Extra-Ordinary Woman: Ann Morgan

Women of Peace Corps Legacy interviews an “Extra-Ordinary Woman”, Ann Morgan . She was one of the earliest Peace Corps Volunteers, serving in Nigeria from 1962-1964 where she taught English in a secondary school.Featured Guest:Ann Morgan holds a BS in Journalism from the University of Illinois and an MA in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She studied Cross-Cultural Communications at the East West Center in Hawaii, Swahili at Michigan State University, and Sociology at the University of Illinois. She was a Micronesia Desk Officer in Peace Corps Washington and served as both Deputy Director and Country Director in Thailand. She was among the first group of women appointed as Country Directors in 1977.Ann also served as the Director of International Programs at Texas Tech University.  After her service as Peace Corps Director in Thailand, Ann was recruited to become Director of Refugee Training at the U.S. Department of State. She held that position for the next 15 years.  The program she managed prepared over 500,000 refugees from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and elsewhere for resettlement in the United States.In 1995, after 33 years of public service, Ann “retired” to rural West Virginia and became an entrepreneur. She renovated a nineteenth-century farmhouse and opened it as a bed and breakfast. She started two retail stores, adding to a growing number of local businesses owned by women. One of the stores, an old-time General Store, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. She also co-founded a real estate agency. Ann always believed that her Peace Corps experience was the best preparation for working in the culture of Appalachia. Ann currently lives with her spouse in Safety Harbor, Florida. Podcast Host:Kathleen Corey is past president of Women of Peace Corps Legacy.  She spent sixteen years with Peace Corps getting her start as a Volunteer in Liberia.  She has been Country Director in North Macedonia and Sri Lanka and held various headquarter positions responsible for opening Peace Corps China, Cambodia, and numerous countries in the Former Soviet Union.  As a retired diplomat, she currently teaches various courses to Department of State employees at the U.S. Foreign Service Institute.Women of Peace Corps Legacy (WPCL) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to advance women and girls empowerment to create a more just, equitable, inclusive, and safe world for future generations.  WPCL seeks to partner with and highlight the work of those existing organizations and programs that are effectively addressing the issues of women and girls.