Who is Arch?

My name is Arch Grieve and I’ve had a lot of different jobs. Currently I teach political science at the college level for two local universities and freelance for other educational jobs. But I’ve also been everything from a bouncer to an internationally-certified transformative mediator (which I still am!) and a whole lot of other gigs as well. By far, however, my favorite job is being a travel guide. My background, though, is in education, and my master’s is in international and comparative politics. I’ve also served as Vice President of my local school board, Vice President of the Dayton Council on World Affairs, and Chair of the Dayton Sister City Committee. I also served as that organization’s treasurer, vice chair, and Sarajevo sub-committee chair. 

I have a love affair with Bosnia-Herzegovina that began in 2016 when I took a trip with the Dayton Sister City Committee over there to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords. I got to visit with local politicians and meet teachers and business leaders, but most importantly I made lasting friendships. When I got home all I could think about was how to get back to the country and help others experience it, so I started several exchange programs to do just that.

Since that first trip in 2016, I’ve taken 47 high school students, college students, and adult friends and family to and from Bosnia-Herzegovina over the past six years. Some of the early trips were ones I organized and fundraised for to take my college and high school students on. Later on, I eventually wrote a $120,000 grant to bring over 18 students and three teachers (pictured below) to Dayton, OH, the site of the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords (which ended the Bosnian War in the 90s). While I’m no longer involved in that program, it has continued for at least four iterations after I wrote the initial grant, and I couldn’t be prouder of its legacy. 

Last year I went through a lot of personal changes in my own life, however, and one of those was trying to move to Bosnia-Herzegovina. As it always goes, however, I met a girl and decided to stay. However, I did decide that I want to continue traveling to this amazing country and helping people experience it for the first time, so I started Gem City Dudeist Priest LLC (after my TikTok handle) to begin organizing those trips in the summer of 2023 as well as handle some of my other freelance gigs, including (but not limited to) mediation, officiating weddings, and making t-shirts.

I'm a very collaborative person and I love to connect on exciting projects, so if you see an opportunity to connect then let's do it! Just reach out to me via email at gemcitydudeistpriest@gmail.com. 

I look forward to hearing from you!

- arch