One of the earliest volunteers in Rio Grande do Norte was Barbara Pugh (Mossoro, 66-68). Some of these early groups were trained at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.

PCVs were in Rio Grande do Norte (RN) during 1969-79; there was a PC State Office in Natal for many years, although volunteers often went to Recife or Joao Pessoa for help. During 1971-73, George Van Antwerp was the state director in Natal.

In 1970-74, there were two groups of PCV teachers (mostly single women) working with interior colegios pedagogicos. Susana Fredericks (‘70-72, and PC trainer ‘73-78), Debbie Katz Engen (‘70-73), and Phyllis Green (‘70-73) were in a group of a dozen or so teachers assigned throughout Rio Grande do Norte. Some of these worked with a leper colony outside Natal, and with the Ship Hope medical program. There was a second group of PCV teachers during 1972-74. During the early 70s, there were a number of PCV nurses in the State, Cindy Lockhart (‘71-73) being one.

The medical Ship HOPE came to Natal in late 1971 for one year, and as a result, PC began several medical programs, affiliated with the land-based HOPE programs. Rich Lawless (PE, ‘69-71, and RGN ‘72-73), and Dick Greene (PE, ‘70-72, ‘72 RGN), and George Heed (‘71-72 were volunteer leaders who placed many volunteers in various medical programs that remained after the Ship Hope returned to Baltimore in 1973. The Ship Hope then returned to the NE to Maceio, Alagoas in late 1973 where PCVs also similarly worked in the resulting land based medical programs.

During the early 1970s, there were a number of volunteers working in rural agriculture in the State. Some PCVs in this era were Cheryl McCarthy (Parnamirim 72-75), Richard Goughnour (Natal), and Mike Maxey (Mossoro), and Paul Sekscenski (Natal).

Probably the most famous RPCV in Rio Grande do Norte is David Knolls (Acu), who became one of the largest vegetable/fruit growers in the entire region. Dave actually had been a PCV in Minas Gerais in the mid 1960s, but returned as a private citizen and agronomist to start a large irrigation facility in the Acu river valley in Rio Grande do Norte. Dave introduced new varieties of melons and tomatoes, including exporting to Western Europe and São Paulo, and was a huge innovative force in the State agriculture. Dave has worked with a number of RPCVs in Brazil in the export business over the past years and still resides in the State.

The last volunteer to serve in RN was probably Marion Mendelsohn (described under the Pernambuco volunteers) who transferred from Pernambuco to Mossoro to work with goat research and extension. Marion was honored by the State Government for her outstanding work on goat research, the goat being the "poor man’s cow" in the Northeast. She served in NE Brazil as a PCV for 8 years or so, certainly the longest serving volunteer in Brazil and one of the longest in PC history throughout the world. She was a phenomenon.