Greetings from the New York office,

We are so excited to be officially kicking off the 2020 Sending Cycle. It’s a new year, our Department has a new name, we are excited about our new application management platform (Salesforce), and most of all- our new website! The Study Abroad Experience and Operations team have been working hard, along with our Marketing, to make sure that everything is in place to have a successful sending season!

Justin DeAndrade is the Senior Manager of Study Abroad Experience and Operations. He manages the Study Abroad Specialist and Visa and Compliance teams and collaborates with the Scholarships team to ensure that our work with applicants interested in study abroad is operating smoothly. The Study Abroad Specialist team includes- Arista Ely, Grant Schol, Jenevieve Goldman, Jera Torres, Johanna Jordan, and Tim Meyers. Remember that you can access your Study Abroad Specialist’s contact information in the Team widget on MyAFS, along with all the other AFS Staff contacts for your team. Your Study Abroad Specialist works with all the applicants from your Area Team, so be sure to reach out if you have any questions or concerns! The Specialists are responsible for guiding each applicant to the right program for them, based on the specific eligibility and criteria for the partner country that they are interested in. The Specialist is an advocate for all our applicants to ensure that they go to a destination that they are excited about and is a good fit for them! They work with partners directly in ensuring our applicants are accepted, and they also work to set expectations of the program realities with natural parents and applicants alike. If you have any questions about applicants in your team, please reach out to your Specialist at studyabroad@afsusa.org.

Next I’d like to introduce you to our Visa and Compliance team! Tameka Taylor and Micaela Callahan work together to help and guide our applicants and their parents through the visa process. This can be a long and arduous process, and you might hear questions or concerns from the applicants or their parents in your team. If this happens, or if you have questions or concerns about a visa process for your applicant, please reach out to them at sendingvisas@afsusa.org.  They work in collaboration with Kristen Kelly, Travel Orientations and Sending Programs Coordinator. Kristen is a rotational staff person who works part time with the Study Abroad Team and Travel.

Finally, I’d like to introduce you to the Scholarships team! Amy-Kiana Rendon, Senior Scholarships Specialist, implements all national scholarships, announcements, training etc. Additionally, she supports Field Staff and Volunteers in ensuring that local area team scholarships are available. Shameeka Leacock, Scholarships and Diversity Initiatives Manager, oversees the implementation of national and local scholarships, collaborating with Field Staff and Volunteers to bring awareness and support to applicants interested in scholarships. Additionally, she recruits, identifies, and onboard of community-based organizations for FoA partnerships, works with teams to launch local FoA programs and scholarships, and leads AFS-USA’s LGBTQ Exchange and Students of Color Initiatives workgroups. Please contact Shameeka and Amy at scholarships@afsusa.org.

Thank you, and we look forward to our continued collaboration throughout the 2020 cycle!

My best,

Caitlin Schneider
Senior Director, Study Abroad Experience and Operations