Washington, D.C., May 7, 1996 — Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan has appointed Nancy H. Hendry to be the agency's general counsel. Hendry will serve as the principal legal adviser for the agency and is responsible for protecting the legal interests of the Peace Corps and its nearly 7,000 volunteers in 94 countries around the world.

She is both the first returned Peace Corps volunteer and the first woman to serve as the agency's general counsel.

"Nancy is the perfect choice for this vital position," said Gearan. "Her professional accomplishments following her volunteer service exemplify the finest traditions of talented Americans first drawn to public service through the Peace Corps."

Hendry comes to the Peace Corps from the Public Broadcasting Service, where she served as vice president and deputy general counsel, overseeing a broad range of legal and corporate matters.

She served as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1970 to 1972 in Senegal, where she was the director of a community center that provided health and education services. She also taught French literacy classes.

Hendry said she has always wanted to combine her interest in public service with her desire to remain involved in the international arena. "As a returned Peace Corps volunteer, I can think of few challenges that would be more exciting or rewarding," Hendry said of her new job

The Bethesda, Md. resident has also taught communications law at Georgetown University, was a special assistant to the general counsel at the U.S. Department of Education and worked for a private law firm in Washington for five years.

Born in Beijing, Hendry spent her childhood in numerous countries, living in such places as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Switzerland, as well as several cities in the United States. She received her bachelor's degree from Radcliffe College in 1970 and her juris doctor from Stanford University Law School in 1975.