Carolyn Lawrence, Administrative Liaison, Peace Corps Program
Currens Hall 503
309-298-2268
CA-Lawrence@wiu.edu

Carolyn Lawrence has been a secretary at the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs since November, 1992. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. She worked in the Admissions Office of Monmouth College fro seven years before coming to WIU. When the Peace Corps Fellows Program began in 1994, Carolyn started a job that she truly loves. She enjoys recruiting Returned Peace Corps Volunteers for graduate school and corresponds daily with Peace Corps Volunteers around the globe. Her job invloves communications with Fellows, alumni, Illinois communities, university departments, Fellows/USA, and other national organizations. She plans workshops, attends national conferences, and makes site visits to Fellows who are serving internships in rural Illinois communities.

Carolyn and her husband are western Illinois farmers, and each also works off-farm jobs. They enjoy entertaining Fellows at their farm pond and screen house, especially for the annual Halloween costume party. Another great source of gratification is watching each Fellow successfully complete their graduate studies and progress in their careers.

Karen Mauldin-Curtis
External Coordinator
Currens Hall 503
309-298-2268
K-Mauldin-Curtis@wiu.edu

Karen Mauldin-Curtis, manages the Peace Corps Fellows Program in Community Development, a unit of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, at Western Illinois University. She is responsible for oversight of all aspects of the program, including design and supervision of training activities, internship site placement and support, management of grant funds, and development of program partnerships. Karen was named manager of the program on August 1, 2005, after having served as the external coordinator since June 1, 2004. Karen is an alumna of the Fellows Program; she earned a Master of Arts in Geography from Western Illinois University, served her community internship in Cambridge, IL, and completed her Peace Corps service in the Dominican Republic.

When not involved with the Fellows Program, Karen is busy raising her three young children, teaching yoga, and managing the small-scale, organic market garden and CSA that she and her husband have established.

Karen Peitzmeier
Internal Coordinator
Currens Hall 503
309-298-2682
K-Peitzmeier@wiu.edu

Karen Peitzmeier joined the Peace Corps Fellows team in June of 2005 as Internal Coordinator; she has an MA in Leisure Studies from Oklahoma State University.

Karen has been the Program Coordinator for Horn Field Campus of WIU for nine years and has training in wilderness and environmental education, therapeutic recreation and small group dynamics. She has served as an environmental education consultant to the Partners of America Illinois-Sao Paulo Brazil chapter. Karen also serves on the national board of directors for the Wilderness Education Association and holds the position of treasurer.

As the Internal Coordinator, Karen has management responsibilities for the Peace Corps Fellows Program, with an emphasis on fund-raising, recruitment and marketing to prospective Fellows, and financial and administrative management.