FEA Transitions: A Letter from the Board of Trustees

Dear FEA Friends and Supporters,

The Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) bids a fond farewell to its valiant Executive Director, Jennifer Calvert, next month. FEA's Board joins me in celebrating Jennifer's remarkable tenure over the past seven years. Jennifer's visionary leadership has strengthened FEA immeasurably and has prepared FEA for this leadership change. We congratulate Jennifer on this exciting step in her career and express our appreciation to her for positioning FEA to be a key player in the study abroad field.

Our work at FEA is guided by the strategic plan developed by the Board and includes regular reviews on our progress. This plan established an endowment that grows each year and provides scholarships to our deserving scholars. Additionally, the gifts received each year are awarded to scholars the following year. During the pandemic we continued to award scholarships with the option to defer to a later date. As I write this message, we have students currently studying in Italy, Spain, and Thailand. And in July, we begin accepting applications for the spring semester of 2022.

In 2011, FEA awarded seven scholarships for a total of $45,000. In 2020, FEA awarded its 614th scholar, which brings our cumulative giving to $2.1 million. These awards include named scholarships as well as scholarships from our Access Partners, a unique partnership that supports study abroad providers in their mission to serve more underrepresented students.

Our mission focuses on supporting our scholars before, during, and after their study abroad experience. In 2018, we held our first alumni conference, and we are currently in the process of compiling the results of a survey in collaboration with the George Washington University of all scholars which will inform our ongoing support for these inspiring individuals.

FEA's plans for the future are ambitious and will allow us to continue to provide study abroad scholarships to deserving students of color, first-generation college students, as well as community college students. FEA will continue to focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), as we have each and every year since our founding 10 years ago.

You can find the job description for the Executive Director position on our website at www.fundforeducationabroad.org/about/jobs/. At the same time, as part of our commitment to the future, we are hiring a grant-funded contract position for a Development Professional. Please feel free to share widely in your network to help us secure the next leader of FEA.

Sincerely,



Anne Hurt Krieg
Chair, FEA Board of Trustees

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