Our Team

Michael is a Strategic Resource Analyst at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Previously, he was a Shriver Peaceworker Fellow at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). For his first year, he worked in the Baltimore City Public School system as a college access coordinator where he designed and created the Commodore-to-College program that connected students and their parents to universities and colleges across the Greater Baltimore area. For his second year, he worked for St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore as a research specialist, where he wrote policy and issue briefs to direct programmatic and funding decisions for the organization.

Michael is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer from the Kingdom of Tonga, where he served from 2012-2014. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, he taught English in a rural primary school. He also served, twice, as an AmeriCorps volunteer as a team leader for a work-readiness program for inner-city foster youth, in Pittsburgh.

He earned his Ph.D. and Masters of Public Policy from UMBC and his Bachelors in History and Political Science from La Roche College.

Daniella is currently a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in the Kingdom of Tonga as an English Language Teacher and Facilitator. She originally began her service in August 2019 but was evacuated in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the time since evacuation, she also served with Peace Corps Response and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in a domestic deployment as a COVID-19 Community Vaccination Center Mission Support Volunteer. Before her return to Tonga she worked with Scene Health as a Senior Associate of Product Operations.

Before joining Peace Corps she worked in higher education as an undergraduate research program director and writer, directing two U.S. Department of Education grants over a period of 14 years.

She earned a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in English from Lamar University and a Master’s in Education and Social Justice from Lancaster University in the UK.

Farfum Ladroma is the Dean of Academic Operations at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. He supports academic planning, operations, and student success initiatives, and has been with Minnesota State for nearly four years. Previously, he served as Dean of Student Success at Pine Technical and Community College, overseeing student services and Title IX compliance.

With over 15 years in higher education, including 10 years at Des Moines Area Community College—Urban Campus, Farfum brings deep experience in student development and institutional leadership. He also serves as a Parks, Trails, and Open Spaces Commissioner for the City of North Branch and was appointed in 2024 to the Board of the Minnesota Foundation for Student Organizations (MFSO), which supports career and technical student leadership across the state.

Farfum holds a B.A. in International Studies—Development (with French and Spanish minors) from the University of Iowa and a Master of Public Administration from Upper Iowa University.

A Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, he served at GPS Matamaka in Tonga from 2009 to 2011. He is a proud Cebuano and lives in North Branch, Minnesota, with his wife and four young children. Mabuhay!

Chiara Collette Hassett was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the village of Ta’anga on the island of ‘Eua from 2012 to 2014.

Chiara served as an English language facilitator and taught English to classes 3-6 and trained teachers on effective teaching practices. Chiara also helped her school principal complete his Bachelor’s of Education and led an aerobics and walking group.

Since Peace Corps, Chiara has taught kindergarten, first and third grade in Maryland and lives with her husband, fellow RPCV Michael Hassett. Chiara is currently working as an Administrative Officer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and recently completed her masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.

Kyle Aloof is a Fulbright recipient and will begin his grant in Papua New Guinea in February 2026 as an English Teaching Assistant.

From 2023 to 2025, Kyle served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the village of Houma on the island of ‘Eua, where he taught English at the primary school level and collaborated with teachers to strengthen literacy instruction. He also helped lead community projects, including building a new school fence for student safety and securing a fishing boat to support local livelihoods.

Before Peace Corps, Kyle worked on education and community development projects in Uganda, Honduras, and Sierra Leone, focusing on youth training, disability advocacy, and school infrastructure. He holds a Master of International Affairs from Texas A&M University and a Bachelor’s degree from Florida State University.

Kyle enjoys traveling, has visited more than 25 countries, and is passionate about education, cross-cultural exchange, and community empowerment. He is excited to serve as Co-Program Manager with Friends of Tonga and to continue supporting education and community empowerment.

Barbara Rose Ma’u Lavakei’aho (aka Lose) is currently a small business owner and stay at home mother.

She has been a Peace Corps Tonga fixture for almost 20 years. During her time with the Peace Corps she has worn many hats. For her first 6 years, she served as a part time Language and Cross-Cultural Facilitator before being promoted to a full-time capacity. Since then, she has served as the Language Cross-cultural Coordinator, the Programming and Training Assistant for Training, the Sexual Assault Response Liaisons, the Technical Assistant, Homestay Coordinator Assistant, Program Manager,, Library Coordinator, Gender Equality Coordinator, and a team leader in various committees to name a few. She has also been to many conferences, workshops and training regarding language.

After two decades with the Peace Corps, she decided to start a new chapter of her life. She is now a stay at home mother, and also a small business owner for the last 2 years. In her spare time, she is a Sunday School teacher for kindergarten classes at her church and the secretary for her Sunday School. She was also selected to be a team leader in a project to conduct a survey regarding a scholarship funded by the UN, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to assist with the cost of school fees.

She was born and raised in Nuku’alofa, Tonga and is married with 3 beautiful children.

Lori Osmundsen has 3 decades of experience as a practicing lawyer in the U.S. and internationally, both in the public and private sectors.  She is currently based in Seattle, Washington, and is the founder and principal of PaxMaris Legal.  Lori’s special interests and expertise include ocean law and governance, marine conservation, and community-based solutions to addressing the triple-planetary challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and plastic pollution.

Lori served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Niuatoputapu and Vava’u, Tonga, where she taught secondary school science.  Her other Peace Corps activities included training science teachers, supervising a rainwater catchment system construction project in 15 outer island villages, and developing women-led handicraft cooperatives.

Following her Peace Corps service and law school, Lori continued her work in the Pacific as Staff Counsel to the Supreme Court of the Federated States of Micronesia.  She has practiced law in Hawaii and Tonga, where she was a member of the Tonga Law Society.  She has also served as legal consultant to Pacific regional NGOs based in Fiji.

Lori holds a BA in history from Yale University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and an LL.M. degree in maritime law from the University of Oslo, Norway.

Reed Rising was born in Guam and grew up in Southeast Asia, primarily in Indonesia. He attended the University of Rochester where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a Minor in Anthropology. Reed had the opportunity to travel with and study the operations of an anthropologist in West Papua who managed a program which supported the transition of local Papuan tribes into a monetary economy while preserving their traditional culture.

Furthermore, Reed was Philanthropy Chair at his social organization where he organized fundraising events for several charities. Reed is committed to building education in the Kingdom of Tonga and supporting their disaster relief. He has a Master of Science in Cybersecurity Technology and currently works as a Cybersecurity Consultant in the public sector.

Andy Pavey is a Digital Learning Specialist at the Namibia Ministry of Education, Arts, and Culture. He’s based in the town of Swakopmund.

He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Houma, Tongatapu, Tonga from 2023 to 2025. Prior to Peace Corps service, Andy worked in communications, design, and publishing at The Stimson Center, the National Community Action Partnership, The Carter Center, and the Iowa Community Action Association.

A Davis Scholar, Andy holds a BA in Russian and English from Grinnell College. In his high school years, he studied at the Armand Hammer United World College of the American West in Montezuma, New Mexico. He is fluent in Russian and Tongan.

Maka is a Business Advisor in his own business advisory firm, MPBAA Ltd in Auckland, New Zealand.

Previously, he was a High School teacher in Tonga, a Bank Officer for ANZ Banking Group, a CEO for a motor vehicle dealership in Auckland, and a Service Delivery Manager for Transdev Auckland Ltd, who manages the Auckland Metro trains.

He wears many hats: Operations Management, Financial Accountant, and an entrepreneur. He is involved with the Pacific Island community, in New Zealand, giving his spare time to charitable work with various community groups.

He lives in Auckland, New Zealand with his family: two sons, three daughters, and two beautiful granddaughters.

Aleda has over 20 years of experience in Early Childhood Development, Primary School-Aged Educational Leadership, as well as Youth Advocacy. She served in Tonga as a US Peace Corps Volunteer from 2013-2015. While in Tonga she focused on English literacy and leading Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World). After serving in Tonga, Aleda moved to The Netherlands and worked for Women Win, an organization that promotes girls’ leadership through sport.

Aleda served in the Peace Corps a second time with her husband, Kevin, in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, from 2018-2020. In Ethiopia, Aleda worked with her village’s Health Center to promote maternal health. She also developed and directed a Tigray region-specific Camp GLOW.

She and Kevin now live in Prescott, Arizona. Aleda works as a remote reading specialist with the Santa Fe Unified School District. She is also attending graduate school full-time, studying to become a Licensed Clinical Family Marriage Counselor (LFMT & LCPC). Kevin is a Surveyor for the US Forest Service and works in the Prescott National Forest.

Megan Madeo was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the village of Fahefa on the island of Tongatapu from 2014-2016. She taught English to classes 3-6 and acquired a Small Project Assistance (SPA) grant to purchase ten water tanks and increase village rainwater storage capacity.

Megan recently completed a Boren Fellowship in French in Senegal and received her M.A. in International Political Economy and Development from Fordham University.

As a Peace Corps Coverdell Fellow at Fordham University, Megan interned at University Neighborhood Housing Program in the Bronx. During her time there she researched affordable housing issues in New York City and helped low-income New Yorkers file their income taxes.

Roy Varghese is a proven leader with a passion for developing, coaching, and mentoring individuals and teams to maximize their potential. For the past 20 years, he has served in leadership capacity at public and private sector organizations. He has also volunteered on the boards of several non-profit organizations, since his youth. He is currently a program executive with the US Courts.

Having grown up in India, Roy has a keen understanding and appreciation for the opportunities and challenges for a non-governmental organization in a developing country. Roy has a Masters in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University and is pursuing a PhD in Public Policy at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

In his spare time, Roy enjoys spending time with his wife Shanda, children Kristen and Joshua, traveling, cooking, and enjoying food from around the world.

Siotame Drew Havea has over 40 years of extensive experience working with vulnerable communities throughout the Kingdom of Tonga. He currently serves as Chairperson of the Civil Society Forum of Tonga and is a Trustee of the Pacific Island Association of Non Government Organizations (PIANGO). Mr. Havea also works with the farming community and youth farmers to promote the implementation of organic farming. His vision is for the Kingdom to be fully certified organic by 2030 and has begun setting up Social Enterprises for the export market in organic virgin coconut oil and organic vanilla to provide employment for those in need.

Mr. Havea is a founding Member of the Tonga National Youth Congress, Tonga National Leadership Development Forum and was a Board Member of the for over 12 years. Mr. Havea was the Program and training Officer for the United States Peace Corps, in Tonga, from 1983-2005. Prior to that, he taught history and social sciences at Tupou College.

In 2017, Mr. Havea was honored with the Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award by the United States National Peace Corps Association, which recognized his extensive work in supporting youth, democracy, civil society and leadership in Tonga.

He earned his Masters of International Policy studies from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and his Bachelors of Arts in History and Political Sciences from Willamette University.

Nik is currently the Climate Change Project Expert in the Office of Overseas Programming and Training Support (OPATS) at Peace Corps Washington. Prior to this Nik served as the Director of Programming and Training (DPT) for Peace Corps Tonga from September 2017 to September 2023.

Nik has been with Peace Corps since September 2010. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Vanuatu from September 2010 – December 2013 and then served with Peace Corps Vanuatu from December 2013 – June 2015 as a Host Family Coordinator, P&T Coordinator, and Acting DPT. Following his time in Vanuatu, Nik worked in the Office of Global Operations from June 2015 to September 2017 as a Special Assistant and Administrative Officer before transitioning to Tonga.

Nik has worked intensively in climate adaptation and resilience programming and project design, long-term learning continuum for Intercultural Competence, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (ICDEIA) staff learning and development, and re-designing training leveraging blended and flipped learning methods and digital integration.

Nik comes from Portland, Oregon, but calls Oregon, Vanuatu, Florida, Washington, DC, and Tonga home. He received his Master’s in Public Health from Boston University and his Bachelor’s degree from Western Oregon University. Nik is an avid sci-fi/fantasy fan and has been an avid runner since high school, competing throughout university, and has completed 12 marathons – logging a personal best of 2:34 – and has completed a 50 mile (80km) ultra-marathon.

Elizabeth Philip is a current Peace Corps Volunteer serving the entire island of Lifuka, the main island in the Ha’apai island group, as a climate change resilience facilitator. She works with her five villages to identify and mitigate climate change and general impacts from the environment. Her work involves projects from planting trees to doing environmental awareness sessions with primary school students.

Elizabeth earned a BA in sustainability and international studies with concentrations in urban sustainability and global health and the environment with a minor in Spanish from the University of Dayton. At UD, she supported the start of an on-campus sustainability consulting group for the cafes on campus and organized a protest to push the university to decrease plastic use.

Elizabeth enjoys reading, traveling, and sharing a good laugh with her brothers and friends.