A WORD FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

As I write, hundreds of applicants are pushing “submit” and throwing their hats into the ring, with the aim of joining the PiA Class of 2020. 2020: the number stands out, as it has long served as a reference point in and for the future. Institutions and individuals crafted plans for their futures, setting bold and ambitious goals for where they wanted to go – and who they wanted to be at the turn of the new decade.

smile for these classes has never been a problem for me, however. I’ve never felt more joy in teaching. Recently, after eating the dinner that the nuns prepared for me after class, as one of the nuns was walking with me to the gate, I asked her, “How do you feel the classes are going? Do you feel like you want to be learning more, or is this okay?” She looked at me and just said, “I feel so happy. I feel so loved.” I just bowed, held back tears, and went on to say my goodbyes and leave. This has been the most meaningful thing I’ve done in Vietnam.”

Five years ago, PiA set out on an inclusive strategic planning process that engaged a broad cross-section of stakeholders, including Fellows, partners, alumni, donors, staff and friends. This was the first time PiA engaged such a diverse group of voices from our community, and these perspectives shaped the vision for the next five years of PiA. We set three key priorities: maximize the transformational experience for PiA Fellows and partners, increase PiA’s impact through growth, and build PiA’s organizational and financial capacity to support current operations and strategic initiatives. As we approach the end of our timeline, I’m thrilled to report that we have made tremendous progress on each of these objectives and that we have tremendous momentum as we reach the end of our five year timeline in 2022 and look towards 2023, when PiA will celebrate its 125th anniversary.

Later this spring, we will share with a more fulsome report on the progress we’ve made on our plan – but for now, I hope you’ll join me in celebrating some key accomplishments. We’ve increased financial assistance provided to Fellows in the form of travel grants by nearly 140%. We’ve doubled the support available for language grants. We’ve reviewed and refreshed our orientation program. We relaunched our program in India, started new flagship postings in the Arts & Culture field in Laos and China. We developed a system for monitoring and evaluating our impact. We’ve made upgrades to our health and safety infrastructure and have bolstered the support services and resources on offer for Fellows and Interns. And that only speaks to our first two priorities. Some of our greatest strides have come in strengthening our organizational infrastructure and capacity, particularly around alumni engagement. With the launch of a digital platform for alumni, Alumni Network chapters across the US and Asia, a Class Ambassadors program, and a mentorship directory, we are connecting with our community and connecting people within our community like never before. And, our community is contributing to advancing PiA’s mission in extraordinary ways. Last year, PiA alumni volunteered over 1600 hours of their time – an 88% increase from 2015, when we first started tracking volunteer hours. Your efforts have allowed us to conduct broader outreach to talented potential applicants across the US, made it possible for us to provide more travel grants to PiA participants, and enabled us to invest in growing and strengthening the PiA team in preparation for an ambitious campaign for PiA’s future.

We are deeply grateful to each of you for continuing to invest your time, energy, wisdom, and resources in PiA. You help us in so many ways: from organizing Alumni Network events to holding information sessions at local colleges and universities, from rallying classmates to support the crowdfunding campaign to connecting with Fellows on your trips through the region, from coming out on a cold January morning to interview new candidates to joining us at orientation to help prepare our newest class of Fellows. And you also help us by sharing your own stories. When you share with us, it helps us better understand the PiA experience and how we can better serve and support all of our Fellows, partners and alumni – continued on page 6...

Hello! My name is Julian Peterson and I am thrilled to be the new Program Director for PiA’s Thailand and Vietnam programs. My PiA experience began in 2016, two years after graduating from the University of Washington in Seattle with a degree in English Language and Literature. My interest in languages and cultures, paired with my desire for a service-oriented opportunity led me to submit my application. I was fortunate to receive a PiA fellowship in Khon Kaen, Thailand, where I spent my time teaching English at Khon Kaen University.

Every day, I rode my motorbike - which I named Richard Parker, after the terrifying but dependable tiger who shares a lifeboat with the title character in the Life of Pi - across KKU’s large campus. My students were engaged and ready to learn, but they harbored the misconception that they would be