Kevin Holland Sparrow: President
Rev. Kevin Holland Sparrow served 2004-2006 as a G4 English Education volunteer in Gurjaani. Kevin completed two Virtual Service Pilot Project (VSPP) assignments. The first was co-leading an English summer camp in Gurjaani village. The most recent was co-leading an English movie discussion class in Akhaltsikhe. He currently lives in South Carolina and is the rector of an Episcopal parish, where the church contributes to a food pantry and volunteers at a free meal service.
Gill Eddins: Vice PresidentGill Eddins served 2007-2008 with her husband, Bob, as a G7 English Education volunteer in Borjomi. After evacuation to Armenia in 2008, due to the Russian/Georgian conflict, they returned to Borjomi and worked in education, tourism, and small business development, and ran a camp for internally displaced children. Before joining the Peace Corps, Gill worked in program evaluation. She is retired and lives in New York City.
Mary Fisher: SecretaryMary Fisher served as a G19 English Education volunteer in Zugdidi with her husband, Matt. They were repatriated due to the COVID pandemic. Before Peace Corps, Mary completed a Master’s in Counselor Education and had a 13-year career in higher education as an academic advisor and coach. Mary now works for the Forestry Service and lives in Baltimore, Maryland. She is currently working on a MAT in TESOL with plans to live and teach English abroad.
Eka Imerlishvili: TreasurerEka Imerlishvili has worked as a Language and Cultural Facilitator at Pre-Service Training at Peace Corps Georgia. She was the counterpart to one of the first Peace Corps Volunteers in Telavi in 2001. Together with the volunteer. Eka fundraised for the very first GLOW ( Girls Leading Our World) day camp and has remained a strong advocate and supporter of girls and women's leadership. She lives in Chevy Chase, MD and works on international development projects.
Amy Southworth: Founding DirectorAmy Southworth served 2007-2008 as a G7 volunteer in Khashuri, working with a local NGO. She is a foreign service officer at USAID and has worked in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Guatemala. Most recently she served as the Program Office Director at USAID/West Bank and Gaza, managing over $500 million in foreign assistance to the Palestinians.
Sara Barrett: DirectorSara Barrett served 2001-2003 as an English teacher and teacher trainer and led community development projects in the Kakheti region. She organized and co-directed the inaugural Camp GLOW in 2003, a leadership camp for girls ages 12-14 from regions across the country. In 2005, Sara returned to support the USAID-funded Healthy Women in Georgia program, where she organized the first breast cancer awareness walk in Kutaisi.
Lauren McDowell: SecretaryLauren McDowell served 2009-2011 as an English Education volunteer. She holds bachelor's degrees in English and Public Relations from The University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in food studies from New York University. She currently lives in Houston, where she works as a Strategy Director for a branding and marketing agency.
Ruta Casabianca: DirectorRuta Casabianca served from 2010-2013 with the Media Center of Samtskhe-Javakheti in Borjomi. After service, she co-founded Together for Real Changes which provides services to children and adults with disabilities in rural Georgia. TRC is now working in Borjomi, Mestia, Nukriani, Ambrolauri, Tsageri, and Tsalka, serving over 200 beneficiaries and employing 35 people. Recently Ruta co-founded the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Idaho which runs two after-school programs and a summer program serving up to 200 children. She lives in Pocatello, Idaho.
Seth Voytek: DirectorSeth Voytek served from 2006-2008 as a G6 Education volunteer in Chiatura, Imereti. He served again as a Peace Corps Response Educational Resource volunteer with the Tusheti National Park in Tusheti in 2011. After teaching in private education at the American University of Iraq in Sulaimani, Iraq, and the British Internation School in Tbilisi, Georgia, he returned to the United States in 2024. Seth now lives in his home state of Connecticut with his Georgian wife, Natia, and two son who are both fluent Georgian speakers.
The goals of The Megobari Foundation are:
1. To act as an alumni association of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and Staff that have served in the Republic of Georgia as well as their families and friends.
2. To provide assistance to the people of the Republic of Georgia in three areas:
● humanitarian aid and disaster relief
3. To fulfill the third goal of Peace Corps through sharing experiences learned during our services with American communities towards cross-cultural understanding
● education and youth development
● business and social entrepreneurship
For more information about our finances, please contact the treasurer at treasurer@megobari.org.
If you are a current Georgia PCV and would like to request funding, please contact us via info@megobari.org. We'd love to hear about your project!