• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News
    • In the news: Peace Corps

    Aaron Williams ends Peace Corps journey

    After leading the Peace Corps for the past three years, Director Aaron Williams announced Tuesday (Aug. 21) that he will be leaving the volunteer agency Sept. 17 for “personal and family considerations.”

    By Jenny Lei Ravelo // 22 August 2012
    Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams resigned from his post Tuesday, Aug. 21. His deputy director, Carrie Hessler-Radelet, will serve as the agency’s acting head. Photo by: Peace Corps

    After leading the Peace Corps for the past three years, Director Aaron Williams announced Tuesday (Aug. 21) that he will be leaving the volunteer agency Sept. 17 for “personal and family considerations.”

    Obama extended his gratitude to Williams “for his dedicated service” and gave credit to his accomplishments at the agency.

    “I know the positive change that Peace Corps Volunteers make,” Obama said in a statement. “Under Aaron’s leadership the agency’s work has been at the forefront of this Administration’s efforts to increase global engagement.”

    The Peace Corps has gone through several reforms under Williams, including an annual portfolio review that has allowed the agency to expand operations in countries like Sierra Leone and Indonesia, and the signing into law of the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteers Protection Act, named after a Peace Corps volunteer who was murdered in Benin in 2009, the year Williams was confirmed to the position.

    But Williams was also put in hot water over his handling of reports of sexual assaults against Peace Corps volunteers, which made headlines during his tenure. He vowed in a congressional hearing in May last year to put an end to the “blame the victim” culture at the agency.

    “Rest assured, this type of thing … will not continue in the Peace Corps of today,” he said before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as quoted by Foreign Policy.

    There is no word yet on who will replace Williams. His deputy director, Carrie Hessler-Radelet, will serve as the agency’s acting head.

    In a message to his colleagues, Williams said, “This has been a difficult choice because serving in this position has been the highlight of my public service career,” CNN quotes. “It is time, however, for me to shift my focus to my family.”

    Read more on U.S. aid reform online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive top international development headlines from the world’s leading donors, news sources and opinion leaders — emailed to you FREE every business day.

    • Democracy, Human Rights & Governance
    • Institutional Development
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • Jenny Lei Ravelo

      Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo

      Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.

    Search for articles

    Related Jobs

    • Individual Consultant: National TA Coordinator
      Samarkand, Uzbekistan | Tashkent, Uzbekistan | Uzbekistan | Central Asia
    • Global Affairs Associate
      London, United Kingdom | United Kingdom | Western Europe
    • Human Resource Generalist
      Prague, Czech Republic | Czech Republic | Eastern Europe
    • See more

    Most Read

    • 1
      Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
    • 2
      Strengthening health systems by measuring what really matters
    • 3
      Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
    • 4
      Opinion: Why vision is key to unlocking global development potential
    • 5
      How AI-powered citizen science can be a catalyst for the SDGs

    Trending

    Financing for Development Conference

    The Trump Effect

    Newsletters

    Related Stories

    The Trump EffectUSAID's humanitarian head departs the agency for Peace Corps

    USAID's humanitarian head departs the agency for Peace Corps

    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement