New York, USA (chair)
Senior Advisor for Global Affairs to the President of Columbia University, Senior Research Scholar at the School of International and Public Affairs, President Emerita of the Asia Society
Leadership
AFS International provides worldwide leadership, coordination, support, quality control and development of 59 AFS Network Organizations in 60 countries.
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.
Dr. Vishaka N. Desai
J. Brian Atwood
Massachusetts, USA (vice-chair)
Senior Fellow at the Watson Institute, Brown University, Former Dean & Chair of Global Studies at the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Professor Emeritus. Non-resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution
Dr. Veronica Boix Mansilla
Massachussetts, USA
Principal Investigator and Steering Committee member at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Dr. Jackie Chimhanzi
Johannesburg, South Africa
CEO of the African Leadership Institute
Amalie Ferdinand
Copenhagen, Denmark
Consultant, Federation of Public Workers Union
Makiko Haraga
Tokyo, Japan
Independent Writing and Editing Professional
Isada Hiranwiwatkul
Bangkok, Thailand
Partner and Managing Director at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Head of BCG Thailand
Ivonne de Leon
Florida, USA
Founding Partner at TrueCore Group & Transmutis
Eric Lomeli
Texas, USA
Geographic Information Solutions (GIS) Supervisor at Bexar County (Texas)
Najmuzzaman Mohammad
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Chief Product Officer at Capria VentureBasecamp
Daniel Obst
New York, USA (ex officio)
President and Chief Executive Officer, AFS Intercultural Programs, Inc.
Ernesto Rey Moreno
Bogotá, Colombia
Founder & CEO, Empresas REYMORENO
Dr. Willibald Plesser
Moedling, Austria
Attorney at Law, Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Dr. Roberto Ruffino
Colle di Val d’Elsa, Italy
Secretary General of Fondazione Intercultura
Ulrich Voss
Kronberg, Germany
Founder and Managing Partner at Kronberg Advisors
Alexis Zlocowski
Cordoba, Argentina
Latin America Big Data Sales Director at Teradata Aster
Life Trustees
Dr. Richard M. Hunt
Massachusetts, USA
The University Marshal, Harvard University (retired), World War II AFS ambulance driver
Sachiye Kuwamoto
California, USA
Regional Director, Central California, Japanese-American Citizens League (retired)
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.
Luc Estape
Partner Director, Switzerland
Andrea Franzoi
Secretary General, Intercultura (Italian partner of AFS)
Rosario Gutierrez
Partner Director, Colombia
Juan Medici
Partner Director, Argentina & Uruguay
Ingeborg Suppin-Fabisch
Partner Director, Austria
Ulrik Wehner
Partner Director, Denmark
AFS Educational Advisory Council
Melissa Liles (Chair), New York, USA Chief Education Officer, AFS Intercultural Programs
Milton J. Bennett, Ph.D. Oregon, USA and Milan, Italy Executive Director, The Intercultural Development Research Institute
Dr. Darla Deardorff, North Carolina, USA Executive Director Association of International Education Administrators and Research Scholar Program in Education, Duke University
Dr. Roberto Ruffino, Colle di val d’Elsa, Italy Secretary General, Fondazione Intercultura
Professor Nagesh Rao, Ahmedabad, India President & Director, MICA Institute of Strategic Marketing and Communication
Michael (Mick) Vande Berg, Ph.D., Maine, USA Principal, MVB Associates
Mitchell R. Hammer (Special Advisor), Ph.D. Maryland, USA President, IDI, LLC and Hammer Consulting, LLC
Bruce La Brack (Special Advisor), Ph.D., California, USA Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and International Studies, School of International Studies, University of the Pacific
Veronica Boix Mansilla, Ed.D., Massachusetts, USA, Principal Investigator at Project Zero, Lecturer in Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education
Staff
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 the 59 AFS Network Organization in 60 countries.
Executive Team
Daniel Obst 🇺🇸
President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Urs-Rainer von Arx 🇨🇭
Advisor to the President
Rita Bangáné Jarecsni 🇭🇺
Chief Financial Officer
Maria Grazia Brizi 🇮🇹
Associate General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Data Protection Officer
Hal Denton 🇺🇸
General Counsel & Chief Risk Management Officer
Melissa Liles 🇺🇸
Chief Global Engagement Officer
Sheryl Tucker 🇺🇸
Chief External Affairs Officer
Bert Vercamer 🇧🇪
Chief Program Innovation & Educational Products Officer, and Sentio General Manager
Lucas Welter 🇧🇷
Chief Organization Development & Strategy Officer
AFS International Team
Ana Carolina Cassiano 🇧🇷
Consultant, Educator Relations
Andrea Kammerer 🇭🇺
Senior Analyst, Management Information
Andy Woods Ballard 🇿🇦
Consultant, Business Development
Anna Treyer-Simakova 🇷🇺
Manager, International Events
Camilla Brito 🇧🇷
International Events Intern
Camilla Soulere 🇳🇴
Fellow, Learning Program
Cristina Mateo 🇩🇴
Coordinator, Accounting and Budget
Damian Epsztein 🇦🇷
Fellow, Digital Products
David Blythe 🇺🇸
Manager, Program Policy and Support
Ebba Berggrund 🇸🇪
Project Coordinator
Ebbe Skovdal 🇩🇰 🇺🇸
Advisor to the President
Eduardo Assed 🇧🇷
Senior Consultant, Partner Engagement
Efrem Fisher 🇺🇸
Director, Program Services and Development
Erica Flory 🇺🇸
Educational Products Coordinator
Esteban Araya-Santiago 🇨🇷
Specialist, Website and Digital Content
Fabricia Manoel 🇧🇷
Consultant, Organization Development & Program Development
Hazar Yildirim 🇹🇷
Manager, Alliances
Indre Salciute 🇱🇹
Consultant, Management Information
Larry Barnett 🇺🇸
Director, Risk and Crisis Management
Linda Stuart 🇺🇸
Specialist, Educational Products
Magnus-Andreas Aase 🇳🇴
Consultant, Digital and AFS World Café
Marika Strauss 🇺🇸
Head of Volunteer Development
Marc Nakamura 🇺🇸
Graphic Designer
Martha Rivas 🇵🇾
Coordinator, Accounts Payable & Office Services
Milena Miladinovic 🇷🇸
Consultant, Communications & External Affairs
Molly Stern 🇺🇸
Educational Products Coordinator
Monica Our 🇺🇸
Director, Budget and Network Finances
Nick Cooper 🇬🇧
Manager, Network ICT
Nicole Lebenson 🇺🇸
Director, Partner Engagement
Paul Gamner 🇺🇸
Assistant to the President
Raquel Martinez 🇭🇳
Director, Customer Experience
Sarah Collins 🇺🇸
Manager, Training and Learning
Shiree Pointer 🇺🇸
Manager, Program Growth and Quality Support
Stijn Van den Bergh 🇧🇪
Coordinator, ICT Support and Training