FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, May 11, 1999

Monica Mills Named Director of Peace Corps Recruitment

Washington, D.C., May 11, 1999—Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan announced today the appointment of Monica Mills to be the agency\'s new associate director for volunteer recruitment and selection.
Mills, 42, a Rapid City, S.D. native who lives on Capitol Hill, served for four years as regional manager of the Washington, D.C. area recruiting office. Her position there involved implementing a comprehensive communications and marketing plan, developing targeted strategies to recruit applicants with especially needed skills, and coordinating streamlined procedures for processing applicants.
"Under Monica\'s leadership, the Washington area office has experienced consistent and significant improvement in recruiting talented and diverse volunteers, and is among the top producing offices in the country," said Gearan. "Monica\'s extensive management experience, exceptional leadership skills, and keen understanding of the way the Peace Corps recruits new volunteers make her the ideal choice for this position."
In addition to her work at the Peace Corps, Mills has professional experience with public policy and public relations work. She has coordinated campaign strategies, fund-raising efforts, field operations, and media relations at statewide and national levels. She worked for four years as director of public relations for the Metropolitan Transportation Development Commission in Denver, and held positions as chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., political director for the National Women\'s Political Caucus, and personnel director for a Washington area law firm.
Mills, who began her new duties yesterday, oversees a total of 180 Peace Corps staff members in headquarters and in 11 regional recruitment offices around the country.
In 1982, Mills earned her bachelor\'s degree in elementary and special education from Black Hills State University in Spearfish, S.D. She has also attended the University of Denver College of Law.
Currently, nearly 6,700 Peace Corps volunteers are working in 78 countries in education, the environment, health and nutrition, business advising, and community development. Since 1961, more than 150,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps.

# # #

---