Emily Essi Bersani served as a Community Development Volunteer in southwestern Ukraine from 2017 to 2019. She had earned her Master’s of Public Administration in 2014 and was eager to work in local government, which she did as part of an amalgamated community implementing Ukraine’s decentralization reform. Her time in Ukraine was one of the motivators to then get involved in local government back home. In 2023, Emily won a competitive runoff race for the position of Onondaga County Clerk. We recently interviewed her about the challenges and rewards of Peace Corps service, running for public office, and how building relationships and counting small wins are vital for both.
Adapting to Village Life in Ukraine
Emily lived in many different parts of the world prior to serving in Ukraine: the US, Canada, Sweden, South Africa - but never lived in a small town before being assigned to a tiny village in Chernivetska Oblast. She estimates the population of her village and the neighboring ones - combined - amounted to around 3,000 people. “It was pretty different than what I’m used to, but it was amazing!”
Emily was already somewhat familiar with the tenets of Peace Corps’ Community Development work in Ukraine, and had imagined that her public administration and nonprofit background might land her in a city. “I had such a narrow view of the needs of Ukraine. I figured they would need help in their government in the cities, or in an NGO. But in the amalgamated villages and towns, there was a lot more opportunity for me to be involved in everything at the local government level. Looking back, I’m grateful.”
“The point of Peace Corps is you’re supposed to be uncomfortable. You’re supposed to be immersing yourself in this culture that is not familiar to you.”
Staff of the Village Council - and a bouquet in Ukrainian colors for Emily
Emily recalls being met with a lot of excitement upon moving to her site. Her village was one of five that formed an amalgamated community under Ukraine’s decentralization reform. Her counterpart worked in local government, and during service Emily got to help implement participatory budgeting that enabled community members to vote on a portion of public expenditures. Even though she hadn’t envisioned living in a village, it was precisely the kind of work that had excited her about coming to Ukraine.
In addition to working in local government, Emily took on several meaningful side projects, including Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) events focused on empowering women and girls, projects with the town library, and even a TedX conference in the nearest city. Due to close-of-service timelines, Emily actually had to close service and then go back to site to finish the conference!
The TedX conference was a collective effort of Ukrainian volunteers and PCVs
Camaraderie and Crossing Cultures
Two of the things that most helped Emily adjust to living and working in a radically unfamiliar setting were the camaraderie of fellow Peace Corps Volunteers, and her lifelong experience engaging across cultures in her bicultural Arab American family.
Of her fellow Volunteers, Emily says: “Our cohort was so important. I could not have done my service without that network and community.” Emily often reached out to fellow Volunteers when feeling discouraged or frustrated, and it was those conversations that helped her learn to focus on small wins and take things day by day. “I want to say thank you to all our fellow RPCVs. You can do something like Peace Corps and then make friends forever, even if you live on different sides of the world.”
Emily grew up having connections on different sides of the world. Her grandmother is Syrian, and her father moved to the US from Jordan.
“My father is a brown man from the Middle East. My mother is a white woman. When my mom’s side and my dad’s side of the family mingle - they’re very different in culture. I learned how to adapt and be comfortable in different surroundings. I think having this mixed background helps me adapt in new environments. I think it helped me build relationships in Ukraine.”
One of the projects Emily worked on with other volunteers was a Model UN camp
While Emily’s background helped equip her for serving in Ukraine, her time there also informed her perspective on the experiences of family members, including those displaced by conflict.
“I had family in Syria - some went to Germany, some went to Canada. It was hard for them. Just the way I had to adapt in a small village, they had to adapt coming from their small city to a different country.” This experience of displacement is one now shared by many Ukrainians, and Emily hopes to build more connections in the growing Ukrainian community of central New York.
From International Development to Local Government
After multiple experiences living and working overseas, Emily is now back home in Syracuse, New York. “In all these times abroad, I felt I missed my own community and wanted to impact my own community. It was such a strong feeling, I never thought I would have that. I wanted to travel all over the place. I can probably give Ukraine all of the credit. Watching these Ukrainians feel so strongly about their own community and work so hard to make it better for themselves and for everybody around them made me realize I wanted to do the same here at home.”
I can probably give Ukraine all of the credit. Watching these Ukrainians feel so strongly about their own community and work so hard to make it better for themselves and for everybody around them made me realize I wanted to do the same here at home.
Emily initially returned to nonprofit work upon getting back to the US, but recently, she took a leap and ran for public office. She was working on affordable housing during the pandemic when, “There was a shift. I realized, I have such opinions about our local government and I have ideas of how it can be better. Why don’t I put my actions where my mouth is?” She had long had an interest in local government anyway, which was heightened by her hands-on work in Ukraine.
In 2023, Emily unseated an incumbent to win the election for Onondaga County Clerk in a tight race that went to a runoff. She won by just 291 votes out of 90,000, flipping a seat that hadn’t changed party control since 1986. “It was a surprise to a lot of people that I was able to win!” Campaigning required humility, the ability to be vulnerable, and openness to receiving a lot of feedback - but Emily was motivated by her belief in the importance of community engagement with local government. “Our local governments are extremely important and impactful. Whether I won or not, something I really wanted to focus on, moving forward and always, is encouraging people to know who their local candidates are, and what policies and programs they’re implementing.”
While County Clerk is an administrative rather than policy-focused position, Emily is excited to learn the inner workings of government and bring new perspectives into county leadership. Her approach to elected office echoes what she learned from Peace Corps service: take things one day at a time; and count the small wins, because they are important.
Emily is now in office as Onondaga County Clerk!
Taking on Challenges: “It’s Okay to be Overwhelmed”
Cultivating resilience, building community, and counting small wins are especially important in challenging times like the present, with Ukraine facing an escalating and violent military invasion by Russia while US domestic politics roil. “It doesn’t matter which corner you look at, there’s something to feel overwhelmed by right now,” Emily shares. “Sometimes it’s okay - it’s okay to be overwhelmed.”
Emily admits she faces extra challenges as an elected official who is a woman, relatively young, and Arab American. “There is a stigma around the Arab side. I’m often in conversations with people who don’t know that about me, and I hear derogatory comments. It just happened last week.” Given both her own family experience and the current situation of many Ukrainians, Emily hopes to build more empathy and understanding for migrants and refugees in the US. “When we’re talking about people fleeing their homes and leaving because of war - whatever they feel they need to leave - people don’t want to leave their home out of trauma. I think that’s important to help people in the US understand.”
If we continue to call on our networks, I think we can make a big change.
In these trying times, Emily finds hope in witnessing the growth and impact of up-and-coming leaders, both in the US and Ukraine. She stays in touch with many of her Ukrainian colleagues from service, including one who successfully applied to become director of the local library and whose candidacy Emily supported with a recommendation letter. She stays in touch with her RPCV network, and this emphasis on community helps inform her own work as a public leader. “I remind myself - I won this race because I was able to motivate people to get out and vote, and use their voice. If we continue to call on our networks, I think we can make a big change.”
Whether you’re contemplating joining the Peace Corps, running for public office, or taking some other step beyond your comfort zone, Emily’s advice is: “Do it! The outcome might not be what you envisioned, but you’ll never know if you don’t try.”
Would you like to share your story of service? Let us know by filling out our Peacing It Together storytelling form