Officers & Board

President

Chris Elsner

Chris Elsner served as an Education Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-10. He was a Paul D. Coverdell Fellow at the University of Arizona from 2011-2013 while getting his Master of Public Administration degree. He's worked at UArizona off and on since then and currently coordinates the Peace Corps Prep Program on campus. 
Chris met his wife Lexie - a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer - while serving in Ukraine and proposed to her at the Peace Corps fair on campus in 2014. They have two children: seven year old Elena and four year old Jack. 
Chris is a former board member of Tucson Young Professionals and served as Vice President of the board from 2018-2020. He was a SARSEF board member from 2019-2020. Chris has been a member of the Desert Doves off and on since 2011. He enjoys meditation, yoga, listening to podcasts, computer games,Dungeons and Dragons, and reading.

Vice President

Vacant





Treasurer

Eric Dresser

Eric grew up in Oklahoma and studied Architectural Design and Architectural Engineering at Oklahoma State University. He started his career in Tulsa, Oklahoma and outside of work and school, Eric spent time volunteering at Reading Partners, ASTEK (architecture students teaching elementary kids), and various bridge competitions. 
Those experiences led him to becoming an Education Volunteer in Guinea, West Africa from 2017-2019. He taught math to 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th grade classes at a middle school in the Dalaba prefecture of the mountainous central region of Mamou. Aside from his primary project, secondary projects largely included objectives aimed at malaria, girls’ empowerment, and literacy improvement. 
Eric moved to Tucson in 2022 with his partner Rachael and their two dogs (Bailo and Annie Oakley). He has been working as a structural engineer at PK Associates, is an avid NBA Thunder and Liverpool F.C. fan, and has fallen hard and fast in love with southern Arizona.

Secretary

Nelisha Gray

Nelisha grew up in Normal, IL. She graduated from Northern Illinois University with a B.A. in Sociology and minor in Community Leadership & Civic Engagement. Afterwards, she spent four years helping youth (particularly DACA, first-generation college students and FAFSA grant recipients) with the college-going process and college success. 
From February 2019 to March 2020, Nelisha was a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal teaching English to 135 middle school students. This experience sparked a passion to enroll in the Language, Reading, & Culture M.A. program at the University of Arizona as Coverdell Fellow. She chose this degree because she likes the social justice-oriented classes.  Her graduate school highlights are presenting research on language discrimination and teaching for Literacy Connects. After she graduates in December 2024, she want to teach English or be involved in education-related advocacy work.  

Social Committee Chair

Calder Bethke

Calder is a 2nd year Master's student studying BiosystemsEngineering at UA. Basically he studies greenhouses and hydroponics though, and is really interested in climate change adaptation in agriculture for arid climates. He's also a Coverdell Fellow and is excited to plan social events for both Desert Doves and Coverdell Fellows!

Communications Committee Chair

Brennen O'Donnel

Brennen is an RPCV who served in Mexico from 2016-2018 as an Environmental Education and Community Outreach Volunteer. He primarily worked with the Sustainable Schools program in the state of Queretaro to form organic gardens, environmental tech projects, and eco-clubs in schools. He also managed an English as a second language creative writing competition for students in Mexico called Write-On!
Brennen was a Coverdell Fellow at the U of A in 2018-2019 and received his Master’s in Public Administration. Brennen loves living in Tucson and enjoys spending time at Saguaro National Park East near to where he lives on the east side. In his free time, he loves going to trivia nights, movies, and sporting events. He also like to read and is active in the Tucson Book Spot Club.

Service Committee Chair

Rachael Hinkel

Rachael Hinkel grew up on the island of Kaua’i in Hawai’i and attended Occidental College in Los Angeles where she earned her B.A. in Kinesiology. After volunteering for multiple public health initiatives that targeted underfunded schools in the LA area during her undergraduate chapter, she decided to join the Peace Corps upon graduation. 
She served in the Fouta Djallon region of Guinea from 2016-2019, working as a Maternal and Child Health Educator focusing on malaria prevention, sexual health, WASH, and business development projects in collaboration with local NGO, Ossez Innover. 
After the Peace Corps, while living in New York during the COVID-19 pandemic, she earned a Certificate of Graduate Study in Public Health and will be pursuing an MPH in Epidemiology while at the University of Arizona. Her research interests include the epidemiology of sexually transmitted infections, specifically how they impact the health of women and children. In her spare time she loves playing with her two rambunctious dogs, tending to her house plants, hiking, reading, and traveling.

Position Descriptions

President

President

Vice President

Vice President

Treasurer

Secretary

Social Committee Chair

Communications Committee Chair

Service Committee Chair

 

Officers and Committee Chairs can be reached through the email address rpcvtucson@gmail.com