The Collective Public Policy Voice of the Exchange Community

2016 Annual Meeting

Oct 23, 2017

2016 Annual Meeting

Thanks to all who attended the 2016 Alliance Annual Meeting!

Over 250 people from 79 member organizations and other stakeholders, including four Alliance Supporters, joined this year’s gathering (Click here for full participant list).

A brand-new plenary panel featured Alliance members providing insights into the importance of external engagement as described in the Alliance’s recently released Playbook of External Engagement Strategies. The Playbook will help increase exposure of the exchange community in the media, as well as foster support for public diplomacy from the foreign policy establishment.

A major highlight of our Annual Meeting was the strong presence of and participation by the Department of State. Over 50 representatives from ECA joined us. We were honored to welcome Evan Ryan, ECA Assistant Secretary, as well as ECA’s Deputy Assistant Secretaries. Ryan’s inspiring remarks can be found here.

It was a pleasure connecting with many colleagues throughout the Meeting and at our Networking Reception! For a visual recap of the two content-filled days, take a look at our Photo Album.

If you attended, but haven’t already completed our survey, please do so now to help us prepare for 2017. See below for some additional updates and highlights.

Keynote Speaker

Remarks by Assistant Secretary of State for ECA, Evan RyanAssistant Secretary Evan Ryan delivered the opening remarks at our 2016 Annual Meeting. Please see below for an excerpt and click here to access her full remarks.

“It has been said many times, and nonetheless bears repeating, that the U.S. Government cannot do this work alone and the private sector cannot do this work alone. We have to work together. The role of the citizen diplomat is vital.

We live in a world, as Tom Friedman presciently noted some years back, where the big no longer eat the small, instead the fast eat the slow. With programs like IVLP-On-Demand, enhanced virtual programming and expanded social media presence, we intend to be among the fast. . .”

McCarry Leadership Awardees

The McCarry Leadership Award is a new initiative promoting the professional development of emerging leaders in the U.S. exchange community. The Award honors former Alliance Executive Director Michael McCarry – a leader who has conveyed the importance of exchange through his unyielding commitment to the exchange community. We are proud of the first cohort of McCarry Leadership Award recipients:

Elizabeth Azeizat  AIFS – Au Pair in America
Alison Gold  Spirit Cultural Exchange
Megan Lysaght American Councils for International Education

Elizabeth Azeizat AIFS - Au Pair in America Alison Gold Spirit Cultural Exchange Megan Lysaght American Councils for International Education

A Special Thanks to Award Donors:

  • Jennifer Clinton
  • American Councils for International Education
  • William Gertz
  • Greenheart International
  • Cultural Exchange Network (CENET)
  • Lisa & Christoph Heyn
  • Cultural Homestay International
  • Michael Hill
  • German American Chamber of Commerce – CA
  • Mark Overmann
  • Global Educational Concepts
  • Karyn & James Pellow
  • Mountbatten Institute
  • Lynn Shotwell
  • Spirit Cultural Exchange
  • Christine Schulze
  • World Education Services