Edward J. Willett, B.A. 1969

	Willett (center) with his staff.

Edward J. Willett, B.A. 1969, has been the Peace Corps’ country director for Uzbekistan in Central Asia since March 2004. Uzbekistan has the largest Peace Corps program in South Asia with more than 171 volunteers.

As country director, Willett has overall management responsibilities for Peace Corps programs and volunteers in Uzbekistan, including negotiating agreements with host government agencies and representing the Peace Corps at all official government functions. He is a former director of congressional programs and legislative affairs for the Graduate School of the United States Department of Agriculture, a position he held from 1998 to 2003. Additionally, he is the immediate past president of the “Friends of India,” one of the largest organizations of returned Peace Corps volunteers in the country, reflecting an interest that originated with his Peace Corps work in India in the 1960s.

Willett recently decided to return to the Peace Corps after his wife retired and his son returned from military service in Iraq. Willett describes his time at UB as “most important,” acquiring the “confidence” and education he needed to “achieve intellectually and professionally.” He and his wife, Cassie Willett, B.A. ’70, reside in Arlington, VA.