We are an officially registered nonprofit organization based in Washington D.C. and an affiliate of the National Peace Corps Association. Finally current and future PCVs in Guyana won’t have to ask, “Why isn’t there a Guyana group on NPCA’s affiliate list?”
Our service won’t stop at putting an end to this question. We will actually be creating a new question in the minds of current volunteers: “How can the Guyana group help me and my community?”
A general answer to this question is that FROG will be providing assistance in the form of small grants and resources to support community driven projects that volunteers are involved in. In addition to this we will be conducting Guyanese cultural events and awareness activities in the U.S., both as a part of the Third Goal of Peace Corps and as a means to strengthen support for the people of Guyana.
I look forward to hearing from other RPCVs, both those we know and those who served before us, in addition to any other interested persons who would like to get involved.
Mission Statement:
Friends & RPCVs of Guyana is a non-profit, service based organization dedicated to supporting education, health, social, economic, and environmental programs in Guyana through a network of RPCVs, Guyanese nationals, Guyanese-Americans, and all others concerned and interested in the Guyanese Community.
Current Boardmembers
Mike Geurink – President
Michael Geurink is originally from Western Wisconsin and his biggest aspiration is to continue working in developing countries overseas. He graduated from University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in Recreation Management, and completed his internship at Wilderness Inquiry where he guided canoe trips for people with all abilities in the state of Maine. After leading trips in Maine he applied to the Peace Corps and accepted an invitation to serve in Guyana. There Michael was a Physical Education instructor for children with developmental disabilities and the hearing impaired. His secondary projects included youth leadership camps for kids, an HIV/AIDS workshop focusing on persons with disabilities, a resource center for people with disabilities, and editor of the Peace Corps Guyana news publication. He was inspired to join after spending a part of his summer in Thailand, shadowing his friend who was there serving as an English teacher.
Michael is a Finance and Administrative Manager for the Ethiopia field office on the DELIVER Project with John Snow, Inc. JSI’s goal is to improve the health of individuals and communities throughout the world. JSI applies practical and innovative solutions in management, research, education, information and training.
Michael currently resides in Washington, DC and dedicates his spare time to FROG. He continues to travel with JSI but spends most of his time within the District of Columbia.
Kati Ringer – Vice President
After graduating from the University of Vermont with a degree in History and Studio Art, Kati Ringer served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guyana from 2004-2006. It was there, working as an Educator, that she discovered a love for working with young children. She currently lives and works in Burlington, Vermont and spends her free time running non-profits, making art, listening to great music, spending time with her family and friends and looking for great spots to hang a hammock.
Louise Stenberg – Secretary
Louise graduated with a BA in Humanities from the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University in Minnesota. After realizing that her degree wasn’t pointing her in any clear career direction, she joined the Peace Corps and served as a Community Health Education Volunteer in Guyana from 2004 to 2006. During her service, she worked with Hope For All, a local NGO that focuses on HIV/AIDS education and services. After finishing her Peace Corps service, she went back to school and in May 2008 earned her Master of Public Health degree in health behavior and health education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Soon after graduation, she returned to Guyana and worked with the USAID/Guyana HIV/AIDS Reduction and Prevention Project focusing on their youth education and prevention programs. She returned to the US in 2009 and now lives in Washington, DC and continues to work with HIV/AIDS programs.
Eric Terpstra – Treasurer
After growing up in Iowa and graduating from Iowa State University with a degree in MIS and Finance, Eric became a bit restless and joined the Peace Corps. In addition to teaching a slew of computer classes, Eric opened a small internet cafe at the Georgetown YWCA, assisted other volunteers with small IT projects, and rubbed elbows with Jimmy Carter, Mick Jagger, and the U.S. Ambassador. Following the Peace Corps and a short stint in Chicago, Eric participated in a one-year “Residency in Social Enterprise” in Boston, where he assisted the Young Entrepreneurs Alliance with various capacity building projects. He then decided Tennessee was the place to be, so he currently resides in Memphis and manages projects for Mind Over Data.
For FROG, Eric cooks the books, and helps Scott manage the website. He’s recently taken up gardening, and still spends an obscene amount of time keeping up with the latest gadgets and internet technologies.
Scott Stadum
Scott graduated from Bowling Green State University in 2001 with a B.S. in Visual Communications Technology. He drove the 8,000 miles from Ohio to Minnesota, living briefly outside of Minneapolis for two years. At that time Scott helped job train the mentally impaired for the state of Minnesota. After two years in Minnesota, he went on to join the Peace Corps and served in Guyana from 2003 to 2005. While in Guyana, Scott was an IT volunteer with the World Wildlife Fund, promoting environmental causes through collaborations with organizations such as UN Volunteers, U.S.AID, The Wishbone Project/Smile Train, Iwokrama, and the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society. Post-Peace Corps, Scott moved to Washington, DC and wore a tie for two years while working in a cubicle for the FAA and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Scott joined Idealist in January 2008 and took off the tie.
Anita Kattakuzhy
Anita graduated from Towson University with a BS in Elementary Education and continued her work with youth during her Peace Corps service in Guyana from 2004 to 2006. There she worked in three Maternal and Child Health Clinics and helped to establish a camp for secondary students promoting leadership, healthy lifestyles, and education. Following her service, Anita attended the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London for a Master’s program in Social Anthropology – Migration and Diaspora Studies. Since her return to the US in 2007, Anita has been working with Asian American LEAD, a youth development organization in Columbia Heights, Washington DC and Silver Spring, MD.
Aimie Langenfeld
Aimie received a BA in Political Science from the University of Minnesota, Morris in 2000 and a MA in International Studies and Conflict Resolution from the University of Denver in 2002. From 2004-2006, Aimie served as a Community Education Promoter in Uitvlugt, WCD, Guyana and extended her Peace Corps service for a third year from 2006-2007. Aimie served as VAC Chair and co-authored the training guide “Literacy Manual: For Effective Literacy Teaching and Training in the Guyanese School System”. After her Peace Corps service, Aimie lived in Bartica, Guyana from 2007-2008. She now works as a Siting and Land Rights Specialist for a Land and Energy Development company in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Jody Knueppel
Jody was sold on the idea of joining Peace Corps after seeing their advertisement on AFN in 1986. With her husband Jason, she served in Bartica, Guyana, as an Education Volunteer with St. Anthony’s Primary School. A military brat, she has lived in 5 different states and spent most of her childhood in Germany. Prior to PC, she attended Indiana University majoring in German and Sociology, and then worked for IU as a Foreign Student Advisor and VITA Coordinator. She is currently splitting her time between and Indiana University, where she is working on her MSc in International and Tax Accounting, and her current home in Zell am See, Austria, where she spends way too much time snowboarding.
Supporters
An We want to thank our supporters for making our work possible!
The HALO Foundation of Akron, Ohio.
Deitrick & Associates
