AFS Partner Director Representatives Bios

Lisa Droessler serves as the Partner Director of AFS Intercultural Programs Switzerland, a role she has held since June 2021. Based in Zurich, she leads the organization’s efforts to promote intercultural education and global citizenship, building on her extensive background in strategy and management. With her diverse experience across industries, Lisa brings a valuable perspective to AFS’s mission of fostering intercultural understanding. Lisa holds an MA in International Affairs and Governance from the University of St.Gallen, Switzerland, and an MA in European Affairs from Sciences Po, France. Lisa was an AFS exchange student in the USA.

Sherifa Fayez is National Director of AFS Egypt Intercultural Educational Programs since 2004. Fayez spearheaded restructuring the developmental plans of the organization to focus on intercultural communication through training and impactful intercultural projects for youth and communities. Fayez facilitated the startup and development of partner offices in the region (KSA, India, Kenya and Tunisia). She holds a Masters degree in Intercultural Relations from University of the Pacific in California, and an Economics degree from American University in Cairo. Fayez lives in Egypt and specializes in trainings with focus on intercultural competency targeting different age groups and professionals in Egypt, the Middle East, Africa and the United States. Her work as an educator aims at lifting the veil of the pervasive reductionist perspectives on the Middle East and promoting active global citizenship as a practice in everyday settings.  In her dedicated work with AFS she has contributed at many levels.

Andrea has been the Secretary General of Intercultura (Italian Partner of AFS Intercultural Programs) since 2017. Andrea served as the Volunteer Manager at Intercultura since 2009, and was a life-long volunteer for AFS since his study abroad program in 1996 to Germany. He is former Board member for Intercultura and former Board member and Vice Chair for EFIL, the European Federation for Intercultural learning. He served as a co-opted member of AFS Partner Director Representatives in 2018-2019. Before joining AFS as a staff member, Andrea worked in journalism and public relations. He holds a master’s degree in Political Science at the University of Bologna and an executive master in Management of International Organizations at SDA Bocconi in Milan.

Anja Kajander serves as the Partner Director/CEO of AFS Intercultural Programs Finland, a role she has held since March 2020. Based in Helsinki, Finland, she leads the organization’s efforts to promote intercultural education and global citizenship. She has over 15 years of experience in P&L management roles across diverse industries, including the non-profit, listed and family owned companies. She has served on corporate boards for more than 10 years, 8 of them as board chair. Anja holds an M.Sc. (Econ) from the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration (1993), and is a Certified Board Chair (2017) and a certified business coach (2025). She has written two award winning books on brands. Anja was an AFS exchange student in Lancaster, PA, USA, in 1984–85.

Juan Medici is the Partner Director of AFS Argentina and Uruguay, as well as AFS Brazil. He previously served as the Finance Director of AFS Argentina, a board member of the Sentio Global Education Network, and a teacher of Corporate Finance at Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Juan also has experience working in the private sector, including for Coopers & Lybrand (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers), Johnson & Johnson, and CNP Assurances. Juan is an AFS Alumnus. Juan has a Master’s Degree in Finance from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (UTDT) and a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE).

Gatot Sam has been the Partner Director AFS Indonesia / ED Yayasan Bina Antarbudaya since 2022. Before joining AFS, Gatot worked for Schlumberger, a multinational oil field service company, with more than 100,000 employees and operation in more than 100 countries, in various positions and in many countries. After retiring from the position of HR Director Schlumberger Geomarket Indonesia, Gatot became an active AFS volunteer in 2016, and became a Member of the Board AFS Indonesia in 2019. Gatot is active in Indonesia Traditional Javanese Theater Association, promoting traditional art and performance, he serves as Vice Chair of Association Alumni Salatiga, and is active in the Alumni of ITB Association (Institute of Technology Bandung). Gatot graduated from the Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB) Indonesia as an Electrical Engineer.