Women of Peace Corps Legacy shares with its members and supporters the very sad news of the passing of Betsi Shays in early November. Betsi was one of the dreamers and visionaries who came together to create our organization over a decade ago. Joy, energy, creativity, dedication, and passion are all words which could be easily and repeatedly used to describe Betsi. Being in her presence would energize you and fill you with hope that whatever you were doing was going to turn out ok, and even better, because Betsi was involved.
She and her wonderful partner Chris Shays were high school sweethearts and PCVs together in Fiji. They were a dynamic couple, who together impacted lives nationally and globally. Many of us worked directly with Betsi at Peace Corps when she led the programming and training office for the Agency. She was supportive and thoughtful in her leadership, while always challenging us to think bigger and bolder. We all feel so privileged to call Betsi an amazing colleague and boss, mischievous co-conspirator for the good, and a dear, dear friend.
~Kate Raftery