The Washington, DC-based nonprofit Global Ties U.S., in partnership with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ Office of Alumni Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, is pleased to announce the U.S. ExchangeAlumni Fellowship, a new professional development and networking program for U.S. citizen alumni of U.S. government exchange programs (U.S. ExchangeAlumni). The nine-month Fellowship, to begin in January 2025, will engage U.S. ExchangeAlumni as regional advocates for international exchange programs and strengthen alumni networks throughout the United States.
Katherine A. Brown, Ph.D., President & CEO of Global Ties U.S. said, “We believe that diplomacy begins here, with all of us. The U.S. ExchangeAlumni Fellowship is an exceptional opportunity to support alumni as they build on their exchange experiences and give back to their own communities right here in the United States.”
The Fellowship will equip six U.S. ExchangeAlumni to organize, network with, and manage outreach to local alumni in their assigned regions. Each Fellow will be alumni themselves and cover a specific region of the United States, with one Fellow to be based in Washington, DC at the Global Ties U.S. office. All Fellows will be tasked with building regional alumni networks across U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs (e.g. Peace Corps, Critical Language Scholarship, Fulbright, and other U.S. ExchangeAlumni groups), and engaging with them regularly through in-person and / or virtual programming. The Fellows also will lead outreach to inspire local audiences to become future exchange participants and support U.S. ExchangeAlumni events in their region.
“Exchange programs have a lasting impact and do not end when alumni return home,” said Madelina Young-Smith, Director of the Department of State’s Office of Alumni Affairs. “The U.S. ExchangeAlumni Fellowship creates an avenue by which alumni can connect more intentionally across the United States, raise awareness about a wide variety of U.S. government exchange programs available to American citizens, and help advance U.S. foreign policy goals through citizen diplomacy.”
With more than 500,000 U.S. citizen ExchangeAlumni in the United States and around the world, the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Alumni Affairs opens the door to alumni networking, professional development, and opportunities for citizen diplomacy. In addition to the U.S. ExchangeAlumni Fellowship, the partnership with Global Ties U.S. includes Career Connections seminars, the Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund (CDAF), the Impact of Exchange photo exhibit, and the Alumni Resource Center (ARC).
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Global Ties U.S. is the national leader for connecting people and communities in the United States with global leaders through international exchange programs. Since 1961, Global Ties U.S. has powered a community-based network of 80+ nonprofit organizations that serve all 50 U.S. States and implement the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and a wide variety of other international exchange and public diplomacy programs. The work of Global Ties U.S. advances U.S. strategic priorities abroad and boosts prosperity at home by harnessing the diplomatic potential of our country’s greatest asset: our people.
The Office of Alumni Affairs in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs: The Office of Alumni Affairs cultivates and extends the impact of U.S. government funded and sponsored educational and cultural exchange programs through continued engagement with alumni of these programs. This dynamic global network of millions of ExchangeAlumni includes current and former heads of state, Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, Olympic athletes, award-winning artists, and untold numbers of community leaders and changemakers around the world.
The Office of Alumni Affairs collaborates with U.S. embassies and consulates abroad to leverage the expertise, energy, and enthusiasm of exchange alumni in support of shared goals. Domestically, The Office of Alumni Affairs works with implementing partners to support U.S. citizen alumni in leveraging the impact of their exchange experience after returning to the United States. Every day, exchange alumni make a difference in their communities and around the world, in health care, entrepreneurship, civic engagement, volunteerism, the democratic process, technology, and much more.