Daniel Obst is President and CEO of AFS Intercultural Programs. Under Obst’s leadership, the 100+-year-old international education organization has developed a transformative new global strategy focused on three mission-driven impact goals: developing active global citizens, globalizing schools and other institutions and expanding access to intercultural education to young people in underserved communities. Daniel oversees the work of AFS organizations in 60 countries that deliver a portfolio of programs in 98 destinations—all supported by 55,000 volunteers and staff.
Prior to AFS, Daniel led several groundbreaking initiatives at the Institute of International Education (IIE). This included Generation Study Abroad, which mobilized 700 international partner organizations to help double the number of U.S. Americans who study in other countries. As the author and editor of many influential books and papers, such as Innovation through Education: Building the Knowledge Economy in the Middle East, Obst has helped shape the international education conversation worldwide.
Obst graduated from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. (USA) and London School of Economics (UK). He currently serves on the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, the Advisory Board of the Leading Disruptive Innovation Program at Rutgers University USA, and is the treasurer of the Board of Directors of the German University Alliance. Daniel participated in the prestigious European Union Visitors Program.