O'Donnell.jpg|60px]]
| [[Kevin O'Donnell (Peace Corps)|Kevin O'Donnell]] || 1971–1972 || Nixon || O'Donnell's appointment was the first for a former Peace Corps country director (Korea, 1966–70). He fought budget cuts, and believed strongly in a non-career Peace Corps.
|-
| 5
| [[File:Don Hess (cropped).jpg|60px]]
| Donald Hess || 1972–1973 || Nixon || Hess initiated training of volunteers in the host country where they would eventually serve, using host country nationals. The training provided more realistic preparation, and costs dropped for the agency. Hess also sought to end the downsizing of the Peace Corps.
|-
| 6
| [[File:Nick Craw (cropped).jpg|60px]]
| Nicholas Craw || 1973–1974 || Nixon || Craw sought to increase the number of volunteers in the field and to stabilize the agency's future. He introduced a goal-setting measurement plan, the Country Management Plan, which gained increased Congressional support and improved resource allocation across the 69 participating countries.
|-
| 7 
| [[File:John R. Dellenback.jpg|60px]]
| [[John Dellenback]] || 1975–1977 || Ford || Dellenback improved volunteer health care available. He emphasized recruiting generalists. He believed in committed applicants even those without specific skills and instead training them for service.
|-
| 8 
| [[File:Carolyn Payton.jpg|60px]]
| [[Carolyn R. Payton]] || 1977–1978 || Carter || Payton was the first female director and the first African American. She focused on improving volunteer diversity.
|-
| 9 
| [[File:Richard Celeste 2008 (cropped).jpg|60px]]
| [[Richard F. Celeste]] || 1979–1981 || Carter || Celeste focused on the role of women in development and increased women and minority participation, particularly for staff positions. He invested heavily in training, including the development of a worldwide core curriculum.
|-
| 10 
| [[File:LoretmillerRuppeUSEmbassyOslo.jpg|60px]]
| [[Loret Miller Ruppe]] || 1981–1989 || Reagan || Ruppe was the longest-serving director and championed women in development roles. She launched the Competitive Enterprise Development program, the [[Caribbean Basin Initiative]], the Initiative for Central America and the African Food Systems Initiative.
|-
| 11 
| [[File:Paul Coverdell (cropped).PNG|60px]]
| [[Paul Coverdell]] || 1989–1991 || G.H.W. Bush || Coverdell established two programs with a domestic focus. World Wise Schools enabled U.S. students to correspond with overseas volunteers. Fellows/USA assisted Returned Peace Corps volunteers in pursuing graduate studies while serving local communities.
|-
| 12 
| [[File:Elaine Chao.jpg|60px]]
| [[Elaine Chao]] || 1991–1992 || G.H.W. Bush || Chao was the first Asian American director. She expanded Peace Corps' presence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia by establishing the first Peace Corps programs in [[Latvia]], Lithuania, [[Estonia]], and other newly independent countries.
|-
| 13 
| [[File:CarolBellamy.jpg|60px]]
| [[Carol Bellamy]] || 1993–1995 || Clinton || Bellamy was the first RPCV (Returned Peace Corps volunteer) (Guatemala 1963–65) to be director. She reinvigorated relations with former volunteers and launched the Corps' web site.
|-
| 14 
| [[File:Mark Gearan NCMNPS.jpg|60px]]
| [[Mark D. Gearan]] || 1995–1999 || Clinton || Gearan established the [[Crisis Corps]], a program that allows former volunteers to help overseas communities recover from natural disasters and humanitarian crises. He supported expanding the corps and opened ''new volunteer programs'' in South Africa, Jordan, [[Bangladesh]] and [[Mozambique]].
|-
| 15 
| [[File:Mark Schneider Testifies.jpg|60px]]
| [[Mark L. Schneider]] || 1999–2001 || Clinton || Schneider was the second RPCV (El Salvador, 1966–68) to head the agency. He launched an initiative to increase volunteers' participation in helping prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, and also sought volunteers to work on information technology projects.
|-
| 16 
| [[File:Vasquez pic.jpg|60px]]
| [[Gaddi Vasquez]] || 2002–2006 || G.W. Bush || Gaddi H. Vasquez was the first [[Hispanics in the United States|Hispanic American]] director. His focus was to increase volunteer and staff diversity. He also led the establishment of a Peace Corps program in Mexico.
|-
| 17
| [[File:Rontschetter.jpg|60px]]
| [[Ron Tschetter]] || September 2006 – 2008|| G.W. Bush || The third RPCV to head the agency, Tschetter served in India in the mid-1960s. He launched an initiative known as the "50 and Over," to increase the participation of older men and women.
|-
| 18
| [[File:Aaron S. Williams.jpg|60px]]
| [[Aaron S. Williams]] || August 2009 – September 2012 || Obama || Aaron S. Williams became director on August 24, 2009. Mr. Williams is the fourth director to have served as a volunteer. Williams cited personal and family considerations as the reason for his stepping down as Peace Corps Director on September 17, 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peacecorps.gov/resources/media/press/2109/|title=Aaron S. Williams to Step Down as Peace Corps Director|author=Peace Corps|work=peacecorps.gov|access-date=September 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515180126/http://www.peacecorps.gov/resources/media/press/2109/|archive-date=May 15, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| 19
| [[File:Carrie-hessler-radelet.jpg|60px]]
| [[Carrie Hessler-Radelet]] || September 2012 – 2017 || Obama || Carrie Hessler-Radelet became acting Director of the Peace Corps in September 2012. Previously, Hessler-Radelet served as deputy director of the Peace Corps from June 23, 2010, until her appointment as acting Director.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peacecorps.gov/about/leadership/depdir/|title=Director|author=Peace Corps|work=peacecorps.gov|access-date=September 6, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140216235301/http://www.peacecorps.gov/about/leadership/depdir/|archive-date=February 16, 2014}}</ref> From 1981 to 1983, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Western Samoa with her husband, Steve. She was confirmed as Director on June 5, 2014.
|-
| 20
| [[File:Jody Olsen official photo (cropped).jpg|60px]]
| [[Jody Olsen]] || February 2018 – January 2021 || Trump || Jody Olsen was confirmed Director of the Peace Corps on February 27, 2018. Olsen previously served the Peace Corps as Acting Director in 2009, Deputy Director from 2002 to 2009, Chief of Staff from 1989 to 1992, Regional Director, North Africa Near East, Asia, Pacific from 1981 to 1984, and Country Director in Togo from 1979 to 1981. Olsen also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tunisia from 1966 to 1968.
|-
| 21
| [[File:Carol Spahn, Peace Corps CEO.png|60px]]
| [[Carol Spahn]] || January 2023 – present || Biden || Carol Spahn previously served in acting capacity in this position from January to November 2021. She was then appointed CEO of the Peace Corps and served from November 2021 to November 2022, later being nominated to director in April 2022. Spahn also served as Chief of Operations for Eastern and Southern Africa, Country Director for Malawi, and a volunteer in Romania.
|}

===Inspector General===
The Peace Corps Office of [[Inspector General#United States|Inspector General]] is authorized by law to review all programs and operations of the Peace Corps.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} The OIG is an independent entity within the Peace Corps. The inspector general (IG) reports directly to the Peace Corps Director. In addition, the IG reports to Congress semiannually with data on OIG activities.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} The OIG serves as the law enforcement arm of the Peace Corps and works closely with the Department of State, the Department of Justice, and other federal agencies OIG has three sections to conduct its functions:<blockquote>Audit – Auditors review functional activities of the Peace Corps, such as contract compliance and financial and program operations, to ensure accountability and to recommend improved levels of economy and efficiency;

     Evaluations – Evaluators analyze the management and program operations of the Peace Corps at both overseas posts and domestic offices. They identify best practices and recommend program improvements and ways to accomplish Peace Corps' mission and strategic goals.

     Investigations – Investigators respond to allegations of criminal or administrative wrongdoing by Peace Corps Volunteers, Peace Corps personnel, including experts and consultants, and by those who do business with the Peace Corps, including contractors.<ref>Office of the Inspector General. [http://www.peacecorps.gov/about/inspgen/ "Major Functions of OIG"]. Retrieved February 12, 2014.</ref>
</blockquote>From 2006 to 2007, [[H. David Kotz]] was the Inspector General.<ref name=SEC01>{{cite web|title=H. David Kotz Named New Inspector General at SEC (SEC)|work=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |date=December 5, 2007 |access-date=February 10, 2013|url=https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2007/2007-251.htm }}</ref> As of 2023, the Inspector General is Joaquin E. Ferrao.[https://www.peacecorpsoig.gov/about/inspector-general]

==Criticism and New Directions==
{{Criticism section|date=November 2023}}
Critics and criticisms of Peace Corps include former volunteer and country director Robert L. Strauss in ''[[Foreign Policy]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2008/04/21/think_again_the_peace_corps|title=Think Again: The Peace Corps|work=Foreign Policy|access-date=September 6, 2015|archive-date=November 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141128130733/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2008/04/21/think_again_the_peace_corps|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''The New York Times,''<ref>{{Cite news|last=Strauss|first=Robert L.|date=2008-01-09|title=Opinion {{!}} Too Many Innocents Abroad (Published 2008)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/opinion/09strauss.html|access-date=2021-01-18|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ''The American Interest''<ref>{{cite web|last=Strauss|first=Robert L.|date=2010-01-01|title=Grow Up|url=https://www.the-american-interest.com/2010/01/01/grow-up/|access-date=2021-01-18|website=The American Interest|language=en-US}}</ref> and elsewhere, an article by a former volunteer describing assaults on volunteers from 1992 to 2010,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/2010/11/12/crime/|title=John Coyne Babbles – Crime And The Peace Corps Volunteer–Not A Novel!|work=peacecorpsworldwide.org|access-date=September 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905171324/http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/2010/11/12/crime/|archive-date=September 5, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> an ABC news report on ''[[20/20 (U.S. TV series)|20/20]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/raped-peace-corps-volunteer/story?id=13537674|title=Raped While a Peace Corps Volunteer|work=ABC News|access-date=September 6, 2015|date=2011-05-09}}</ref> a ''[[Huffington Post]]'' article on former Peace Corps volunteers speaking out on rapes,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/11/peace-corps-volunteers-rape-violence_n_860718.html |work=Huffington Post | first=Lucia | last=Graves | title=Peace Corps Volunteers Speak Out About Rape, Violence | date=May 11, 2011}}</ref> and About.com's article on rape and assault in the Peace Corps.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://womensissues.about.com/b/2011/01/28/is-the-peace-corps-dangerous-for-women.htm|title=Is the Peace Corps Dangerous for Women?|last=Lowen|first=Linda|work=About.com News & Issues|access-date=September 6, 2015|archive-date=December 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223211749/http://womensissues.about.com/b/2011/01/28/is-the-peace-corps-dangerous-for-women.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the [[Reagan Administration]], in 1986, an article in the ''[[Multinational Monitor]]'' looked critically at the Peace Corps.<ref name=":5">{{cite web|url=http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1986/09/smith.html|title=The Peace Corps|work=multinationalmonitor.org|access-date=September 6, 2015}}</ref> On a positive note, the writer praises the Corps for aspects saying that it is "not in the business of transferring massive economic resources. Rather it concentrates on increasing productivity and encouraging self-reliance in villages that are often ignored by large-scale development agencies," and notes the "heavy emphasis on basic education" by the Corps. "Many returned volunteers complain that the Peace Corps does little to promote or make use of their rich experiences once they return ... [A] Peace Corps volunteer is sent in ... [to] relieve ... the local government from having to develop policies that assure equitable distribution of health care ... During the early years there were many failures in structure and programming ... Some critics charge that the Peace Corps is only a somewhat ineffective attempt to counter damage done to the U.S. image abroad by its aggressive military and its unscrupulous businesses ... Many observers and some returned volunteers charge that, in addition to public relations for the United States, Peace Corps programs serve to legitimize dictators ... When he began evaluating the Corps in the 1960s, Charlie Peters found "they were training volunteers to be junior diplomats. Giving them a course in American studies, world affairs and communism ... Although it seems unlikely that the Peace Corps is used in covert operations, wittingly or not it is often used in conjunction with U.S. military interests ... In a review of the Peace Corps in March the House Select Committee on Hunger praised the agency for effective work in the areas of agriculture and conservation, while recommending that the Corps expand its African Food Systems Initiative, increase the number of volunteers in the field, recruit more women, and move to depoliticize country dictatorships."<ref name=":5" />

The author suggests that "the poor should be encouraged to organize a power base to gain more leverage with the powers-that-be" by the Peace Corps and that "The Peace Corps is the epitome of Kennedy's Camelot mythology. It is a tall order to expect a small program appended to an immense superpower, to make a difference, but it is a goal worth striving for."

In December 2003, a report by the [[Brookings Institution]] praised the Peace Corps but proposed changes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2003/12globalgovernance_rieffel.aspx|title=Reconsidering the Peace Corps|last=Rieffel|first=Lex|date=December 1, 2003|work=The Brookings Institution|access-date=September 6, 2015}}</ref> These include relabeling Peace Corps volunteers in certain countries, greater host country ownership, reverse volunteers (have volunteers from the host country in the U.S.), and multilateral volunteers. The Brookings Institution wrote that a "one-year service commitment [for the Baby Boom generation] could make the Peace Corps more attractive to older Americans, possibly combined with the option of returning to the same site or country after a three-month break" and customized placement to a specific country would increase the number of people volunteering.

In a critique by The Future of Freedom Foundation,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fff.org/explore-freedom/article/forgotten-failures-peace-corps/|title=The Forgotten Failures of the Peace Corps|work=fff.org|access-date=September 6, 2015|date=April 2011}}</ref> [[James Bovard]] mixes history of the Peace Corps with current interpretations. He writes that in the 1980s, "The Peace Corps's world-saving pretensions were a joke on American taxpayers and Third World folks who expected real help." He goes on to criticize the difference in rhetoric and action of Peace Corps volunteers, even attacking its establishment as "the epitome of emotionalism in American politics." Using snippets of reports, accounts of those in countries affected by the Peace Corps and even concluded that at one point "some Peace Corps agricultural efforts directly hurt Third World poor." At the end of the article, Bovard noted that all Peace Corps volunteers he had talked with conceded they have not helped foreigners ... but he acknowledges that "Some Peace Corps volunteers, like some Americans who volunteer for religion missions abroad, have truly helped foreigners."{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

Over the past decade, new directions for the Peace Corps have emerged. [[Christopher Hedrick]] outlined "The New Peace Corps"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yalejournal.org/publications/the-new-peace-corps|title=The New Peace Corps | date=February 26, 2013}}</ref> in a [[Yale Journal of International Affairs]] essay published in 2013. Hedrick, who was then both the Country Director for Peace Corps [[Senegal]] and the originator and coordinator of the Peace Corps malaria prevention initiative across sub-Saharan Africa, argued that the Peace Corps was "building upon a new generation’s passion and technological know-how to make a difference in the everyday lives of people in developing countries across the globe. The agency is undergoing a profound transformation, and volunteers’ service no longer resembles the traditional notion of the Peace Corps experience." While retaining the unique focus on deep understanding and relations with host communities, the New Peace Corps embraced professionalism among volunteers and staff, leveraged technology to improve communications and enhance the ability of host communities to access needed resources, and deepened partnerships with local, national, and international development partners. While some found this vision threatening to the iconic notion of the lone Peace Corps volunteer, the agency rapidly adopted this approach in significant initiatives such as the food security alliance with [[USAID]]'s [[Feed the Future Initiative]], the collaboration on malaria prevention and treatment with African health ministries and the U.S. [[President's Malaria Initiative]], and the increased focus on ensuring high levels of volunteer fluency in local languages. 

United States Senator [[Rick Scott]] criticized the Peace Corps operations in China for failing to do enough to promote [[capitalism]] and American values, and for not coordinating activities with the State Department.<ref name=":Li2" /> 

===Sexual assault===

The Peace Corps has been criticized for failing to properly respond to the [[sexual violence]] that many of its female volunteers face.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/world/la-xpm-2011-may-11-la-na-peace-corps-20110512-story.html | work=Los Angeles Times | first=Julie | last=Mianecki | title=Peace Corps volunteers tell lawmakers of sexual assault | date=May 11, 2011}}</ref> BoingBoing editor Xeni Jardin describes criticism of the agency's response to assault: "A growing number of ex-Peace Corps volunteers are speaking out about having survived rape and other forms of sexual assault while assigned overseas. They say the agency ignored their concerns for safety or requests for relocation, and tried to blame rape victims for their attacks. Their stories, and support from families and advocates, are drawing attention from lawmakers and promises of reform from the agency". Among 8,655 volunteers there are on average 22 Peace Corps women who reported being the victims of rape or attempted rape each year.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/us/11corps.html?pagewanted=all | work=The New York Times | title=Peace Corps Volunteers Speak Out on Rape | date=May 10, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://boingboing.net/2011/05/11/peace-corps-voluntee.html|title=Peace Corps volunteers speak out against "gross mismanagement of sexual assault complaints"|work=Boing Boing|date=May 11, 2011 |access-date=September 6, 2015}}</ref>

At a meeting of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in 2011, Peace Corps volunteers shared their experiences of violence and sexual assault. At this meeting, it was found that between 2000 and 2009 there have been several cases of rape or attempted rape, and about 22 women are sexually assaulted each year. The case of murdered Peace Corps volunteer Kate Puzey was discussed. The Peace Corps has gained attention in the media and their directors have been attacked for how they handled this situation. Kate Puzey's mother was one of those to make a comment at the meeting about how badly the situation with her daughter had been handled. One woman claimed that her country's director had blamed her for getting raped, while other victims have also been similarly blamed.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/11/peace-corps-volunteers-rape-violence_n_860718.html|title = The Huffington Post|date = 2011-05-11|last = Graves|first = Lucia|newspaper = Huffington Post}}</ref> Criticism of how Peace Corps has responded to sexual assaults against volunteers culminated in the appointment of Kellie Green as the agency's first Director of the Office Of Victims Advocacy in 2011. Green was eventually pushed out of her position in April 2015 for purportedly "creating a hostile work environment". Greene maintains that Peace Corps retaliated against her for pressing agency officials to fully comply with their responsibilities towards volunteers who have been victims of sexual assault. A Change.org petition demanding that Green be reinstated began circulating among former volunteers in December 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Peace Corps volunteers petition to reinstate sexual assault victims' advocate who was pushed out|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2016/01/11/peace-corps-volunteers-petition-to-reinstate-sexual-assault-victims-advocate-who-was-pushed-out/|newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]|date = January 11, 2016|access-date = January 13, 2016|first = Lisa|last = Rein}}</ref>

In 2009, the most recent year reported, 69% of Peace Corps crime victims were women, 88% were under 30, and 82% were Caucasian. Worldwide, there were 15 cases of rape/attempted rape and 96 cases of sexual assault reported for a total of 111 sexual crimes committed against female Peace Corps volunteers. The majority of women who join the Peace Corps are in their mid-twenties. In 62% of the more than 2,900 assault cases since 1990, the victim was identified as being alone. In 59% of assault cases, the victim was identified as a woman in her 20s.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://womensissues.about.com/od/rapesexualassault/a/Women-Peace-Corps-Rape-Sexual-Assault_2.htm|title = Rape, Sexual Assault of Women in the Peace Corps – Are Women Safe? Part 2|last = Lowen|first = Linda|access-date = March 28, 2015|archive-date = April 23, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160423222139/http://womensissues.about.com/od/rapesexualassault/a/Women-Peace-Corps-Rape-Sexual-Assault_2.htm|url-status = dead}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
[[Frank Zappa]] and [[The Mothers of Invention]] have a song named "[[Who Needs the Peace Corps?]]" on their 1968 album ''[[We're Only in It for the Money]]''.

In popular culture, the Peace Corps has been used as a comedic [[plot device]] in such movies as ''[[Airplane!]]'', ''[[Christmas with the Kranks]]'', ''[[Shallow Hal]]'', and ''[[Volunteers (1985 film)|Volunteers]]'' or used to set the scene for a historic era, as when Frances "Baby" Houseman tells the audience she plans to join the Peace Corps in the introduction to the movie ''[[Dirty Dancing]]''.<ref>Leonard Maltin, ed. ''Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide'' (2009) pp 56, 245, 348, 568,1499.</ref>

The Peace Corps has also been documented on film and examined more seriously and in more depth. The 2006 documentary film ''Death of Two Sons,'' directed by Micah Schaffer, juxtaposes the deaths of [[Amadou Diallo]], a Guinean-American who was gunned down by four New York City policemen with 41 bullets, and Peace Corps volunteer Jesse Thyne who lived with Amadou's family in Guinea and died in a car crash there.<ref name=PCOLDiallo>New York Daily News.  "Disappointed Diallo ma" by Nicole Bode.  November 27, 2006. The [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/story/474932p-399522c.html original link] is dead.  An archival link is available [http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/467/2076163.html here.]</ref> ''Jimi Sir'', released in 2007, is a documentary portrait of volunteer James Parks' experiences as a high school science, math and English teacher during the last 10 weeks of his service in [[Nepal]].<ref name=PCOLSirjimi>{{cite web |url=http://jimisir.com/ |title="Jimi Sir an American Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal" December 18, 2004 |publisher=Jimisir.com |access-date=October 16, 2011 |archive-date=March 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304024000/http://jimisir.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> James speaks Nepali fluently and shows a culture where there are no roads, vehicles, electricity, plumbing, telephone or radio.<ref name=PCOLSirjimi/> The movie ''[[El Rey (film)|El Rey]]'', directed and written by Antonio Dorado in 2004, attacks corrupt police, unscrupulous politicians and half-hearted revolutionaries but also depicts the [[urban legend]] of Peace Corps Volunteers "training" native Colombians how to process coca leaves into cocaine.<ref name=PCOLElrey>''Miami Herald''.  "Popular film revives Peace Corps rumors: The top movie in Colombia is about the origins of the cocaine trade with an unexpected villain: the U.S. Peace Corps." by Steven Dudley.  November 6, 2004. [http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/467/2024372.html Archive link].</ref>

'''Fictional Peace Corps volunteers'''

* Frances "Baby" Houseman in the 1987 film [[Dirty Dancing]] plans to join the Peace Corps after graduating from Mount Holyoke.<ref>{{cite book|author=Philip C. Dimare|title=Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=miascUWIa0UC&pg=PA128|year=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=128|isbn=9781598842968}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[List of notable Peace Corps volunteers]]
* [[AmeriCorps]]
* [[Language education]]
* [[List of language self-study programs]]
* [[Peace Corps Memorial]]
* [[Provincial Reconstruction Team]]
* [[United States Cultural Exchange Programs]]
* [[British Romanian Educational Exchange]]
* [[CUSO]]
* [[Doctors Without Borders]]
* [[ECHO (European Commission)#EU Aid Volunteers|EU Aid Volunteers]]
* [[European Voluntary Service]]
* [[Fredskorpset]]
* [[International Voluntary Services]]
* [[JICA]] (Japan International Cooperation Agency)
* [[Korea International Cooperation Agency]]
* [[United Nations Volunteers]]
* [[Voluntary Service Overseas]]
* [[World Vision]]
{{div col end}}
<!-- ==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}} -->

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
{{wikisource|Executive Order 10924}}
* Latham, Michael E. ''Modernization as ideology: American social science and" nation building" in the Kennedy era.'' (U of North Carolina Press, 2000). [https://www.questia.com/library/106254534/modernization-as-ideology-american-social-science Online]
* May, Gary. "Passing the Torch and Lighting Fires: The Peace Corps," in Thomas G. Paterson, ed. ''Kennedy's Quest for Victory: American Foreign Policy, 1961–1963'' (1989) pp 284–316.

==External links==
* {{Official website|http://www.peacecorps.gov}}
* [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/752 Records of the Peace Corps in the National Archives (Record Group 490)]
* Czernek, Andrew (2012). [https://web.archive.org/web/20120726182937/http://andyczernek.com/peacecorpsvolunteers.html ''Summary of studies done of returned Peace Corps volunteers (RPCVs)'']

{{John F. Kennedy}}
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[[Category:Appropriate technology organizations]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 1961]]
[[Category:Independent agencies of the United States government]]
[[Category:International volunteer organizations]]
[[Category:Presidency of John F. Kennedy]]
[[Category:Foreign relations agencies of the United States]]
[[Category:Ramon Magsaysay Award winners]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Honour (Moldova)]]
[[Category:1961 establishments in the United States]]