Niza Volair (they/them) has volunteered with Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Colorado since moving to Denver in 2016. They previously served as Events Chairperson and Denver Metro Regional Representative, where they helped organize a wide range of community events including happy hours, dinners, yoga classes, storytelling nights, trivia competitions, summer picnics, and holiday gatherings. Through this work, they helped build a strong network of engaged members and supported fundraising efforts for Peace Corps projects and local organizations.
As President, Niza is focused on building on the strong foundation already in place. They value the care, consistency, and energy of the RPCV community in Colorado and aim to expand opportunities for connection, participation, and engagement across the state.
Niza works in technology and earned a Master’s in Computer Science in 2023. They enjoy yoga, skating, concerts, painting murals, and also appreciate the occasional nap with their two tuxedo cats
Savanna Berezniak joined the RPCV Board as Vice President in March 2022. She served as an Education Volunteer in Madagascar from 2010–2012 and then returned to Colorado, where she worked in education for eight years until the birth of her son.
In 2023, she completed a Peace Corps Virtual Service Project, supporting a Cameroonian NGO as a social media consultant. Savanna is currently pursuing a Graduate Certificate from CSU Global in 2024, and became PMP certified in 2026 She enjoys hiking, gardening, snowboarding, and spending as much time as possible traveling with her family.
Julie Castillo joined the board as Secretary in January 2026. She served in Panama from 2009-2012 in the Community Environmental Conservation sector and was active in the Mississippi Returned Peace Corps Volunteer group before moving to Denver in 2020. She is a mother, writer, teacher, labor advocate, hiker, gardener, and music lover.
Randy Monson has served in various roles on the Board since 2008 and is currently Treasurer of
RPCVCO. He served as a TEFL teacher at the Lycee de Bondoukou in Côte d’Ivoire from 1978–1980,
and spent considerable time prowling through the region’s boites de nuit to cultivate an extensive
African music collection (though his deteriorated dance moves are now appropriately described as
cringe). After a career as an international CFO and CPA, Randy is now retired and a dedicated gamer..
Marissa Herzog joined the board in the end of 2025 and serves as part of the Welcome Wagon Committee, which connects newly returned RPCVs in Colorado to the strong RPCV Colorado community that exists, and assists the Events Coordinator with posting events as well. Marissa served as a Community Health Educator in Cambodia from 2017-2019, and used the knowledge and skills obtained from her service as a Project Support Fellow at Save the Children Cambodia until mid-2020. Marissa continues her public service by working for the federal government, first moving to the high rockies of Summit County, Colorado in late 2020 and moving to the Denver metro area in late 2024. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Goucher College in a combined Sociology/Anthropology program. In her free time, Marissa likes to stay active through multiple hobbies including Capoeira, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, partner dancing, yoga, hiking, and downhill skiing. Marissa is excited to give back in this capacity to the RPCV community in Colorado that has been so welcoming!
Mike Rueb joined the Board in 2024 as Webmaster. He served in Botswana from 2015–2017 as a Local Government Capacity Building Volunteer, during which he opened an adolescent sexual health center in his village of Mabutsane to support HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. After a brief stop in Antarctica, Mike relocated from Boulder to Denver, where he now lives. He serves on the Board of Directors for Penguins International, focusing on conservation and education, and works in digital marketing with experience supporting national conservation nonprofits such as Trust for Public Land and the National Wildlife Federation.
Daryl Sommers joined the Returned Peace Corps board as Denver Regional Representative in 2025 and has been attending local RPCV gatherings since 2019. She is a familiar face at events, consistently supporting and strengthening the community through active involvement and participation. Her commitment to service is rooted in a strong nonprofit background. Daryl completed an AmeriCorps term in New Orleans as a Red Cross Volunteer Coordinator and later worked as a Development Coordinator for Groundwork New Orleans. She then spent time living abroad with the World Wide Organic Farming program. After returning, she served in the United States Coast Guard, further strengthening her dedication to service. In 2012, Daryl was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Jamaica, where she worked as a Sexual Health Advisor supporting youth education and community health initiatives. She studied Anthropology at the University of Vermont and continues to travel frequently, maintaining a deep curiosity about cultures, communities, and global perspectives. Now a Denver-based realtor, Daryl combines her passion for community building with her professional expertise, helping people find homes while remaining deeply connected to service and volunteerism. She is excited to continue bringing her unique background and experience to the RPCV community!
Laura Battos joined the RPCVs of Colorado Board as Boulder County Representative in 2026. She served in Liberia from 2010–2012 as part of the first cohort of two-year volunteers to reopen post following the country's 14-year civil war and later served on the Executive Committee for Friends of Liberia. Laura spent a decade at USAID leading counter-terrorism and democracy programs across Africa and Latin America with USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives before the agency's closure in 2025, and recently joined Kaiser Permanente Colorado as a Clinical Consultant. Originally from New England, Laura now lives in Boulder with her dog, Bongo, and looks forward to building community across Boulder County and Colorado.
Pat Scully became the Southern Colorado Representative to the Board in January of 2026. She served in Ghana from 1971-73 as an English teacher in a teacher training college and a secondary school. She later served in Rwanda from 2017-2018, teaching law school. In between and afterward, she was a lawyer, retiring in 2025. Pat enjoys hiking, being outdoors, traveling and playing with her grandkids.
Mark Oberschmidt joined the board representing the NOCO RPCVs in December 2025. Mark served in Thailand from 1988-90 as a Water Resources Engineer/ Waiter/English teacher. Mark is married to Nancy Murray, a fellow Thai RPCV and they will be celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary in 2026. Mark coordinates the NOCO RPCV adopt a highway cleanup in the Poudre Canyon. His claim to fame is that stretch of the canyon (MP 100-102) is the cleanest.
He is a volunteer fire lookout at the Deadman Fire Lookout in Roosevelt NF in the summer, a Outdoor Coordinator / Library program coordinator for the Fort Collins International Center working with CSU International Students and a board member of the Global Village Museum in Fort Collins. Mark loves to hike and has a passion for the Camino de Santiago having walked it in 2022 and 2024. He has plans to walk over 4000 kms in Spain and Portugal over the next 5-7 years.
Mark looks forward to working with other RPCVs to see what we can do in small and large groups to better our communities.
