SEAPAX Annual Board Elections

Our annual Board elections are underway! All SEAPAX members are eligible to vote. If you are not a SEAPAX member, please join today.

Read candidate biographies, and then...

Vote here >>

Voting will officially close at 5 pm on Thursday September 30th, 2021. Stay tuned for results in our October newsletter, or check our website and Facebook page.

We appreciate your participation, and please email us with any questions.

Open Non-Elected Board Positions

Would you like to get more involved with SEAPAX and our local RPCV community?

There is no better way to do so than to serve on our Board. We are looking for dependable individuals who can commit at least one year to serve in the following roles:

Regular Events Chair

• Leads Regular Events Committee, which is responsible for the planning and execution of regularly occurring events (i.e. happy hours, eats-out, book club, etc.)

Membership Chair

• Updates, manages, and communicates membership policy as needed
• Monitors SEAPAX email
• Manages and operates monthly Member Spotlight
• Leads Membership Committee
• Works to improve membership engagement

Community Service Chair

• Leads Community Service Committee, which works with local organizations to plan and promote service-related events for SEAPAX member participation
• Connects persons interested in talking about their Peace Corps experience to groups and organizations seeking speakers

If you are interested and/or would like to learn more, please email us.

September Happy Hour

Happy Hour with coworkers seems like a distant memory, but we want to help fill the void! Come join us for another happy hour event full of food, drinks and fun at the Growler Guys in Lake City on Wednesday, September 15 from 4:30-7:30 pm. See you there!

Email Garrett at gmorkill@gmail.com with any questions.

Support Local Refugees

As Seattle resettles more and more Afhan refugees, we hope the SEAPAX community is ready to step up. The Peace Corps Community for Refugees (PCC4R) has invited SEAPAX to partner with the regional affiliate of the Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service, Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCSNW).

The latest LCSNW request is for toiletries, cleaning supplies, kitchen items, and diapers for 'starter kits.' Reach out to Edie Cooke (ecooke@lcsnw.org) and Mouammar Abouagila (mabouagila@lcsnw.org) if you can help, and view full starter kit information here.

LCSNW is also seeking people with weekday availability to transport clients to appointments and deliver donations, as well as people who can temporarily host refugees in their home. Please visit the LCSNW website or contact Sheridan Moore (smoore@plu.edu or 503-893-8853) or siv@lcsnw.org for current needs and opportunities.

You can also help out other organizations supporting refugees at this time.

Advocacy

From September 18-25, the National Peace Corps Association will be hosting a Special 60^th Anniversary Conference, Peace Corps Connect 2021: Mobilizing for a Lifetime of Service and Impact. Amongst storytelling sessions, discussions with current and former Peace Corps leadership, and various interactive sessions, will be a Day of Advocacy on September 22. It was on this day 60 years ago that President John F. Kennedy signed the Peace Corps Act, officially creating Peace Corps. The Advocacy Coordinators hope SEAPAX members can join us as we mobilize throughout this week, and on September 22, focus our efforts on re-energizing our national representatives with the same Peace Corps spirit President Kennedy initially imparted.

Member Spotlight - Presenting the Unprecedented, Part 2

In this month’s spotlight, we continue our conversation with two more SEAPAX members who joined NPCA’s Emergency Response Network after their service was interrupted by the Peace Corps evacuation of March 2020. Paige Beiler and Jerome Siangco were working in Morocco and China, respectively.

Read the full spotlight >>

Find Part 1 of this series here.

Social Events

We sure had a blast at both our Summer Picnic and Regional RPCV Campout! Thank you to those of you who made both events fun and safe!

RPCV Regional Campout: After meeting a great group of volunteers and a night of storytelling, RPCVs Jonathan, Aaron, Shannon, Grace, and Shelby hiked to the waterfalls, picnicked, and selfied!

RPCV Regional Campout: RPCV Jonathan deep in thought and in creative photo mode after a day of beach grazing in La Push. So fun to explore native land!

Emergency Response Network Jobs with King County Public Health Department

The National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) is currently fielding a team of RPCVs as COVID-19 information resource coordinators (call center staff) with the King County Public Health Department. Following our contact tracing efforts last year and early this year, NPCA has provided this service to King County since April of this year, and is now looking to expand the team.

Positions are paid, full-time, and home-based. A minimum of 23 to 40 hours per week and a 6 to 12-month commitment are required. Positions include benefits depending on the number of hours worked. All candidates must be residents of Washington State, but King County residency is not required. Successful applicants must successfully pass a three-day training, assessment, and technical orientation program in order to begin work. Training and equipment will be provided. Employment will be contingent upon completing a final interview and assessment.

Send applications to reentry@peacecorpsconnects.org. See full job description.

Calendar Sales

2022 RPCV International Calendars are here!

These calendars keep us connected to the countries and people with whom we served, support our SEAPAX Small Grants program, and work towards the Third Goal: bringing the world back home.

Follow the diretions below to get $1 off the regular price of $15, and 40% of the proceeds support our SEAPAX Small Grants program!

This year, we are partnering with the RPCVs of Wisconsin-Madison, who created this beautiful calendar, to provide contactless delivery. To order:

1. Go to rpcvcalendar.org

2. Fill out the form to order your calendar(s).

3. Use our code: PC4SEAPAX

4. Calendars will ship to your address of choice!

Book Club

New Members

Check out our newly available SEAPAX merchandise - t-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee mugs, baby clothes, and more!

75% of all proceeds go toward our grants program which supports community-based projects in both Washington State and countries around the world.

Get your merch »

SEAPAX's Mentorship Program is open to newly returned PCVs AND not-so-newly returned PCVs! How we can offer support:

• Finding housing
• Job/career/professional development
• Social networking events
• Reintegration and readjustment
• Graduate school
• Service/volunteer opportunities
• Navigating Seattle
• Talking about the Peace Corps experience

If you are interested in participating as a mentee, sign up here.

Interested in being a mentor? Find details and sign up here.