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When Judy (now Julia) and I returned to the U.S. from Bolivia in 1969, we moved to Palo Alto so I could attend Stanford Business School. Our son, Jason, was born there. My first job after Business School was in Washington, D.C., where I was a program analyst at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. [What percent of RPCVs go to Business School? About the same percent as MBAs who go into government.] Our plan was to stay on the East Coast for two or three years, and then return to the promised land of California where our extended families lived. Where do I write this from? Washington, D.C. Two years became 36…and counting. Jason’s little sister, Jenny, was born our second year here.

After two years at HEW, I left government to join a small consulting firm that advised state and local governments on how to use federal social programs. That went along reasonably well until we lost our biggest client and the firm split up. I got lucky and landed on President Ford’s White House staff, where I was part of the Domestic Policy team. During that time, Judy/Julia and I decided to go in separate directions.

Soon after President Ford lost the election, I met Jack Danforth, a newly elected U.S. Senator from Missouri. I joined his staff as Legislative Director, the person who oversees policy and legislative work (as opposed to political and constituent stuff). I really enjoyed both the Senate and the Senator. I stayed in that role for eight years. When Danforth became Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in 1985, I moved over to the committee to be chief of staff. I was still in the Senate, but in a very different job.

My greatest accomplishment there was to meet and marry my wife, Janet, who was a TV news producer/reporter who covered the Senate. We “blended” our families—her three kids and Jason and Jenny, a pre-teen, two teens, and two post-teens. When Republicans lost control of the Senate in 1986, I became “Minority Staff Director,” a good job but not as much fun as heading the majority. I kept wondering if I would ever get a real job, and set about looking for one.

Before finding one, I got the chance to be appointed by President Reagan to be Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade. That’s the position that, among other things, oversees all the commercial service officers in embassies around the world. But, all good things come to an end, particularly where elections are involved. President George H.W. Bush’s victory meant good-bye for Reagan’s political appointees. I really did have to find something outside of government.

I became President of the trade association of the U.S. waste services industry—President of garbage. Really. I told my wife that she was the first lady of garbage, and the kids that they were part of the first family of garbage. They didn’t find that as amusing as I did. That lasted about three years, and then I entered the Washington consulting/lobbying business. That’s harder work than it sounds—you have to find clients who will pay you, and you have to give them reason to keep paying you. If you’re at all picky
about whom you will work for, it can be even more difficult to stay busy and get paid. I did that for the next 8 years.

In 2001, I returned to the Senate to work for Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee. He was a relatively unknown junior senator who had gone into politics after a career as a very successful heart/lung transplant surgeon. My job was Legislative Director—the “same” job I had 24 years earlier with Senator Danforth. One of the reasons I returned to government work was that I had accumulated a lot of years of federal service, including those two years in the Peace Corps. By returning, I would qualify for a federal
pension and lifetime access to the Federal Employees Health System. Those opportunities had taken on special significance because my wife, Janet, had been diagnosed with a rare neurological disease that steals both physical and mental function.

During my time back in the Senate, I became very involved in global HIV/AIDS. Even before the President made the stunning announcement in 2003 of his plan to spend $15 billion over 5 years on global AIDS, I had been active in various predecessor activities that contributed to the President’s thinking. I was also quite involved in the legislation that authorized the new program. I retired from the Senate after four years, during which time Senator Frist had become Majority Leader.

For the last 2 ½ years I have been in the global health field. I am a fellow at the Global Health Council, a large membership organization working to advance the cause of global health among the world’s poor. I’m also affiliated with a policy think tank called the Center for Strategic and International Studies that does some global AIDS work, and I consult for a large foundation on global health. So, I work “full-time” but I still have time to sneak out for a round of golf, etc. Sadly, Janet is no longer able to enjoy such things. She is completely bed-ridden now, 100% dependent on others, and has extremely limited cognitive skills. I have a wonderful live-in caregiver who allows me the freedom to go out into the world every day confident that Janet could not get better care.

I’ve been able to travel fairly extensively over the past 38 years, though I have not made it back to Bolivia. Some of the travel was for work; some as amember of the Board of Directors of the International Rescue Committee for the past 27 years; and some for fun…like the week I spent in Cuba with Doug Langan and his family about 30 years ago. I’ve kept up with Doug throughout the post-Peace Corps period and crossed paths with Jeff Fletcher various times, including during the “garbage days.”

Julia and I feel very fortunate to have a strong friendship. She and Jenny planned Jenny's glorious wedding in New Mexico three years ago. Jenny, a writer, lives with her husband Tom in Boston. Her “Man of Honor” at the wedding was her brother, Jason, a health industry consultant living in San
Francisco. I rejoice in my many blessings, including the transforming experiences of serving in the Peace Corps with those of you reading this.

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Member of the Board of Directors of the International Rescue Committee for the past 27 years.