Peoria Area World Affairs Council
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our History
    • Committees
    • Leadership Team
    • Contact Us
    • Public Disclosure
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Calendar
    • Scholastic Bowl
    • PAWAC Reads Library
  • Blog
  • Join Today
  • Donate
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our History
    • Committees
    • Leadership Team
    • Contact Us
    • Public Disclosure
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Calendar
    • Scholastic Bowl
    • PAWAC Reads Library
  • Blog
  • Join Today
  • Donate










​Bart Pogue, US Department of State Foreign Service Officer for USAID, discusses his posting in Guatemala.

PAWAC meets Pam Slaby

6/27/2018

1 Comment

 
Pam graduated from Elmira College, Elmira, NY with a B.A. English Literature and later completed an MBA in Human Resource Management at Loyola University of Chicago.  Her career in human resources spanned 38 years in both the railroad industry (V.P. Employee Relations, Chemetron Railway Products) and the mining industry (Sr. Manager Human Resources, Komatsu America Corp).  

Pam served on the Board of Directors for PALM (Peoria Area Labor Management) from 2000 until her retirement in 2013. Pam joined PAWAC in 2014 and currently chairs the Membership Committee and serves on the Board of Directors as Secretary.


Picture
Pam Slaby
PAWAC: Hi Pam, thanks for joining us. Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you do? Do you have any hobbies or other groups you attend?

Pam Slaby: Well, I’m retired now and have been for the last five years. You could say I’m a lady of leisure. I get to do what I enjoy doing, such as gardening or reading. I’m involved in three different book clubs: Mature Reads, a book club at my church, and of course the PAWAC Reads book club. I think that’s what I enjoy most about being retired. You get to do what you like.

PAWAC: Speaking of PAWAC Reads, when did you first become interested in world affairs?

Pam: I’ve always been interested in knowing what is going on in the world. I credit my father for that. My father used to bring home all four Chicago newspapers - there were four back in the day - and once I learned to read, I would read them. Later, I majored in English Literature in college, but I still had that fascination with world affairs. When I retired, I took a course in international relations at Bradley University. One day I was walking in the hallway and I saw this sign for the Peoria Area World Affairs Council, and there was Angela!*

PAWAC: You’re probably one of our only members to have joined PAWAC by finding our office on Bradley campus. Thank goodness for that sign! You’ve been an active part of PAWAC; you’re currently the Membership Committee Chairperson. How did you get to that position?

Pam: Well, this is my first year as Chairperson for the committee. Last year I was a co-chair with Mac Pogue, and he provided a lot of mentorship for me to take over the role as a sole chairperson this year. As for how I first got involved, I went to an event that had a board meeting the same night. I stayed for the board meeting and before I knew it, I was volunteering to help out with the committees.

PAWAC: What kind of changes have you noticed happening this year compared to last year with the organization?

Pam: There have been a lot of changes with Mac stepping down as co-chair since he has such great resources and ideas. I’m thankful he’s still helping out and mentoring me. PAWAC’s Kristin McHugh retired earlier this year, and Angela Weck stepped back in as Executive Director. There’s been a lot of changes, but I believe that ultimately change can be healthy and positive for organizations, and I think we’re seeing positive changes.

PAWAC: Can you elaborate on that?

Pam: For example, the Membership Committee is thinking of new ways to attract members and to this effect, we did a membership survey. We received a high response rate for this type of survey and got great feedback from our members about what our organization does well and where we can offer more and better services. Our programming in particular received excellent reviews and was cited as the main reason for membership, which means that our product is appealing to our members. That’s exactly what we want as an organization.

PAWAC: You’ve been with the organization for a few years. Which programs stand out to you?

Pam: Definitely the Illinois Central College (ICC) culinary programs. I attended the African culinary program and the Chinese culinary program. Each time I had someone native from that region sit at my table, so not only was I able to learn about the cuisine from the program, I learned about China and Africa from the people who know it best. I loved hearing the personal aspect of international relations over our American adaptation of their native food. International relations are one thing, but you want that human to human interaction. In the end, it’s the people that matter.

PAWAC: What upcoming programs are you most looking forward to?

Pam: As I’ve said, I really enjoy the personal perspective, so I’m looking forward to Don Samford’s Travelogue on Iceland. I think it’s going to be really interesting. I’m also looking forward to our program on the NAFTA in August, providing that we still have NAFTA then!

PAWAC: NAFTA is an extremely relevant conversation right now, especially for Central Illinois. Pam, thank you so much for your time today.

Pam: Thank you.
*Angela Weck currently serves as the Executive Director of PAWAC, a position she held in the past as well.

This interview was taken and adapted for web by Olivia Lu.
1 Comment

Prospects for Development in Guatemala with US AID Officer Bart Pogue

6/17/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture
Bart Pogue (Photo Credit: Joe Couri)
For Father's Day Weekend, Mac Pogue of PAWAC was able to show off how much of a "proud papa" he was: and for good reason! Bart Pogue, Mac & Connie's son, is a Peoria native gone international and featured as our expert speaker on Thursday, June 14, 2018, at the Lariat Steakhouse in Peoria.

Bart received his Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education prior to starting his journey as a Peace Corp volunteer in Morocco, where he became proficient in Arabic. On returning to the United States, Bart moved to Washington, D.C. to work for American Councils for International Education.  Bart received his Master of Arts in International Development Studies from The George Washington University.  After passing USAID's Foreign Service Exam, he began language classes in preparation for his first posting in Guatemala.  Bart joined USAID as an Education Development Officer. He, his spouse Sarah, and their son Teddy have lived in Guatemala since July 2017. Bart possesses unique insight into U.S. assistance in Guatemala, and with the help of Sarah, Bart shared with PAWAC his understanding of USAID and Guatemala’s current development challenges.
Armed with data provided by USAID and the Department of State, Bart outlined the dire need for assistance in Guatemala. Guatemala’s median population age is an astounding 22 years old, and many of these young people lack both job and educational opportunities. Bart emphasized that around 60% of jobs in Guatemala exist in the informal economy, leading to widespread job insecurity.
 
Access to education is a challenge for many Guatemalans. Because so many jobs exist in the informal economy, the Guatemalan government struggles to bring in enough tax revenue to adequately support its public school system. Families seeking a good education for their children turn to private schools. However, the cost barrier to send a child to a private school exacerbates the long-standing issue of income inequality in Guatemala.
 
In Latin America, income inequality tends to favor Latinos over indigenous people due to a historical “caste” system once implemented by Spanish conquistadors and settlers hundreds of years earlier. USAID is dedicated to assisting the Guatemalan government in increasing access to quality education for indigenous Guatemalans. Bart works in this specific field, and one of his many assignments includes development in the Western Highlands where most indigenous Guatemalans live.

Picture
Around 65 people attended dinner, while an additional 25 joined us for Bart's presentation after dinner. (PC: Joe Couri)
One USAID program has been a success in this regard. USAID helped the Guatemalan government develop a method to teach young indigenous children to read in their mother tongue before transitioning to read in Spanish in second grade. While USAID currently supports two of the 21different Mayan languages in Guatemala, the program’s promising results will hopefully become adopted in more languages.
 
Bart addressed the issue of girls in school, and emphasized that the lens focuses on boys as well.  Since 70% of the migrants who head north are male, finding ways to educate the boys as well as the girls and to provide opportunities to use that education in Guatemala is of particular interest to USAID.
 
A couple of the interesting questions asked by PAWAC members and friends concerned the role of the U.S. military and remnants of the influence of the CIA.  While the  U.S.   military is still present in Guatemala, Bart was clear to point out that their mission now is helping improve the role and status of the Guatemalan military and the separation of the military from domestic policing.  He also noted that there seems to be little to no residual fears of CIA influence, a positive step in the continuing improvement U.S.-Guatemalan relations.

We loved learning more about Guatemala from part of our extended PAWAC family. Thank you to Bart Pogue and the Pogue family for sharing a wonderful evening with us!
Picture
Map of Guatemala and the Western Highlands (PC: Al Jazeera)
Picture
From left to right: Sarah Pogue, Mac Pogue, Bart Pogue, and Connie Pogue. (PC: Joe Couri)
Summarized and adapted for web by Olivia Lu.
1 Comment

    PAWAC Blog

    Where you can find summaries of our past events and interviews with members. We have more to come in the future, so stay tuned!

    Archives

    February 2021
    September 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018

    Categories

    All
    Expert Speaker
    Interview
    Members
    Past Events

    RSS Feed

    View the Power Point slides from the NAFTA program here.

Peoria Area World Affairs Council   |  1501 W. Bradley Avenue, Peoria, IL  61625
(309) 677-2454 (phone)  |  (309) 677-3256 (fax)
director@pawac.org

Photos copyright  Joe Couri/Kristin McHugh/Kristin McHugh for The Stanley Foundation

Picture
In affiliation with the World Affairs Councils of America
​https://www.worldaffairscouncils.org/