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
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
Lennart D'hulst
Opwijk, Belgium
Expert HR Project Manager at NMBS, Board Chair at AFS Belgium Flanders, member of the Sentio inc., Board of Directors
Amalie Ferdinand
Copenhagen, Denmark
Consultant, Federation of Public Workers Union
Isada Hiranwiwatkul
Bangkok, Thailand
Partner and Managing Director at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Head of BCG Thailand
Eric Lomeli
Texas, USA
Geographic Information Solutions (GIS) Supervisor at Bexar County (Texas)
Michaela Mariani
Italy
Coordinator of Legal Department, IFIS NPL S.pA. (Group Banca IFIS)
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.
Dr. Willibald Plesser
Vienna, Austria
Attorney at Law, Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Dr. Roberto Ruffino
Colle di Val d’Elsa, Italy
Secretary General of Fondazione Intercultura
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.
AFS Educational Advisory Council
Melissa Liles (Chair), New York, USA Chief Global Engagement 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
Maria Grazia Brizi 🇮🇹
Associate General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Data Protection Officer
AFS International Team
Ana Carolina Cassiano 🇧🇷
Consultant, Educator Relations
Andrea Kammerer 🇭🇺
Senior Analyst, Management Information
Andrea Kustenkow
AFS Archives
Andrés Peñaloza Lanza
Educator & School Relations Intern
Andy Woods Ballard 🇿🇦
Consultant, Business Development
Anna Treyer-Simakova 🇷🇺 🇺🇸
Manager, International Events
Camilla Soulere 🇳🇴
Fellow, Learning Program
Carlos Irias 🇭🇳
Digital Marketing & Website Management Consultant
Cristina Mateo 🇩🇴 🇺🇸
Coordinator, Accounting and Budget
Damian Epsztein 🇦🇷
Consultant, Digital Products
David Blythe 🇺🇸
Manager, Program Policy and Support
Ebbe Skovdal 🇩🇰 🇺🇸
Advisor to the President
Eduardo Assed 🇧🇷
Senior Consultant, Partner Engagement
Fabricia Manoel 🇧🇷
Consultant, Organization Development & Program Development
Hazar Yildirim 🇹🇷
Manager, Alliances
Heidy Utami 🇮🇩
Training Fellow
Larry Barnett 🇺🇸
Director, Risk and Crisis Management
Linda Stuart 🇺🇸
Specialist, Educational Products
Magnus-Andreas Aase 🇳🇴
Consultant, Digital
Marika Strauss 🇺🇸
Head of Volunteer Development
Marshall Adams 🇺🇸
Business Development Manager in Asia and the Pacific
Martha Rivas 🇵🇾
Coordinator, Accounts Payable & Office Services
Melissa Chang 🇺🇸
Corporate & Foundation Partnerships Manager
Milena Miladinovic 🇷🇸
Consultant, Communications & External Affairs
Molly Stern 🇺🇸
Educational Products Coordinator
Monica Our 🇺🇸
Director, Budget and Network Finances
Nicole Lebenson 🇺🇸
Director, Partner Engagement
Paul Gamner 🇺🇸
Assistant to the President
Pedro Junqueira 🇧🇷🇺🇸
Head of Digital
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