Our annual Board elections are right around the corner, and we are currently seeking candidates for leadership roles. All SEAPAX members are eligible to run.
Voting will begin on September 7th through the end of the month for the following 2021 positions:
- President
- Vice President
-
Secretary
- Treasurer
- Director-at-Large (up to six)
If you are interested and/or would like to nominate someone, please email us the following by August 31st: nominee's name, position of interest, and brief biography of nominee (examples of biographies can be found here). Please also email us to learn more about any positions.
SEAPAX Non-profit Status
We are excited to announce our accreditation as a federally recognized 501(c)(3) Charitable Non-Profit. The SEAPAX Board spent the past year evaluating this change. Our new status allows bequests, gifts, and donations to be tax deductible retroactive beginning on April 20, 2020. This means membership and A Towering Task donations made on or after* that date are tax deductible! We look forward to maximizing our new status to strengthen our mission to support our RPCV community and organizations in our network.
*Please note that the mid-July newsletter contained an error and said 'before' instead of 'after.'
Advocacy
The Advocacy team is happy to announce three new co-sponsors for the Pandemic Response and Opportunity Through National Service Act: Derek Kilmer, Kim Schrier, and Denny Heck! The bill will prioritize national service programs like Peace Corps to help recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many thanks to all who made this happen!
The House Appropriations Committee passed a proposed Fiscal Year 2021 State/Foreign Operations spending plan that includes steady funding of $410.5 million for Peace Corps! The bill will next go to the House of Representatives for consideration. We ask everyone to please write your legislators in support of Peace Corps before they take recess. For more information see here. See other various legislative initiatives here.
On July 18, the NPCA held a virtual global ideas summit, Peace Corps Connects to the Future, where RPCVs discussed their experiences and tackled questions around how to improve Peace Corps and the RPCV experience. If you missed the summit, check out some video highlights!
Diversity & Inclusion Update
As part of our ongoing efforts to further equity in our Peace Corps community, we have created a new SEAPAX Board position, the Diversity & Inclusion Chair.
The Diversity & Inclusion Chair will establish and guide a Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Primary responsibilities of this new committee include:
- Identifying and evaluating actions for the Board and membership to better recognize, understand, and reduce racism and implicit biases in our local communities and the United States
- Helping identify community partners with whom SEAPAX can collaborate to better support underrepresented groups within our RPCV and local communities
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Acting as a channel for SEAPAX members to discreetly express concerns related to race, diversity, and inclusion within our RPCV community
Look forward to more information regarding the establishment of this committee soon. For now, we are thrilled to announce our Acting Diversity & Inclusion Chair, Megyn Rodriguez.
Megyn is a relatively new member of the SEAPAX board who joined in February 2020. She previously acted as the diversity committee president while serving in Peace Corps Colombia (2016-2018) working to enhance the support of LGBTQ-identified volunteers working in conservative communities of the Colombian coast. Prior to service, she had three years of experience working in a Gender Equity Center as an outreach coordinator and peer educator. As the newly appointed Diversity and Inclusion Chair, she hopes to help facilitate SEAPAX’s efforts to better support black and other minority RPCVs in greater Seattle area through actionable and meaningful ways.
Welcome New Board Members
We are thrilled to have the following individuals join the SEAPAX Board:
- Megyn Rodriguez – Acting Diversity and Inclusion Chair
- Kathleen Sebastian – Membership/Communications Co-Chair
- Lillian Baer – Mentorship Program Co-Chair
Thank you for your interest and commitment to our local RPCV community! We look forward to working with you.