Our Program • Meet the Fellows

Seung Yu is a ninth grade English teacher at the High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology in Brooklyn. He is in his second year of teaching and joined the teaching profession as a Peace Corps Fellow. He is currently working towards his M.A. in English Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and earned his B.A. in English Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 2008 Cohort.

Megan Calkins

Megan is from sunny Miami, FL.  She served as a TEFL volunteer working with kids in grades 3-12 in a small village in Moldova.  Currently, she’s teaching in an elementary school in the Bronx working with ESL children in grades K-2.  Megan has found that while living and working in the City is not always easy, it is always intriguing and exhilarating.

MLE Davis

MLE Davis is originally from Bernardston, Massachusetts. After finishing an undergrad degree in American Studies, she decided it was important to leave America and explore something completely new. MLE was looking to explore both a culture distant & different from my own, and to use that difference to reflect back upon my own culture. She spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer and an English teacher in Athieme, Benin. Afterwards, MLE spent a year teaching in South Korea but missed the aspect of teaching as a form of development, so she returned to the developing world and spent two years teaching ESL in Yemen. After these five years of teaching and living abroad, MLE wanted to return to America and bring this energy of education for empowerment and whole-student development into an American classroom. She now works at Horizon Academy – a GED program for incarcerated young men on Rikers Island. While the challenges are daunting and sometimes threaten to overwhelm, they remain the thing that gets her out of bed in the morning. Children around the world – MLE’s students in Benin, Korea, Yemen, and New York – have a similar need for teachers who care about them as whole people, and can help them find the confidence and means of expression to go forward in the world to be active, empowered citizens.

Amanda Gardner

Amanda Gardner is from Anchorage, Alaska. She served as an Education volunteer in Mozambique, teaching English as a Foreign Language at Tete Secondary School from 2005-2007. She currently teaches ESL at the High School of World Cultures in the Bronx, where her [mostly] newly-arrived immigrant students keep her on her toes. Amanda loves exploring the richness of linguistic and cultural diversity of her students' own lived experiences, as well as NYC and the world at large, in her teaching.

Elizabeth Hundley

Elizabeth Hundley is from Richmond, Virginia.  She served in Gunichas, Namibia as an English teacher at Johannes Dohren High School from November 2005 to December 2007.  She is enrolled in the Teaching of English program at Teachers College and currently teaches Humanities at the Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation in the Bronx, New York.

Elizabeth finds teaching in New York City challenging and rewarding.  She works with seventh graders and feels responsible for playing the role of counselor, big sister, parent, disciplinarian and entertainer, as well as teacher.  This year, she’s noticed that once a connection has been formed with learners, then learning can take place.  Before that connection, real sharing of knowledge can’t happen. There’s a sign outside a building in the Village that reads “If we all do one random act of kindness each day, then we might be able to turn the world in the right direction”— Elizabeth agrees.

Jen Kim

Jen Kim joined Peace Corps Madagascar as an Education volunteer a month after graduating with a BA in International Affairs and a minor in Studio Art. Her time with her students in Madagascar fueled her interests to pursue a Masters in TESOL. Currently, Jen is a half-time graduate student through the Peace Corps Fellows program at Teachers College while full time teaching ESL and English Literature in Queens, NYC. Jen incorporates cultural understanding, respect, and social equality in her teachings. She considers herself very fortunate to have students who challenge, inspire, and make her laugh every day.

Kristi Ley

Kristi Ley is from Madison, Wisconsin.  After spending two years as a Rural Community Development Volunteer in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Kristi realized that she still didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up, so went to Shenyang, China to teach English for a year. Kristi returned in search of a livelihood that would allow her to continue developing meaningful relationships on a daily basis while deepening her understanding of the world and those in it. Currently, she is a student of Bilingual/Bicultural Education at Columbia Teachers College and a teacher at Amistad Dual Language School in Inwood, where her First Graders’ curiosity and zeal for life is unavoidably contagious.

Steve Lynch

Steve Lynch grew up in the rural suburbs of both Wisconsin and Ohio, serving in Turkmenistan as a TEFL teacher with the Peace Corps between '04 and '06.  While he was an English teacher in name, most of his time was spent playing ultimate frisbee with his kids and teaching them American and British indie rock songs in their music club, for which they produced three concerts and a recorded album. He currently teaches 9th and 10th grade English Language Arts in Brooklyn and spends a good amount of time each day figuring out how to properly use the phrase "mad tight" in a sentence. Any success he might ever have in the classroom or in life can be credited to his two touchstones: the Schmutz Methodology and Supernanny.

Amanda Moody

Amanda is from Southern Maine. She completed her Peace Corps service as an English Education/Gender & Development volunteer in the enchanting Sahara Desert (RPCV Mauritania, 2005-2007), and is currently a member of the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Program (TESOL) at Teachers College, where she is a high school English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher by day and graduate student by night. Amanda feels fortunate to teach students in Manhattan who share some of the same qualities that her Mauritanian students had, including a diverse yet common West African heritage, and a zest for self-discovery. Amanda is unsure if, without her Peace Corps experience, she would have the confidence or direction that characterizes her teaching now. Because of that experience, she can say that she knows where her kids have been, or at least that she is ready to understand them. This effort to connect with kids informs Amanda’s teaching. They say good learners make good teachers, and she couldn’t agree more.

Jessica Needles

Jessica is originally from Newark, Delaware. She served in Sokal, Ukraine from September 2004 until November 2006. Jessica is currently earning a Masters in Teaching of English at Columbia University Teachers College, and teaching 9th and 10th grade English at the Secondary School for Law in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Kelly Ummel

Kelly is from the golden state of California. From 2004-2006, she served as a Public Health Peace Corps volunteer in the Meru region of Kenya teaching HIV prevention and education. From there, she taught English as a foreign language in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Currently, she’s a Peace Corps fellow in the TESOL program at Teachers College, Columbia. Kelly works at PS 153, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Elementary in Harlem as a self-contained classroom teacher for fifth grade ESL students. She wants to teach her students to take pride in their own culture and language, and develop an appreciation for others as well. Kelly believes human beings through out the world should have the right and ability to expand their minds and brighten their future through education.

Maggie Vallejos

Maggie is a citizen of the world, but when people ask her where she’s from, she usually says New Jersey. Maggie is of mostly Domincan and Peruvian descent. From 2005-2007 she served as a Peace Corps math teacher in Mozambique, and currently continues to teach math as a Peace Corps Fellow at Landmark High School, an empowerment school in Chelsea. She thinks of our program as Peace Corps NYC and, just as in Mozambique, that being a NYC teacher is also "the toughest job she'll ever love." Maggie thinks that Aristotle said it best - "the roots of education may be bitter but the fruit is sweet." This was the idea she tried to spread in Mozambique, and one she continues to spread today. Education is such a powerful tool, and Maggie hopes that students and parents can see this, especially in the places that PCFs and PCVs, go – places that the world often forgets.

Cathy Wiseman

Catherine Wiseman is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in the Small Business Development Sector for Peace Corps Nicaragua in the Department of Masaya from May 2000 through August 2002.  She also served as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer as an ESL Specialist in Morazan, El Salvador from September 2007 to March 2008.  In 2005, she received her California State teaching Credential and worked two years as a transitional bilingual teacher in San Jose, California.  She joined the Peace Corps Fellows program in May of 2008 and is currently completing course work to receive a MA in Bilingual, Bicultural Education.

Devin Ackles

Devin Ackles is originally from Holt, Michigan.  He studied Russian Language and Literature at Michigan State University.  Devin spent his two years of service as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan, where he taught English and American History & Culture at a teacher’s college with a delightful and witty group of dedicated local colleagues. He is currently enrolled in the Social Studies Program at Teachers College, Columbia University, and will be working with high school students next fall. Devin finds that a mixture of respect, a sense of humor, attention to detail, and openness to diversity teaches and enriches everyone. 

Samantha Adams

Samantha Adams was born and raised in Kansas, and received her Bachelor of Science in Meteorology in 2004 from Florida State University. She joined the Peace Corps in 2006, serving as a Community HIV/AIDS Educator in Swaziland. Samantha plans to teach high school level Earth Science. She believes her view of the world is best summarized by Edmund Burke, who said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

Alexis Austin

Alexis (Ali) Austin lived in Bellingham, Washington from the age of 10 until she left for Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington where she majored in psychology, studied abroad in Spain, and was a varsity swimmer.  Following college graduation, she drove around the United States, drove around New Zealand, lived in Alaska and Honduras, and worked with ELL youth in Bellingham.  She served as a youth and families volunteer in a small town on the northern coast of Ecuador from June '06 until February '09.  She plans to teach 3rd through 5th grade bilingual education.  She believes in six degrees of separation between all people on earth, and that life is a series of circles.

Amber Bennett

Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Amber served in the Peace Corps from 2006-2008 teaching secondary education biology in Tanzania. She will be teaching the same subject in New York.  Her personal philosophy has been shaped by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, “In a real sense, all life is inter-related. All [people] are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”

David Davis

David is originally from the state of Maine.  He received his undergraduate degree in American Studies at Saint Michael’s College, located just outside of Burlington, Vermont.  He served in Peace Corps El Salvador from 2006 – 2008.  He will be teaching Social Studies in grades 9-12.  He believes education is fundamental to the empowerment of all people whether in rural El Salvador or inner city New York. 

Joseph Deschenes

Joey is from Northern California. Upon graduating from San Francisco State, he served for 2 ½ years in Albania. As a Peace Corps Fellow at Teachers College, he will be teaching middle school English. Having experienced life in various situations, he has come to believe that although the circumstances into which one is born are arbitrary, the dedication and generosity of educators, individuals and communities can bring about change.

Sargeant Donovan-Smith

Sargeant grew up in New Hampshire and Boston, and graduated from Williams College in 1999.   For the next five years, she lived and worked in New York City, Boston, and Providence.  She served as a rural economic development volunteer in central Paraguay from 2005 – 2007. Sargeant spent this past year as a teaching assistant in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and plans to teach high school mathematics in New York.  Her Peace Corps experience taught her to take a long-term approach to working for social change.  Sargeant envisions her role as a teacher working with students, parents, and the community in a movement toward social justice.

Mark Fox

Mark is from Detroit, and graduated from the University of Michigan in 2004. Upon completing his undergraduate work, he left for Ukraine as a Peace Corps volunteer and completed his service in 2006. He was awarded a Fulbright grant in 2007 to work at San Ildefonso, a bilingual elementary school in Madrid. In New York, he will be teaching at a dual language elementary school and working toward an MA in bilingual/bicultural education. He loves teaching because he feels he learns something new about the world, his students, and himself every day.

Kolter Kiess

After returning from his Peace Corps service in Ukraine, Kolter began teaching GED and ESOL classes at Project Learn of Summit County.  His experiences there, as well as those in Ukraine, opened his eyes to the social inequities which exist in the United States and abroad, and led him to the believe that local, radical pedagogy can have a significant impact on the lives of students and  individuals world wide.  He plans to teach high school English, and is looking forward to a career in New York City schools.

Heath Kirkendoll

Heath grew up in a small town in Tennessee, but knew many experiences and challenges existed for him outside of his hometown.  In 2006, having finished his undergraduate work in International Relations at Boston University, he joined the Peace Corps to teach English in Northern Mozambique. When his service ended, he was eager to return to the classroom, and jumped at an opportunity to work with special needs children at a primary school in Toronto.  He feels he has been educated and humbled by his travel and teaching experiences.  He is looking forward to teaching high school level Social Studies in New York, with the goal of passing on a sense of history, an appreciation for geography, and stories of individuals who have made a difference in the world. 

Adam Lammers

Adam was born and raised in Central Ohio in the small town of Granville. He attended Otterbein College, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science. He served as a Student Conservation volunteer in Environmental Education in Senegal on the coast of West Africa. He is looking forward to teaching Biology in grades 7-12.  His experiences in service reflect his view of the world, have shaped his outlook, and have taught him the importance of working toward equality in education.

Gregory Landrigan

Upon graduating from the College of William and Mary with a bachelor’s degree in English, Gregory worked for a year as a full time substitute teacher in northern Vermont. Because he missed his hometown, Greg returned to Washington, D.C. in 2001 to work as part of the communications team at the Aspen Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program. While in DC, he volunteered as a teacher at the Washington Literacy Council. In 2005, he joined the Peace Corps and served as a member of the Sustainable Agriculture Systems program in Panama, where he worked with indigenous coffee producers. Extending his service for a third year, Greg coordinated the coffee program, synchronizing the efforts of Panamanian governmental agencies, members of the for-profit coffee industry, and Peace Corps volunteers. He will work as a bilingual educator with elementary school students. He looks forward to teaching in the New York City school system, and to continuing in the spirit of service which marked his Peace Corps experience.

Jennifer Lyons

Jennifer is originally from Austin, Texas.  She attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts before beginning her Peace Corps service in Kazakhstan.  As a Peace Corps Fellow, she’ll be teaching Social Studies at the secondary level. Through the experiences of Peace Corps service, study, travel, and a diverse upbringing, she has come to understand the importance of devoting herself to social change in a world full of poverty, racism, and disadvantage.

Heather Marr
Heather grew up in the very green and beautiful Eugene, Oregon, and went to college in Portland. Her Peace Corps service was as an English Teacher from 2006-2007 in Madagascar, where swaying palm trees and lapping water was the view from her classroom.  In New York City, she’s looking forward to teaching 7th-12th grade English.  She’s excited about New York’s diverse student body, and is looking forward to working with children from so many different cultures.  Her goal is to use literature to teach her students about the world.

Caitlin Parrish

Caitlin grew up in Brooklyn, NY. She double-majored in Philosophy and Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh, and is currently finishing her service as a Peace Corps Health Volunteer in Tanzania. Caitlin is looking forward to teaching social studies.

Sarah Richardson

Sarah grew up in Algonac, a small town in southeast Michigan, located on the St. Clair River. She graduated from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in 2002 with a B.A in Linguistics and Spanish.  From 2006-2008, she served in the Peace Corps as an English teacher in Zavallia, Ukraine. She will be teaching English, grades 7-8. She believes the Peace Corps has given her an incredible opportunity to teach and learn and grow, more than she ever thought possible. In Ann Arbor, she developed a love of language, and her experiences abroad have shown her how language can shape, influence, and define who we are. As a teacher in New York City, she hopes to show her students how to think outside of convention, and how to use language to express themselves creatively.

   
Dayla Rogers

Dayla grew up in the Detroit area, and spent her senior year of high school as an exchange student in Turkey.  She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2006 with a degree in History and Political Science with a focus on the Modern Mid-East.  After graduation, she served as an ESL Peace Corps volunteer in the Western Mongolian city of Hovd.  She looks forward to teaching high school history, civics, economics, and geography.  Her philosophy on life is to treat each experience as an adventure.

Nathan Simonini



As the son of a military officer, Nathan moved frequently, but came to consider New Baltimore, Michigan, a small suburb of Detroit, his home.  He attended Grand Valley State University in Michigan, graduating in 2005 with a Bachelor's degree in History.   The following year, he began his service in the United States Peace Corps as a Youth Development Volunteer in Morocco.  In New York, he will be teaching high school social studies, and working toward the goal of fostering positive social change through education. 

Sandi Spaziani



Sandy Spaziani is from the Southern Tier part of New York. For 2 ½ years, she served in Grenada in the Eastern Caribbean where she worked in a local school training teachers and students in inclusive special education practices.   Her teaching certificates are from Buffalo State College, and she is anxious to teach English in New York City. She believes everyone, given the chance, can accomplish whatever s/he wants. Universal education is very important to her, and she does not believe that disability, income, race, or religion should prohibit anyone from receiving the best possible education.  

Taina Torres

Taina grew up in a small town in Georgia. While studying at the University of Nevada in Reno for her undergraduate degree, she worked with a charter high school mentoring and teaching. Upon graduation, her original plan to study law was overshadowed by the interest she’d developed for education.  After serving as an educator with the Peace Corps in Ukraine from 2005-2007, she continued her work in education managing a literacy program for immigrants in Chicago. These experiences fueled her interest, changed her perspective, and reinforced her determination to provide equitable education to underserved populations.  Her Peace Corps and Chicago experiences were the primary influences in deciding to further her education as a Peace Corps Fellow. She will be teaching English to secondary school students in New York City while pursuing an M.A. in the teaching of English at Teachers College, Columbia University. She looks forward to continuing to learn as both a student and teacher, and to helping to inspire her students to seek social justice through education.