Interview with Elizabeth "Betsy" Davis, November 13, 2020

Interview Summary

Elizabeth "Betsy" Davis served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Brazil from 1968-1971 and in Ecuador from 1972-1974. She served as Peace Corps Director in Ecuador from 1987-1990, as the Peace Corps Women in Development Coordinator from 1993-1998, and as a consultant on international training and development from 1991-1999. She discusses her motivation to join the Peace Corps, training for Brazil at California State University, and tells many stories about work as a community health and development volunteer in Brazil’s Amazon region. She compares her unstructured work in Brazil with her much more structured community health assignment in Ecuador. She discusses lessons from her volunteer and staff experiences and the impact on her life. She talks about the need to better evaluate Peace Corps' impact and the applicability of the Participatory Analysis for Community Action methodology for bringing out different perspectives on difficult issues. She concludes with a strong endorsement of the continued role of Peace Corps.

Interview Keyword

Brazil (Country of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Community health and education Porto Grande (Brazil) Ecuador (Country of service) 1972-1974 (Date of service) Cuenca (Ecuador) Ecuador country director 1987-1990 (Date of service) Women’s empowerment Inter-cultural communication Peace Corps training Peace Corps staff Impact of Peace Corps Stories 1968-1971 (Date of service) Peace Corps directors

Interview LC Subject

Peace Corps (U.S.) Peace Corps (U.S.)--Brazil Brazil Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ecuador Ecuador Acculturation Communication and culture Culture Culture shock Intercultural communication Interpersonal communication and culture Interpersonal relations Interpersonal relations and culture Language and culture Language and languages Lifestyles Manners and customs Voluntarism Volunteers

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Interview Usage

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