BURLINGTON (AP) - The head of the Peace Corps is visiting Vermont.

Aaron Williams will join Sen. Patrick Leahy Thursday for an event at the University of Vermont highlighting the contributions of Peace Corps volunteers from Vermont.

One of those attending will be UVM doctoral student Charles Kerchner of Burlington, who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 2001-2003.

Kerchner imports organic cacao from the Dominican Republic to make his own brand of chocolates. The business partnership helps the cacao farmers to improve earnings while conserving land in the rainforest to protect migratory songbirds.

John William Meyer of Shelburne, a 2010 Middlebury College graduate who recently completed his Peace Corps service in Peru, will also attend.

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