A Peace Corps veteran and Washington, DC Rotarian, Carrie Hessler-Radelet is President of Project Concern International (PCI).
Carrie is part of a four-generation Peace Corps family whose own service was in Samoa. She noted that the Peace Corps and Rotary share a commitment to make the world a better place, as reflected by the Memorandum of Understanding that they have signed. She noted that despite some's concerns to the contrary, the world has never been a better place to live in than now. Thus, there is much to be happy about and thankful for.
On the other hand Carrie expressed concern over the state of our investment in diplomacy, noting that the State Department is undermanned and underfunded. She talked about the importance of personal relationships in our dealings with foreign lands. Over their two-year commitment Peace Corps volunteers develop deep bonds with locals in a community, sharing the same kind of housing and eating the same kind of food. The volunteers develop a level of credibility that allows them to open the eyes of locals to new ways of thinking.
Carrie's own company, PCI, is a non-profit that seeks to empower communities in 18 countries with respect to public health and similar issues .