About FOG

About Friends of Guinea
Our History
Since 1999

Providing advocacy, information, support, and networking

Who we Are

Friends of Guinea (FOG), a National Peace Corps Association affiliate group, is a volunteer-run nonprofit organization consisting of current and returned Peace Corps Guinea volunteers, and their friends and families. Through advocacy, support, and networking, FOG is dedicated to establishing connections for the long-term benefit and development of Guinea and its people. FOG currently has over 300 members, and has supported over 30 projects in Guinea.

Founding of FOG

Grants Supported ($)

Loret Miller Ruppe Award Winner

Number of Memebers

What Drives Us

Our Mission

Friends of Guinea is dedicated to establishing connections for the long-term benefit and development of Guinea and its people. We aim to provide information and networking for Peace Corps Guinea Volunteers, initiate and support projects, and facilitate intercultural understanding.

Team

Our Current Officers

Lillian Mattiaccio

Communications Director

Marc Dysart

Technology Director/Financial Officer

Beth Yount

Advocacy

Emily Borth

Secretary Officer

Kerry Johnson

Advocacy

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Previous FOG Officers

 This is a list of those who have devoted their time and energies to FOG in the past… We thank them for their service!

  • Laur Ebone – Communications
  • Lisa Hoffman – Communications
  • Anne Sites – Secretary & Treasurer
  • Teresa Pope – Communications & Advocacy
  • Alex Yalch – Membership
  • Hannah Koeppl – Newsletter Editor
  • Shreyhan Sen – Social Media
  • Ryan Plesh –  Newsletter Editor & Social Media
  • Betty Walker – Parent Support
  • Amy Daffe – Webmaster and Communications Director
  • Mackenzie Dabo – Newsletter Editor
  • Urska Manners – Listserv Administrator
  • Pat Barron – Secretary
  • JanRose Ottaway Martin – Financial
  • Donald Parker – Projects
  • Shad Engkilterra – Financial
  • Diane Carlson – Parent Support
  • Meghan Greeley – Parent Support
  • Rita Gerlach – Newsletter Distribution
  • Karen Star – Webmaster
  • Brian Clappier – Membership
  • Katalina Estrada – Secretary
  • Rosemarie Rose – Communications
  • Sharon Buehler – Parent Support
  • Stephanie Chasteen – Secretary, webmaster
  • Claire Lea – Projects Director
  • Brian Farenell – Communications Director
  • Nathan Shepherd – Webmaster 2005-2009
  • Woody Colahan – Newsletter Editor 2001-2008
  • Annie Kneedler – Secretary 2006-2007
  • Emily Ramshur – Membership Director
  • Kristen O’Planick – Advocacy Director 2006-2007
  • John Taylor – Webmaster 2007
  • Jody Sites – Financial Officer (2004-2007)

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FRIENDS OF GUINEA (FOG)

Our History

History of Friends of Guinea

FOG was founded by Peace Corps Guinea volunteer Stephanie Chasteen who created an online web blog to document her service and stay connected with family and friends. Upon returning to the U.S., she and fellow volunteers saw the continued need for community connection and support and in 2001 launched Friends of Guinea. FOG soon became a National Peace Corps Association affiliate group and a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 2018. Through its history, FOG has disseminated information through newsletters and its online presence, and has supported and funded numerous projects in Guinea.

Our ByLaws

The latest version of our bylaws were approved in 2017.

Our Accomplishments

We initiate, support, and fund projects through partnerships and our Small Grants program to aid in the advancement of the Guinean community.

Did you know?

History of Peace Corps in Guinea

From the initial group in 1962 to the present, a total of more than 1,000 Volunteers have served in Guinea. Peace Corps signed a cooperation agreement with the government of Guinea in 1962, which forms the basis for our current country program. The first Volunteers arrived in Guinea in 1963. However, in 1966, relations between the United States government and the government of Guinea soured, and the Guinean government asked Volunteers to leave. Peace Corps was invited back in 1969, but again relations between the two governments deteriorated, and Volunteers left in 1971. Soon after President Sekou Touré’s death in 1984, Peace Corps was asked to return once again to Guinea. Since 1986, the program has been briefly interrupted four times: in 2007 due to social unrest at the time, in 2009 following military violence in the capital, in July 2014, due to Ebola virus disease, in March 2020, due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. Peace Corps Guinea have returned to service in 2022.