NorCalPCA Leadership Team

Brittany (she/her) served as a Youth Development Volunteer in Peru from June 2012 to July 2014. After finishing her service she went straight to graduate school and earned her Masters in Social Work at Boston University. She lived and worked in Boston for 8 years before the cold got to her and she decided to move back to her home state CA. Currently she works as an Oncology Social Worker at a local SF hospital. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her new puppy Paul, being active outside, and board games.

Growing up Sierra had a somewhat nomadic childhood within the United States, and so the mobile lifestyle of an expat has felt familiar. Born in Rhode Island, her family traveled for several years eventually landing in Tomales, CA when she started middle school. In July 2001, after graduating from UC Davis, Sierra headed off to serve in the Peace Corps in Honduras working in health education and youth development. After completing service she spent the following 18 years living in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Mexico working in secondary education, first as a social studies teacher and eventually as a school counselor. In August 2023, she returned to the United States, relocating to Penngrove, California. Sierra is currently accompanied on her journey by her 11 year old Nicaraguan golden retriever, Seba. This is her second time returning to the US, but the first time returning “home” to California.

In 2013 Sierra relocated to Austin, Texas for two years, yet found the readjustment to being back in the US, and still a flight away from family, challenging and returned to Latin America in 2015. Now returning to the Bay Area has allowed her to develop deeper relationships with family and friends, seeing them on a more regular basis. She has been served well by approaching this move similarly to moving to another country: expect there to be cultural misunderstandings, keep an open mind, and get involved in activities that you enjoy to meet people with common interests and experiences. The RPCV community has always felt like a family and an organic way to deepen roots in an area. Community is important to her!

Jim served as a Peace Corps volunteer in The Gambia, West Africa, from ’09-’11 and then with Peace Corps Response in Guyana, South America, from ’13-’14, supporting Technology Education in both countries. Still eager for additional adventure, he earned his MBA from Duke University, and proceeded to work in a variety of Strategy and Product roles in Nigeria, South Korea, and Seattle before finally arriving in the South Bay. Outside of work, he enjoys hiking and discovering all that the Bay area has to offer. He currently serves as Northern California Peace Corps Associations Treasurer.

Kristina Cabrera is an educator who has taught special education in public schools for over twenty years. In the Peace Corps she served in the Philippines from 1998-2000 working at the Department of Education Culture and Sports; “DECS”. In the Philippines her work was primarily in training teachers and developing programs for out of school youth. Kristina enjoys travel, beach life, yoga and studying wine.

Christine (she/her) served as an English Teacher and Teacher Trainer in Costa Rica from 2016 – 2018. She was born and raised in the Bay Area and has been working in the immigration nonprofit space for over 5 years. She currently manages a statewide removal defense program that expands free legal services for immigrants who are in imminent danger of deportation. She holds a BA in Rhetoric from UC Berkeley, and is finishing up her Master’s degree in Nonprofit Administration at the University of San Francisco. When she is not working, she likes to do what she calls “culinary research and experimentation” by visiting new restaurants and cafes and doing her best to replicate the delicious things she comes across.

John Bost grew up a coast to coast Navy kid and attended high school in California. After obtaining a degree in Zoology from San Diego State University, he served in the Peace Corps at the science department of a small teachers training college in Sierra Leone (1967-69). There he met and, after a very short courtship, married VSO high school teacher Jennifer. Post-Peace Corps, John spent a year in Yorkshire to get to know Jen’s family and to travel around Europe before entering Hastings College of Law in 1970. He passed the CA Bar in the summer of 1973. As a lawyer, John was CA Bar certified as a Specialist in Probate, Estate Planning, and Trust Law as well as a Specialist in Taxation Law. He served a three year term as a Commissioner on the CA Bar’s Taxation Law Advisory Commission. In 1979, he started teaching tax & law related courses at San Diego State University, eventually moving into a Finance Department tenure track position. He retired in 2003 as a Full Professor. John served two terms in the Faculty Senate and as Chair of the Senate’s Constitution and By-laws Committee. John served four years as the Director of the College of Business Faculty-Student Mentor Program. In the 1990s, John helped write the first national certification exam for the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards becoming the Chair of the organization’s Board of Examiners in 1996. John was a co-author of the first three editions of West’s Federal Tax Research textbook and was the sole author of the 6th to 13th editions of Estate Planning and Taxation. John is no longer involved as author but both textbooks are still in use. He also wrote a number of journal articles and made presentations to local bar committees on matters related to estate planning and/or taxation.

John and Jen’s two daughters attended the University of California Santa Cruz. At the end of their daughter’s first year, they bought a house for her and some of her friends to live, thinking it was a good investment. After their youngest daughter finished in 2003, John and Jen retired and moved up to the house in Santa Cruz having fallen in love with the area. John served two terms on the UCSC Arboretum Associates Board of Directors. In 2015, John connected for the first time with our local RPCV “chapter” and enjoyed meeting other RPCVs and engaging in activities. He stepped up to do the organizing with the help of a couple other RPCVs when the person who had been the moving force announced she was stepping back.

Andrea served as a PCV in the Lower Rift Valley of Kenya from 2011-2013 as a Health and Hygiene Educator. There, she met her husband Adam and adopted her dog Sangala. Shortly after returning to the United States, Andrea attended American University Washington College of Law where she earned her Juris Doctorate. After graduation, she moved back to her hometown in the East Bay to pursue a career as a Deputy Public Defender. Another fur baby later, a biological daughter, and an adopted son, her family now owns a home in the quaint historical town of Martinez. She is currently a Deputy Public Defender serving the incarcerated and justice affected communities, with a focus on excessive sententencing. Andrea remains in close touch with her village back in Kenya and the many RPCV friends she made along the way.

Kaitlyn (she/her) served as a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Volunteer in Panama and extended her service by serving as a Regional Coordinator from July 2016- September 2019. She is from Chicago, IL and earned her undergraduate degree at Wittenberg University in Sociology, Psychology and Women’s studies. After serving in Peace Corps, she received her MS in International Public Service from DePaul University in Chicago. Kaitlyn currently lives in Alameda with her Peace Corps dog Nala and works as a Community Involvement Coordinator at the Environmental Protection Agency. In her free time Kaitlyn loves to go hiking with her pup, camping, reading and having a good laugh with friends!

Laurel Maxwell served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 2008-2010. Her role as a Special Education Promoter cemented her desire to continue giving back to her community as a teacher. Her  interests include running, writing poetry, traveling, and baking.

Frank was most fortunate to spend 1969 to 1972 in Côte d’Ivoire as a TEFL teacher and basketball coach. Côte d’Ivoire is where he developed a love of West African food. Upon his return to the U.S., Frank spent almost three decades teaching and coaching in Sonoma County before going into private enterprise with a team building company. He has enjoyed every stage of his work career and now enjoys the opportunity to work and share ideas with RPCVs, as they provide challenges, understanding, and balance. Frank leads Advocacy efforts at NorCalPCA.

RPCV India 67-69 and Peace Corps Staff in US 1970-1990.

Membership Chair and NorCal Historian involved in founding NorCal in 1981-82.

Former NorCal Board Member and President and NPCA Board Member.

Retired federal employee.

Married to Susan Neyer RPCV Philippines 62-65 and former NorCal President and NPCA Board Chair). Met via NorCalPCA.