Elsa Potter was a Peace Corps volunteer who never forgot that one of her goals was to "bring the world back home"—she's dedicated her life to promoting peace throughout the world.

After coming home from her Peace Corps assignment, Potter had a distinguished career as a teacher in west Texas but kept asking herself, "What can I do to make the world a better place?" Her response was to create the nonprofit International Institute of Culture and Language (IICL), in 1994, while she was working on her doctorate at Texas A&M University.

The aim of IICL is to promote international and intercultural events that work toward building peace in the world. Potter's vision is to encourage people to relate to one another across barriers of race, religion, nationality, and language. How? She creates and promotes concerts, lectures, dances, religious observances, and journeys that expand people's visions of the "other" as they bridge cultural misunderstanding and preconceptions.

Despite significant health problems, Potter has continued to devote her time, energy, and finances toward building IICL and expanding its impact in the world community. Even though she's sometimes labeled a dreamer, her friends say that Potter "goes forward, rejuvenated and energized by the opposition."

UPDATE: Elsa Potter continues to head IICL and has instituted a learning/teaching center from her current base in San Ignacio, Belize, Central America.