Samantha (Sam) Temple joined the RPCV Colorado board as Vice President in May 2022 and became President in January 2023. Sam served alongside her husband in Tanzania 2012-2014 as an Environment Education and Sustainable Agriculture volunteer. Sam has resided in Denver since her return from service and keeps her connection to East Africa close through her work and research. As the co-founder/Director of a Denver-based international organization, the East Africa Fund, Sam works with a network of local NGOs in East Africa to improve and promote the development of the third sector. While based in the U.S., Sam works to educate funders, donors, and development professionals on the importance of local partnerships and local ownership. As a researcher, lecturer, and PhD candidate at the University of Colorado Denver, Sam studies USAID policy and teaches courses in nonprofit management and international development. She is completing her Phd in Public Affairs and received a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver. When not working Sam is gardening with her two-year old Simon.
Savanna Berezniak joined the RPCV board as Vice President in March 2023. She served in Madagascar as an Education Volunteer 2010-2012. Following completion of her Peace Corps service, Savanna returned to her home state of Colorado, where she continued to work in education for 8 years until the birth of her son. Savanna completed a Peace Corps Virtual Service Project in 2023, supporting Cameroonian NGO as a social media consultant. She is currently a student at CSU Global, where she is earning a Graduate Level Certificate in Project Management that will probably turn into a MBA. Savanna enjoys getting outside to hike, garden, or snowboard, as well as spending as much t time as possible with her family.
Sarah LaBounty joined the RPCV Colorado board as Secretary in December 2023. Sarah served alongside her husband in Romania (2011-2013) as a Teacher Trainer and Teacher of English as a Foreign Language. She recently worked to pass legislation in Colorado allowing all RPCVs to receive in-state tuition and is now helping RPCVs in other states do the same. In her free time, Sarah likes to travel, camp, and spend time with loved ones.
Randy Monson is both treasurer and has been the Membership Chair since 2008 and liaises with the Fort Collins RPCV community. He served as a TEFL teacher in Cote d’Ivoire from 1978-1980 where his lesson plans included improvised conversations between Bob Marley and Mohammed Ali. He still cultivates an extensive African music collection, though no longer dances to disco. Currently, Randy is CFO of Envirofit International, a social enterprise leading the development and distribution of clean cookstoves.
Christina Thomas joined the RPCV CO Board as the Southern Colorado Representative in March 2023. She served as a Community Development volunteer in Ukraine from 2011-2013. Christina currently works in Environmental Sustainability for Northrop Grumman, one of the largest Aerospace and Defense companies in the world, where she develops solutions and implements strategies to help the company lower its carbon footprint and conduct business more sustainably. Christina holds a Master of Sustainability Leadership from Arizona State’s School of Sustainability and an MBA with a focus in international business from Tennessee Tech. In her free time, Christina loves to explore Colorado’s nearly 10,000 miles of mountain bike trails and volunteer as a ride guide for the Colorado Springs’s Women’s Mountain Bike Association (WMBA). She also plays soccer with her husband and adult children and loves to read, travel and cook.
Niza Volair has been active in the RPCV community since moving to Denver in 2016. They have served as Events Chairperson and as Denver Metro Regional Representative. They host monthly happy hours and also plan special events such as dinners, yoga classes, storytelling nights, trivia competitions, summer picnics, and holiday parties. Niza works in engineering management and just earned a Masters in Computer Science in 2023. They enjoy using technology to coordinate events and bring folx closer together. Niza loves to stay active and you can find them practicing yoga, rock climbing, paddle boarding, going to concerts, dancing, making art, and occasionally, taking a nap with their two tuxedo cats. They love welcoming new folx into the community and are a great resource to contact if you would like to get more involved in the RPCV community.
Mike Rueb joined the board in 2024 as the webmaster. He served in Botswana 2015-2017 as a Local Government Capacity Building Volunteer. He opened a adolescent sexual health center in his village of Mabutsane to help with the overall mission of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Botswana. He relocated to Denver from Boulder after a quick stop in Antarctica and has been in Denver ever since. Mike serves on the Board of Directors for Penguins International which focuses on animal conservation and education. He works in digital marketing and has worked with some major conservation non-profits including Trust for Public Land and National Wildlife Federation.
Kristen Conrad joined the RPCV CO board in March 2024, representing North Metro Denver and Boulder. Kristen served in Madagascar from 2013-2015 as an Education volunteer. She met her RPCV husband (Tanzania) at the Peace Corps Connect Conference in Denver while representing the board from the Northern California Peace Corps Association in 2017. Kristen moved to Denver in July 2018 after working with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and in refugee resettlement for a collective 5 years. Currently, Kristen works for the Education Technology company 2U/edX. She focuses on career outcomes, facilitating employer engagement with tech boot camp graduates. She continues to volunteer with the Employment team at the IRC in Denver. She enjoys traveling, playing tennis, and learning languages. She and her husband hope to take their 2 year old son, Sage, on a trip to Africa in 2025!
Ellen McKamey joined the RPCV CO board in 2023 and currently represents the northern Colorado leadership group. Ellen served in the United States Peace Corps as a special education teacher trainer in Belize from 2011-2013. Ellen’s love for adventure and helping those in need has taken her all over the world from studying chimpanzee behavior in South Africa to backpacking through southeast Asia. She has volunteered with local schools in India to increase their knowledge in working with students with autism. She has her master’s degree in sustainable living and spent several years coordinating international therapy services in Belize after her service in the Peace Corps. She moved to Fort Collins in 2020 to partner with Keys 4 Autism and continue her work helping non-speaking individuals learn to communicate through alternative methods.
James Spiers joined the Board in 2024 as Advocacy Chair. He is originally from Aurora, Illinois and served in Moldova as a Community and Economic Development volunteer (2018-2020). After his Peace Corps service, he attended Duke University and earned his Master of Public Policy with a concentration in Social Policy. While at Duke, he specialized in housing policy where he helped advocate for increased resources for the unhoused at the local and State levels. He is excited to work towards our collective advocacy goals to help make the Peace Corps program as best as possible!
