Kathleen was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin, West Africa from 1975 to 1977.  As a health education volunteer, she trained primary school teachers to deliver a new national curriculum of lessons on nutrition, personal hygiene, and disease prevention. Kathleen worked in global health for more than a decade, managing projects throughout Africa and Asia. She earned an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management and has nonprofit, private, and public sector experience across multiple industries, focused on marketing, business development, and project management. Kathleen particularly enjoyed the years she spent consulting and training in cross-cultural communication and business etiquette. Kathleen is the Affiliate Group Network Manager for National Peace Corps Association.

As President, Kathleen hopes to help SEAPAX continue adapting and evolving to remain a relevant and significant contributor to peace and global solidarity.

Fun Fact: Kathleen has summited numerous volcanic peaks and climbs in the U.S. West, East Africa, and Mexico. Taking advantage of the accessibility of another favorite PNW sport, she’s traded in her rope, rack, and climbing shoes for a pair of sculling oars.

Lauren was a Peace Corps volunteer in Barbaza, Antique, Philippines from July 2014 - August 2016, serving as an English Second Language teacher and teacher trainer at Barbaza National High School. In addition to teaching grammar and remedial reading, she also enjoyed working cross-sectorally including a girls empowerment camp, ocean conservation camps, and youth development projects. Prior to serving on the board in Seattle, she also served on the board in Houston, TX from 2017-2021.

Lauren is from Houston, TX and moved to the greater Seattle area this summer with her husband. She is a high school English, Drama, and College & Career Readiness teacher who has worked at all levels of education throughout her career, but loves working with secondary students most of all. Her favorite part of education is helping students realize their potential inside and outside of the classroom. While relationships are the best part of her job, she also has a knack for organization and note taking thanks to managing a classroom and the various roles she held throughout college. When not in the classroom, you’ll find Lauren spending time with her pets, traveling here or there, enjoying live music, or at brunch.

Fun Fact: Lauren got scuba certified during her time in the Philippines.

Brad was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of South Africa from 2006-2008. As a volunteer, he worked at a rural, district hospital in a clinic specializing in HIV/AIDS health care. Projects included the identification of the late AIDS-stage arrival of HIV patients at the clinic where he worked, the development of a system to help find HIV patients who failed to return for medical follow-up visits, and youth outreach work.

After returning to the United States, Brad took a position as a Research Scientist at the University of Washington, which is where he currently works. The focus
of the lab that he works in is the design and development of an effective HIV-1 vaccine.

Brad was SEAPAX Membership Chair from 2017-2018 before serving as President from 2019-2021.  As the Immediate Past President, he is looking forward to staying engaged with SEAPAX as an advisor to the Board.

Fun fact: In his younger days, Brad was known for riding a unicycle wherever he went.

John Berry served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger 1986–89 and has extensive experience in international development program design and management.

Brianna Celaya serves on the SEAPAX board and served in Guyana from June 2019- to March 2020 as an Environmental Educator. She is a Civil Engineer at U.S. Forest Service.
 

Jerome was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liupanshui, Guizhou Province,
China from June 2019 to February 2020, serving as an adjunct professor at
Liupanshui Normal University. Along with teaching news listening and spoken English,
Jerome also served as an advisor to the university’s student led English Fans
Association, hosted a bimonthly cooking club, and executed a weekly English Corner.
Jerome also served as a Peer-Support and Diversity Network Advisor, Safety and
Security Warden, and In-Service Training Committee Planner.
 
Jerome’s final act as a volunteer was executing a two-cohort reflection session during
Peace Corps China’s consolidation, evacuation, and final close of service ceremony in
Bangkok, Thailand (February 2020). Jerome is a Covid-19 Evacuee.
 
Jerome has called the PNW home since 2003. He is currently working for the National
Peace Corps Association as a COVID-19 Contact Tracer, part of the inaugural NPCA
Emergency Response Network. His current assignment is focused on the COVID-19
response in King County, Washington. He is excited to share stories and be a part of
the PNW RPCV community.
 
Fun fact: Jerome has run three marathons in Seattle.

Belize 1996-1998

Ellen was an Environmental Education Volunteer in Bolivia from 2007-08. She rode a bright yellow bicycle around town to plant schoolyard gardens and tree nurseries and set up a municipal recycling program. She also taught English and, in a complete departure from her natural skill set, tutored math and sang in a choir.

Since Peace Corps, Ellen has worked in agroforestry, forest restoration, and natural resource management at the local and international levels. She moved to Seattle in 2020 and is settling in ever-so-slowly. She volunteers with Forterra, Books to Prisoners, and Lutheran Community Services and hopes to build SEAPAX relationships with those groups.

Fun fact: Ellen learned Quechua and French with instruction in Spanish and her brain has possibly not recovered. She is now attempting to learn Korean. 안녕하세요! Estoy bien! Et vous, allinachu?

I served in The Gambia, West Africa from 2014-2016, born and raised in Spokane, WA. Went to University of Washington where I double majored in Political Science and Communications.

I am currently a Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley. When I'm not working, I enjoy staying active and hanging with friends.  I love the outdoors- hiking, camping, fishing, and skiing. Enjoy sports, playing soccer, golf, and rugby as well as watching all sports.

I try to give back when I can and volunteer regularly with the local IRC chapter; I joined the SEAPAX board to help out because my peace corps experience was incredibly rewarding and I want to continue the mission. I'm excited to meet old and new volunteers and connect with all our members. I like to joke and have a good time! 

Fun fact: I had my appendix removed when I was 9 years old.

Abra was a volunteer in Azerbaijan 2013-2015 and then served with Peace Corps Response in Georgia in 2015 as an English teacher. Abra was inspired to join the Peace Corps to help improve access to education and present a positive image of Americans abroad after traveling to Syria and southern Africa and teaching ESL in West Virginia.

Abra works in strategy in the biopharmaceuticals industry where she continues to apply learnings from Peace Corps by working to improve patient access to innovative medicines globally. She holds an MBA from Georgetown University, is the author of Seeing the Biopharma Future, and enjoys traveling, writing, and studying languages in her free time. She's looking forward to joining fellow RPCVs, some of her very favorite people, in SEAPAX to serve local and global communities and inspire future Peace Corps volunteers. 

Kenney Tran was a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia, serving in Community Economic
Development on the Caribbean coast from 2018 to 2020 where he worked
with the national training service, high school teachers, as well as the ministry of education to
enhance entrepreneurship and financial literacy efforts. Kenney is a Covid-19 Evacuee.

Kenney is a graduate student at the University of Washington in the Evans School, working on
his MPA focusing on racial equity through social policy. Kenney is heavily invested in anti-racism work, serving on multiple nonprofit boards.