Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-039
Alicia Crain served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mexico from 2012 to 2015 in an environmental education program, and from 2015 to 2016 as the first Volunteer Leader for Diversity and Inclusion. During the first year, they lived with a family in La Primavera and ran a weekly eco-club. After moving to Guadalajara, Crain managed a Mexican non-governmental organization (NGO) funded project that trained women to manage a household waste recycling center. They also managed an USAID grant to support organic gardening training and established 11 organic home gardens in La Primavera. Crain discusses their negative experience in training as a queer person, and their role helping to prepare PC/Mexico staff for the arrival of same-sex volunteer couples. For the fourth year, they worked with PC/Mexico staff to integrate intercultural competence, diversity, and inclusion into the training curriculum. Crain now works as the Diversity and Inclusion Specialist in the Office of Civil Rights and Diversity at Peace Corps headquarters. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, December 7, 2019. 1 digital audio file.