How does volunteer training/preparation affect the overall congruence between an organizations mission, satisfaction of volunteers and volunteer performance? Are the missions, vision, goals, and strategic priorities and objectives of international volunteer organizations aligned with host country goals? How does the focus of training affect overall effectiveness of volunteers? This study seeks to quantify the benefits of certain types of international volunteering training by comparing the training methods, preparation and satisfaction of volunteers within the United States Peace Corps and the United Nations Volunteer program in order to discover whether there are clear strengths, weaknesses or areas for improvement in the preparation of these important international positions.

Born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in the UK, Amy began puzzling over the concepts of ethnicity and nationalism at a very young age, a path of inquiry that inspired a strong curiosity about the world-chased by a passion to fix some of its social problems. She currently lives in Innsbruck, Austria, with her loving husband, Alessandro Zucchelli.