Brian Cowan (K-11) - President
Julie Rotherham (K-5) - National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) Liaison
Brandon Boyle (K-2) - Treasurer
Linda Lee Blaine (K-7) - Founder; Secretary & Newsletter Editor
Kristoffer Rees (K-11) - Webmaster
*vacant, please contact if interested* - East Coast Representative
Alice Perijan Lee (K-7) - Founding Member; Midwest/Central Representative
*vacant, please contact if interested* - West Coast Representative
Jackson Kellogg (K-10) - Founding member
Neil Berkowitz (K-8) - Founding member
Secretary Linda Lee was a K-7 volunteer on the south side of Lake Issyk-kul in the village of Saruu. Linda Lee taught English to highschool -aged students in the village and also received grant funding to set up an English language resource room for her village. After Peace Corps Linda Lee got her MBA through the Peace Corps Fellows program at Western Illinois University and is now the director of Prairie Tech Learning Center, a community technology center, in Monmouth Illinois. When not at work Linda Lee can be found roaming Illinois with her new camera in hand or creating strange lumps in the Monmouth College ceramics studio. Linda decided to run for the position of secretary and newsletter editor to stay involved and to help the board improve communication with the membership.
Brian was a K-11 volunteer who served in Issyk-kul oblast in the Jeti- Ogus rayon village of Orgorchor. Brian was a TEFL volunteer who used his connections in his native Tennessee to coordinate a book drive that resulted in 7,100 books being donated to his school in Orgorchor. Brian was also in country during the Tulip revolution and counts this as one of the most interesting parts of his service. Brian is currently living in Boston and has just completed his first year of law school. In addition to being our newly elected President, Brian is working for the New Hampshire Public Defenders Office. Brian says he decided to run for the position of President to “put his money where his mouth is” and put some of the desires he had vocalized to the group as NPCA Liaison into action. Brian’s goals as president include increasing the number of RPCVs who are members of the National Peace Corps Association. Brian also wants FOKGZ to take a more active role in supporting current volunteers in Kyrgyzstan and those nominated to go. Brian also wants to clarify and better articulate the mission of Friends of Kyrgyzstan.
K-5 TEFL volunteer Julie Rotherham served in the city of Kyzul-Kiya in the southern province of Osh. While in Kyrgyzstan, Julie organized and facilitated a democracy conference for 50 teachers. The conference earned the honor of being the first group allowed access to the Kyrgyz Parliament Building. Julie also fondly remembers teaching baseball, distributing over 500 pairs of eyeglasses, and working with local teachers and motivated students. Like most RPCV’s Julie also has some sad stories to tell of bride kidnapping and traveling through war torn Tajikistan. These sad stories though are eclipsed by the memories of teaching and friendships with Kyrgyz children. After completing her service Julie worked with American Councils which gave her the opportunity to complete some of her goals that were left unfulfilled. Back in the states, Julie has been a teacher at a rural school in central Virginia until recently when she has taken on the role of mother to 15 month old twin girls. Julie is beginning to think that motherhood is truly “the toughest job you’ll ever love.” Julie decided to run for NPCA liaison because she feels strongly that Kyrgyzstan needs support from people, like RPCVs, that truly know and understand the situation there. Julie’s goals as NPCA liaison include increasing awareness of FOKGZ among recently returned volunteers and increasing membership. Julie also looks forward to reconnecting with Peace Corps friends.
Brandon Boyle was a K-2 volunteer in “the city of lights” Bishkek. Brandon taught English for special purposes such as business applications or government. Bandon now works in Albany New York in the field of community development financing. Brandon is married and has two rambunctious boys. Brandon’s goals for continuing his position as Treasurer include making more grants to the needy in Kyrgyzstan and providing financial continuity. Brandon is looking forward to moving to the Boston area sometime this summer.
TEFL volunteer Kris served in Naryn City in the Naryn Oblast from 2002 to 2004 as a K-10 volunteer. Kris is currently a graduate student in the Department of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University. Kris is also a graduate assistant in the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center and he maintains their website at: www.indiana.edu/~iaunrc. Kris married Ainura Musuralieva, a neighbor and friend during his Peace Corps Service, in the summer of 2004. Kris remained in Kyrgyzstan after COS’ing at the University of Central Asia in Bishkek. As our new webmaster, Kris plans to work to keep the site’s content fresh and to develop the site into a portal for all people interested in PC Kyrgyzstan, FOKGZ and Kyrgyzstan in general.
Alice was a K-7 TEFL volunteer who spent her first year in the village of Kara Koo (also known as Karl Marx) and the south side of Lake Issyk-kul. She spent her second year in the town of Balykchy working in a children's resource center and also serving as the GLOBE coordinator for Kyrgyzstan. In addition to teaching, Alice's accomplishments in Kyrgyzstan include building an English resource center and library, distributing eyeglasses to the elderly, hosting "Star Student" seminars, working at a week-long English/environmental camp and training several local teachers and students in the GLOBE environmental program. Alice now works in Dallas, Texas teaching English for international students. Alice's goals as the Midwest/Central States Representative include working with local organizations to further understanding of and developmental projects in Kyrgyzstan. Her latest project involved working with Dallas area teachers to collect and send teaching supplies and books to teachers in various villages around Kyrgyzstan.
