In Florida, Au Pair Cultural Activities Are A-maze-ing
Posted on Friday, March 11th, 2016 at 5:36 pm.
Learning about American culture and building life-long memories is at the heart of the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program, including for au pairs. Au pair program sponsors facilitate monthly meet-ups, where local and regional coordinators engage au pairs in cultural events, such as city tours, holiday celebrations, sporting events, volunteer activities, and many others. Here is an example of one such activity that took place in Jacksonville, Florida:
Read More ›
Categories: Participants, Program Spotlight
Putting the EVP to Work: Multiplying the Impact of Youth Change Makers
Posted on Thursday, February 25th, 2016 at 11:19 pm.
Deputy Assistant Secretary Robin Lerner with EGLI Corps Fellows (From left to right: Atlas Corps CEO Scott Beale, Fellow Farhad Ahmed Jarral, Fellow Mayada Hassanain Osman, Deputy Assistant Secretary Robin Lerner, Special Advisor for Global Youth Issues Andy Rabens, Fellow Olga Smolenchuk, and Fellow Anna-Kim Robinson.)
The J-1 Exchange Visitor Program provides the U.S. Department of State endless ways to create innovative partnerships and meaningful programs for young professionals around the world. Today, I would like to tell you about an interesting and inspiring public-private partnership the State Department has, thanks to the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program. Last month, we celebrated the one year anniversary of the Emerging Global Leader Initiative (EGLI) – Atlas Corps Fellowship. This fellowship was created as part of President Obama’s Stand with Civil Society agenda. Through this partnership, the State Department committed to working with Atlas Service Corps to bring 100 of the world’s emerging civil society professionals to the United States for 12-month professional fellowship programs under the J-1 training program. The fellowship offers full funding for training programs in civil society, non-profit, and for-profit enterprises, and it exposes the fellows to cutting edge best practices, while incorporating the participants into perhaps the most important network of their lives.
Categories: Program Spotlight
Relationship Building: The Heart of International Exchanges
Posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2016 at 9:21 pm.
Darra Klein (right), and her lifelong friend, David Čeljuska (center) attending Baltimore’s annual Slovak festival in 2001 with another friend.
“International exchanges – especially those for young people taking the first steps of their professional lives – are strong and life changing experiences. It’s important to keep the international connections you make during an exchange alive because they have a powerful impact on your life, as well as others. Let’s face it, at the heart of it, international exchanges are about the relationships you make and maintain.”
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
Looking Back at 2015
Posted on Thursday, December 31st, 2015 at 7:24 pm.New Year’s is a time to reflect and reminisce about the past year and to look to the year ahead with new goals and resolutions. In the spirit of the season, let’s take a moment to reflect on some of the accomplishments of the Exchange Visitor Program over the past year.
- We’ve seen community groups embrace and expand the reach of the program.
- We’ve worked with over 1,420 sponsors (for-profit, non-profit, federal, state, and local government entities) to create the best possible experiences for participants.
- We’ve built new networks with leaders of other countries to strengthen important bilateral relationships and strengthen the program.
- And we’ve provided opportunities for almost 275,000 foreign visitors to experience the United States, its society and culture, while engaging with Americans.
Let’s look back at some of the highlights from this amazing year:
Assistant Secretary Ryan and Under Secretary for North American Affairs for the Government of Mexico Sergio Alcocer sign the Memorandum of Understanding
Categories: Program Spotlight
Community Engagement: Experiencing a New Kind of Family
Posted on Tuesday, December 29th, 2015 at 3:26 pm.
Park City, Utah at night
Nestled in the Synderville Basin of the Rocky Mountains, decorated with snowcapped mountains and frosted evergreens, Park City, Utah is an example of a town that has fully embraced the Exchange Visitor Program. In Park City, Summer Work Travel and Intern/Trainee participants are an integral and rich part of the social fabric, lifeblood, and heart of this seasonal resort community.
Each December hundreds of J-1s officially call Park City their temporary home. For participants, it’s often a season of “firsts” – first job, first time living on their own, and first time seeing snow, since many of them are traveling from the Southern Hemisphere (Argentina, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay), as well as Australia and New Zealand, on their summer breaks, which is winter in the United States and the Northern Hemisphere. With all these firsts, community engagement is an essential ingredient for making participants feel welcome in their new hometowns.
Categories: Program Spotlight
Long-Lasting
Posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2015 at 9:58 pm.
The new SWT alumni association kicks off with a big social event in Sofia.
What do you think makes an international exchange program powerful?
I think about this all the time. I feel it takes an open-minded and excited participant, a dedicated host, a sponsor who knows how to be a true resource to both, a welcoming community, and setting the right expectations. I think that with all of those elements in place, your exchange experience will exceed the expectations you set.
When that happens, I suspect you will go home feeling different, perhaps deeply changed, with new ideas and unusual aspirations. That change can be hard for your family and friends back home to understand. It is even possible that you will feel your society lacking in something that you can’t quite pinpoint. You will begin yearning to share your experiences with other people like you, not just on Facebook, but in your hometown. If you can’t find that connection, maybe you will feel lost for a little while.
Categories: Program Spotlight
On #GivingTuesday, We Thank the J-1 Students Who Give Back Every Day
Posted on Tuesday, December 1st, 2015 at 8:19 pm.
“I’m so thankful for being in this family!” Citlalli Espinosa, J-1 au pair
It’s Giving Tuesday, and we want to highlight how J-1s and their hosts give back and share every day.
First, thank you to all the J-1s who gave back all year long. Even little things like teaching your host family about your culture is giving back and making us all more globally minded. It is also worth noting how so many of you have risen to the challenge to help this year in your host communities. From J1Day to the NYC Marathon, I love seeing so many of you having fun while showing your J-1 spirit. Read More ›
Categories: Program Spotlight
The Whole Shebang for Camp Counselors in Pennsylvania
Posted on Friday, November 27th, 2015 at 5:27 pm.
Hannah Bolger, Graeme Brown, Georgia Tibke, and Leia Jones stand with Camp Hilltop’s favorite horse.
As the cold settles in here in Washington, D.C. and the Northeastern United States, I want to revisit summer. My colleague Travis Parsley made a visit to Wayne County, Pennsylvania, during summer camp season. I will let Travis take it from here. Enjoy. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
J-1 Participants Gain Cutting Edge Experience in Silicon Valley
Posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2015 at 4:21 pm.Young people always dream about what they will be when they grow up. Will they bring about world peace? Will they end poverty? Will they win an Oscar for their moving documentary? Will they invent the next big thing that radically changes technology? Here in the J-1 world, we jump out of our seats and cheer each time the J-1 internship program brings those young dreamers closer to their life-changing goals. It is a noisy place around here.
I took Route J-1 to California’s Silicon Valley recently, where the world’s most innovative tech companies are hosting J-1 interns and turning dreams into action. I sat down with up-and-coming tech whizzes from all over the world at Cisco and Facebook. Through these J-1 programs, international students supply the dreams while their hosts teach them to turn their big ideas into programs and tools.
DAS Lerner meets with J-1 Interns at CISCO.
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
A Few Things to Know About Our J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program
Posted on Friday, October 9th, 2015 at 9:20 am.
J-1 exchange visitors jump for joy in the Nation’s capital
This week, I wrote a State Department blog outlining a few things you should know about the J-1 Visa program, in hope of reaching a larger audience. While the program is well known abroad and to the readers of Route J-1, many Americans are unaware of the amazing work being done by J-1 participants. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
| About Rebecca Pasini Deputy Assistant Secretary for Private Sector Exchange | |
|
Rebecca A. Pasini joined the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Private Sector Exchanges in July 2023. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister - Counselor, Ms. Pasini has been an American diplomat since 1997.
Ms. Pasini previously served as the Director of Public and Congressional Affairs in the Bureau of Consular Affairs from 2021-2023. Other Washington assignments have included positions in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, the Office of Foreign Missions, and as a liaison to the Department of Homeland Security. She has also completed multiple overseas tours, including as Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs in Islamabad, Pakistan, and as the Consular Chief in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Belfast, Northern Ireland. Other tours included Mexico City and Kuwait.
A Maryland native, Ms. Pasini has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Indiana University, a master’s degree in National Security and Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School, National Defense University, and an undergraduate degree from Mary Washington College.
Categories
Flickr
 View more photos |