Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-052
Aaron S. Williams served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from December 1967 to June 1970 on an USAID project with the Ministry of Education. His group received training at San Diego State University, with home stays in Baja California, Mexico. Williams was initially invited to serve in Honduras, but during training he volunteered to fill a shortage in the Dominican Republic. His first assignment was at Monte Plata, providing in-service training to teachers. He extended his service in Santiago, where he helped to develop educational curriculum. Williams married a Dominican woman during his second year of service. He later spent 22 years with USAID, primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean. His final Foreign Service post was Mission Director to South Africa. In 2009, Williams was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as the 18th Director of the Peace Corps. Interviewed and recorded by Julius (Jay) Sztuk, January 16, 2020. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).