Dec. 21, 2025

SP/FS BONUS: Holidays with Aunt Deb

Show Notes

Another holiday meal means more time at the table with Aunt Deb (who was kind enough to share her own fruitcake recipe--drenched in attitude and bourbon). And yes, she came with questions. But our guests handled her with brilliance and finesse. Featuring long-time USAID veteran Julius Coles; returned Peace Corps volunteer E. Scott Osbourne; US military, State Department, and Institute of Peace veteran Keith Mines: former US diplomat and USAID alumna Noelle Ojo; and Jack and Sarah Seybold, who served as Peace Corps volunteers together in Brazil. Photos and links below the bios.

Julius Coles served nearly three decades as a senior official with USAID, including as Mission Director in in Eswatini (then-Swaziland) and Senegal. He has also held executive positions at Morehouse College’s Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership, Africare, and Howard University’s Ralph Bunche International Affairs Center. Among his huge list of awards is Commander in the Order of Lion, presented by the President of Senegal.

E. Scott Osborne is an experienced writer, non-profit manager, and advocate, interested in gender equity, athletics, education, and international development. She has lived in seven countries on four continents, including Togo, West Africa, where she served as a Peace Corps volunteer, and Moscow, as USAID NGO Coordinator.

Keith Mines recently retired from the U.S. Institute of Peace, which he joined after a long career at the U.S. State Department, where he worked on post-conflict stabilization, peacebuilding, and negotiations. This work became the subject of his book Why Nation-Building Matters: Political Consolidation, Building Security Forces and Economic Development in Failed and Fragile States. He is also a U.S. Army veteran.

Noelle Ojo has served with both the U.S. State Department and USAID. Her postings include Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, and Washington, DC. Her book, The Blaxit Effect: The Black American’s Guide to Relocating to Africa, was published in 2022.

Jack & Sarah Seybold served as a Peace Corps couple in Brazil following Sarah’s solo Peace Corps experiences in Turkey. Sarah has had a long career as a pediatric nurse and mental health nurse educator. She coordinated trips to the then-USSR with “Creating a Sober World,” introducing groups to AA’s Twelve-Step recovery program. Jack worked for three decades with the New Haven School District in Union City, CA. He also served as a volunteer at San Quentin Prison. His 2004 novel (co-authored with Tom Pollock) is called The Rising: Journeys in the Wake of Global Warming.