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b'As Peace Corps nears it\'s 50th Anniversary in 2011, applications are on\\nthe rise, fewer Volunteer positions are getting funded, the Senate just\\nconfirmed a new agency director, and the number of Peace Corps \\xa0alumni\\nis nearing 200,000. Helping connect the dots among the agency\'s fiscal\\nneeds, and Volunteers past, present, and future is the National Peace\\nCorps Association\\u2014the independent organization of former Peace Corps\\nVolunteers, known as Returned Peace Corps Volunteers or RPCVs.
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The National Peace Corps Association offers the Peace Corps\\ncommunity tools and resources to stay informed and engaged, and\\nadvocates for Peace Corps funding and support.

Today\\u2019s guests\\nare Erica Burman and Molly Mattesich of the National Peace Corps\\nAssociation. Erica Burman is the Director of Communications at NPCA,\\nand a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in The Gambia in the\\nlate 80s. Molly Mattesich manages the Africa Rural Connect project at\\nNPCA, as well as the Peace Corps Connect online social network. Molly\\nserved as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali from 2002-2004.
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Idealist\'s Amy Potthast talks with Erica and Molly about NPCA\'s initiatives like the More Peace Corps Campaign, Africa Rural Connect, the RPCV Mentoring Program, and Global Teachnet. They also talk about the new online social network for the Peace Corps community Peace Corps Connected, the Peace Corps Polyglot blog, and World View magazine. Finally, they discuss the new Peace Corps director \\u2014 and departing NPCA board member \\u2014 Aaron Williams, and how online communication tools are changing the Volunteer experience.

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