Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2017-011
Allan Gall was as a Peace Corps volunteer in Turkey from 1962 to 1964. He served as an English teacher. Gall later joined the Peace Corps administrative staff as the Country Director in Yemen (1975-1978), the Chief of Operations for the NANEAP [North Africa, Near East, Asia and the Pacific] region (1978-1980), and Deputy Inspector General (1999-2006). He discusses what he believes were shortcomings in the Peace Corps program. He argues that Peace Corps sent too many unqualified young people to do rural development, and that rural development assignments usually lacked concrete tasks and a structure that allowed volunteers to succeed. Nevertheless, he remembers his volunteer experience fondly and recognizes the tremendous impact it had on his life. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, November 14, 2016. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).