On Tuesday, President Obama nominated Aaron Williams, a returned Peace Corps volunteer, as the next Director of the Peace Corps. Obama wants to see more service in the United States, and the National Peace Corps Association hopes to find new ways to broaden its impact, so Williams faces high expectations.

His wealth of experience and connection to the Peace Corps will be advantageous as Williams takes on his new executive role, becoming the liaison between the Peace Corps and Obama, representing the Corps before Congress, and consulting with government officials like Secretary of State Clinton. However, Williams will need to find a way to step back from the organization he knows so well if he wants to innovate.

Peace Corps Director nominee Aaron Brown

The NPCA, though, listed Peace Corps experience as a valuable prerequisite for Peace Corps Director in a letter to Obama. Williams has also had creative experience as a design leader for different projects in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia, and has taken on leadership roles in organizations like the International Youth Foundation and USAID. He is also on the NPCA board, and is the Vice President for International Business Development at RTI International.

NPCA President Kevin Quigley said in a press release, “Once he is confirmed by the Senate and takes up his position, we will be closer to a bolder Peace Corps, one that that fulfills more of the agency’s promise.”

Williams served on the Peace Corps from 1967-1970 in the Dominican Republic and has experience in policy making, strategic planning, development, and leadership.

The NCPA hopes to catch the Peace Corps up to the 21st century, as they noted in their letter to Obama that encouraged him to choose “a forward thinking innovator” for Director. The letter said that the world had changed, while the Peace Corps had stayed essentially the same.

The NPCA letter also said that the most important role of the Peace Corps Director is to facilitate success among those who have served in the Peace Corps and are now serving their communities. If Williams can do this, his work will coincide with Obama’s prioritization of community service in the United States.

Presumably, Williams will know how to work effectively with the NPCA since he has served on the board. However, that also means he is used to the way things have worked in the past and is familiar with the other board members. This could be both an advantage and a disadvantage.

As an insider rather than someone who is more removed from the way the Peace Corps works, he will need to think creatively in order to meet the organization’s goal of maximizing its potential. Hopefully, though, his experience will allow him to smoothly transition the organization into a new era in which it makes even more of a difference in the world than it has in the past.

Although he may face a challenge in modifying an almost 50-year-old organization, Williams, if confirmed, will also collaborate with a president who advocates service.

Since 1974, just after Williams served in the Peace Corps, volunteering has risen 21 percent among teens ages 16-19 and 30 percent for adults between 45 and 64, according to a study by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

So, Williams will assume his new post in a national climate that is growing more supportive of service. That, combined with his career experience, largely in development, suggest that Williams will successfully lead the Peace Corps as it works to modernize and expand the work it does.

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