Leadership

Daniel Obst

President and Chief Executive Officer

New York City, NY, USA

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Ernesto Rey Moreno

Board Chair

Madrid, Spain
Founder & CEO at Empresas REYMORENO and Andar_Es GLOBAL MOBILITY

Read Ernesto’s bio

Executive Team

Rita Bangáné Jarecsni

Chief Financial and Operational Officer

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Larry Barnett

Chief Risk Management Officer

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Maria Grazia Brizi, Esq

General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Data Protection Officer

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Efrem Fisher

Chief Program Development & Sponsored Programs Officer

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Pedro Junqueira

Chief Digital Officer

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Nicole Lebenson Angulo

Chief Engagement Officer

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Ann´Andreza Martins

Chief Program Operations & Network Capacity Officer

Read Andreza’s bio

Board of Trustees

The AFS International Board of Trustees, a diverse group representing over a dozen countries, works in conjunction with our Partners and volunteers worldwide to realize our goal of providing the world’s youth with secure avenues of intercultural exchange.

Dana Al-Anzy

Doha, Qatar
Manager of Strategic Partnerships at the Education Above All Foundation

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Yasmin Ahmad Merican

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Marketing Strategist, Brand Builder & Business Transformation Practitioner

Read Yasmin’s bio

Martyn Barrett

London, United Kingdom
Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Surrey, UK

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Noris Bello de Acosta

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Co-owner, Constructora Acosta-Bello, SRL

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Matteo Biancolini

Reggio Emilia, Italy
Independent Financial Advisor and Entrepreneur

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Lennart D'hulst

Vice Chair of the Board

Opwijk, Belgium
Learning & Development Expert at NMBS

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Eloise Dolan

Melbourne, Australia
Advisor at the Australian International Trade and Investment Commission

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Tolga Dorken

Paris, France
Founding Partner at ID Turkiye AS

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Amalie Ferdinand

Copenhagen, Denmark
Trade Union Consultant at Union of Education Denmark

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Wendy Kuran

Durham, North Carolina, United States
Duke University Special Advisor to the Provost;
Duke Global: Senior Director of Global Partnerships & Innovation

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Filipa Santos

Hong Kong
Regional Data Protection Officer for JAPAC at the L’Occitane Group

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Cristian Vera

Miami, FL, USA
Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Americas Region, DHL

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Wantoe Wantoe

UK, Liberia
President for Postgraduates at the University of Oxford Student Union

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Roman Wuellner

Munich, Germany
Senior Finance Director for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland at Haleon

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Life Trustee

Sachiye Kuwamoto

California, USA
Regional Director, Central California, Japanese-American Citizens League (retired)

The AFS Education Committee, created by the AFS International Board of Trustees in 2022, provides input and guidance to our network-wide educational vision, impact, and research agenda related to active global citizenship, intercultural and global competence. The Committee is composed by Trustees, AFS representatives and experts outside our organization. For inquiries, suggestions, or to learn more about the Committee’s work, please contact [email protected].

Meet the Committee members:

Trustees:

Eloise Dolan (Chair since 2024) – Advisor at the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), Australia
Professor Martyn Barrett (Chair of Research & Assessment Subcommittee) – Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Surrey, UK
Dana Al-Anzy – Head of Strategic Partnerships at the Education Above All Foundation
Wantoe Wantoe – President For Postgraduate, Oxford University Student Union and Steering Member on the United Nations Department of Global Communication Youth Steering Committee, USA/Liberia
Wendy Kuran – Associate Vice President for Development and Alumni Engagement: Duke Kunshan University and China; Duke University

External Advisors:

Veronica Boix Mansilla (2022 Chair, Honorary Advisor) – Principal Investigator and Steering Committee member at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA
Mattia Baiutti (Research & Assessment Advisor) – Secretary General at Fondazione Intercultura, Italy
Jonathan Modernel (Research & Assessment Advisor) – Chief of Staff, Comprehensive Unit for the Evaluation of Educational Quality and Equity, Ministry of Education of the Greater Buenos Aires Area, Argentina
Uli Zeutschel (Research & Assessment Advisor) – Independent Project Consultant and Team Coach and Coordinator at AFS Education Advisory Board, Germany

AFS Regional Advisors:

AFS Partner Directors:

AFS International Team:

Former Members:

AFS Partner Director Representatives

The AFS Partner Director Representatives, works in conjunction with our Board of Trustees and AFS Volunteers worldwide to realize our goal of providing the world’s youth with secure avenues of intercultural exchange.

Lisa Droessler

Partner Director, AFS Switzerland

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Sherifa Fayez

Partner Director, Egypt

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Andrea Franzoi

Partner Director, Italy

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Anja Kajander

Partner Director, Finland

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Juan Medici

Partner Director, AFS Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil

Read Juan’s bio

Gatot Sam

Partner Director, Indonesia

Read Gatot’s bio

AFS International Team

AFS Staff supports our volunteers, and enable exchanges to succeed by working together to ensure that the highest quality experiences are afforded to all participants and host families. The staff at AFS International provide worldwide support, quality control and development of AFS Network Organizations worldwide.

Ali Mustafa
AFS Consultant, UN Affairs

Ana Carolina Cassiano
Director, Education, Training & Volunteer Development

Andrew Menges
Senior Analyst, Data & Strategy

Ariel Trindade
Consultant, Communications and Engagement

Bhavya Raj Sirohi
Consultant, Participant Support, Quality & Compliance

Bianca Lajara
Consultant, Global Alumni Engagement

Brian Musyoki
Consultant, Training Operations and Facilitation

Brice Sagbohan
Accountant, Budget & Network Finances

Camilla Brito
Consultant, Registration & Attendee Experience

Carolina Cortez Jimenez
Consultant, Global Up Support

Chavelly Payero
HR Generalist and Legal Assistant

Cristina Bertelli
Consultant, Volunteer Development

Carlos Irias Kattan
Consultant, Website and SEO specialist

David Blythe
Office Manager

Dylan Peterson
Educator & School Global Engagement Manager

Eduardo Assed
Consultant, Network and Market Development

Eleni Nanaj
Consultant, Program and Sponsorship Development

Ernest Armah
Consultant, Youth Assembly Alumni Coordination

Eunice Neta
Consultant, Program Policy and Support Management

Fabricia Manoel
Consultant, Sending Experience & Operational Innovation

Facundo Méndez
Consultant, Program Development

Federico Larriera
Consultant, Branding & Design

Gábor Csikós
Consultant, Recruitment and Growth Strategies

Iker Landeros
Consultant, Sponsored Programs Alumni Engagement

Linda Stuart
Director, Global Education Innovation

Luisa Novelli
Consultant, Hosting Experience Engagement Coordination

Manuela Ramirez
Consultant, Volunteer Development & Training

Martha Rivas
Coordinator, Accounts Payable & Office Services

Martin Teplanszki
Consultant, CRM Technical Lead

Milena Miladinovic
Director, Communications & Engagement

Mirna Halabi
Consultant, CRM and Engagement specialist

Mladen Popovic
Consultant, User Experience Designer

Molly Stern
Head of Academic Partnerships

Monica Our
Director, Budget & Network Finances

Pablo Cornejo
Consultant, Global Up Engagement Lead

Paul Gamner
Assistant to the President

Saskia Kaya
Manager, Sponsored Programs

Sean Reilly
Director, Program Development

Stijn Van den Bergh
Consultant, Operations Product Management

Valeria Anghel
Consultant, CRM Support

Veronica Conti
Consultant, Marketing & Customer Experience

Yumna Khan
Director, Youth Assembly and Strategic Youth Initiatives