Join us for a virtual conversation to mark Peace Corps Week, celebrated during the first week of March, commemorating President John F. Kennedy’s establishment of the agency on March 1, 1961, and celebrating all the ways that Peace Corps makes a difference at home and abroad.

Former Peace Corps volunteers will discuss their experiences to provide multiple perspectives. Hear about what the Peace Corps is and what kind of work they do. Learn about the history of this organization and hear stories from abroad. Hear what it is like to live and work abroad in countries all over the world.

Our guest speaker tonight is Richard Sayette, who was recruited by the Peace Corps to serve as one of the first Peace Corps volunteers in Russia in 1994. Mr. Sayette managed a business center 25 miles north of the port city of Vladivostok in which his clientele consisted of Russian entrepreneurs looking to start business ventures. Mr. Sayette’s memoir “The Vodka Diaries”, detailing his experiences in Russia, was published in 2019 winning the Moritz Thomsen Peace Corps Experience Award, a prize presented annually to a former Peace Corps Volunteer for the best depiction of life in the Peace Corps.  Mr. Sayette’s book was also listed in 2021 as one of the “10 Must-read books about the Peace Corps” by Peace Corps Worldwide.
Mr. Sayette has a degree in economics from Rutger’s University and an MBA degree focusing in international business from the University of South Carolina. Following his return from Russia, Mr. Sayette spent the next twenty six years working in risk management and he is currently the Director of Insurance for Constellation Energy Corporation, the largest operator of nuclear generation in the United States.

Moderated by Mark Magnotta, a diplomat with the U.S. State Department since 2018. Before working at the American Embassy in Moscow, Mark served in Washington, DC.  Previously, he taught English in Armenia and studied in Jordan.  A native of Pennsylvania, Mark’s hobbies include learning languages and exploring Russia.  His favorites destinations are Murmansk, Yekaterinburg, and Vladivostok.

Join us on March 10 at 5:30pm Moscow time by following the link to the AMC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acmoscow/ or YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/AmericanCenterMos... 

You can register below and leave your valid email address to receive a reminder 30 minutes before the online event starts. To join other AMC Online programs, please check the American Center’s website and TimePad calendars.