Becoming a Fulbrighter means entering into a diverse community of accomplished individuals

Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in government, science, the arts, business, philanthropy, education and athletics

Get involved

There are many ways to stay involved with the Fulbright community after your grant has ended, please explore the options below. Have a new idea for the alumni network? Contact us.

Alumni mailing list – let us know if you would like to be added to the alumni mailing list to receive regular email updates with Commission news and information, event invitations, and other initiatives.

Fulbrighter – Fulbrighter is the first exclusive online connection tool and app for the global Fulbright community. Connect with other Fulbrighters around the globe, access jobs and professional opportunities, find exclusive Fulbright events in your area, and more. Download Fulbrighter by visiting the website and download the app via Google Play or the Apple store.

Events – The Commission and Fulbright alumni host regular events, which are often listed on the Fulbrighter App, Alumni Bulletin, or get in touch with your local Alumni Council member to be involved in events regionally.

Alumni Council – The mission of the US-UK Fulbright Alumni Council is to build, sustain and serve the alumni network. Council members take an active role in planning and delivering the overall programme of activities for alumni. They are expected to be involved in local activities, attend quarterly meetings by teleconference, as well as one planning day per year within the UK. The Council strives to maintain regional balance across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Elections are held each year in April. If you are interested in participating, please send us your name and location and we will contact you before the next election cycle with further details.

Other ways to get involved

Reading Panels – Each grant application we receive is read by three individuals, and alumni involvement on our Reading Panels is crucial to the process. Readers are asked to review, evaluate, and return no more than 15 applications in three weeks.

Alumni Panels – Share your Fulbright experience with new Fulbrighters or those interested in US study by sitting on an Alumni Panel. The Commission puts on several panels throughout the year.

Fulbright Association – The Fulbright Association represents all US-based alumni and advocates for the programme in the US government. If you are located in the US, reach out and join your local Fulbright Association chapter!

And please do share your story! We're always keen to hear what you're getting up to and to share your news and accomplishments with our fellow Fulbright community, so get in touch at alumni@fulbright.org.uk.

Alumni events

Transforming Lives: The Fulbright Scotland Story

In March 2022, we headed to the University of Edinburgh to host 'Transforming Lives: The Fulbright Scotland Story' which celebrated the impact international exchange between the US and Scotland, its influence on advancing global research, and putting diversity, equity and inclusion at the heart of educational excellence.

Our speakers included Professor Jason Leitch, Scotland’s National Clinical Director of Healthcare Quality and Strategy, Executive Director of the US-UK Fulbright Commission, Maria Balinska, Jack Hillmeyer, Consul General, U.S. Consulate General Edinburgh and many more game-changing leaders and alumni. Catch up on the highlights below.

Across the Pond webinar series

Our Across the Pond public webinar series brings together two Fulbright Scholars from either side of the Atlantic to discuss the intersection of their interests.

Transatlantic conversations between our scholars address global challenges of all natures, and are a celebration of the civic engagement at the heart of the Commission's work.

Scary Science: Responsible Public Engagement within Scientific Research

'Scary Science' explores the communication and ethical responsibilities of researchers working on the cutting edges of their fields. Our event speakers, Thomas Baker and Tony Sorial, both work in fields that generate "scary" headlines: from the ever-increasing power sophistication of computers, to the editing of the human genome.

Disease Detectives: Tracking the Covid-19 pandemic

'Disease Detectives' examines some of the different ways in which we can track and model infectious diseases such as Covid-19. While the contributions of medical sciences to the pandemic are widely reported, the involvement of researchers from other disciplines are less commonly discussed. Over the last 18 months, Mathematical Biologist, Alex Best, and Engineer, Caitlyn Butler, both worked on efforts to model and track the spread of Covid-19 infection.

Tackling Trauma

Tackling Trauma explores the consequences of physical and psychological trauma in modern society. Neurologist Lucia Li, and clinical child psychologist, Heather Taussig, see trauma regularly in their work as practitioners in the field. In this event they discuss their observations and learnings.

TEDx Fulbright

In June of 2019, we hosted our inaugural TEDxFulbright event: TEDxFulbrightGlasgow, a day of engaging and thought-provoking talks from Fulbright grantees and alumni, on the theme 'Avenue of Hope'.

Held at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow on 25 June 2019, the talks were given in front of a live audience, you can catch up below.

Bright streams of consciousness | Karen McCarthy Woolf

Poetry can be transformative, recording the personal and political, the intimate and universal. In this touching and personal talk, Karen McCarthy Woolf recounts how she used poetry to process and memorialise the loss of her son in childbirth. This loss spurred McCarthy Woolf to seek comfort on the water, which led McCarthy Woolf to examine the themes of mourning and loss around larger societal issues such as climate catastrophe, which she explores through poetry in her talk.

Serendipity: creativity through happy accidents | Sarah Rose Graber

Often in creative processes there is a moment when we are surprised by an accidental discovery which allows things to click differently than anticipated. In these moments, happy accidents can lead to surprising and innovative developments. Sarah Rose Graber discusses how serendipity has shaped her work as a theatre artist and how we can invite serendipity into our own lives.

Dignity at the end of life: caring for our caregivers | Christian Goodwin

Most of us will spend time in a nursing home during our life, as a caregiver, a visitor, or as a resident ourselves. Yet many people fear nursing homes more than death. Christian Goodwin explores how we can improve nursing home experience and outcome by improving conditions for nursing home staff. Taking lessons from Walt Disney World, Goodwin demonstrates how job crafting adds value and dignity to our caregivers, which in turn gives value and dignity to the end of life.

How to turn competitors into collaborators | Erica Ollmann Saphire

How do you convince 44 competing labs to share research, data and lab samples? Erica Ollmann Saphire did just that in 2012 when she founded an international, multidisciplinary research consortium against the Ebola virus. Flash forward to the Ebola epidemic of 2014 and their research was put to the test in real time. Ollmann Saphire recounts how the consortium set a precedent for international scientific collaboration, while preserving personal interests and intellectual property.

Who you should hire, fire & promote | Stephen Frost

Think of your 'in-group'- your closest friends, family and loved ones. How diverse are they? Stephen Frost demonstrates the value of a diverse in-group, and how a lack of diversity can cause real world problems. Frost challenges us to truly examine our workplaces and think carefully who we choose to hire, fire and promote.

I am sorry Dave, I can’t do that | Mark Hickey

In the worlds of academia and tech, many believe that computers may one day be able to replace the human mind, with technology becoming so advanced a computer would be indistinguishable from a human mind. But will computers replace us all? Mark Hickey argues that computers aren't as smart as we think, and explores recent research and experiments which suggest AI won't kill us all.

The dam dilemma: how to balance hydropower, rivers & people | Jessie Moravek

Hydropower is a renewable resource, but that does not make it sustainable. Jessie Moravek examines the downsides to river hydropower, including declining fish populations, poor water quality and damaged ecosystems. But hydropower can be made sustainable, and Moravek explains how. Advocating for conservation and rivers can ensure that our hydropower is not just renewable, but sustainable for generations to come.

Schools without classrooms | George Greenbury

Cavemen didn't teach their children how to hunt mammoths in a classroom, so why are classrooms necessary to education today? George Greenbury explores the future of education and ways we can use online education to address global educational inequalities. Adapting online education to be more engaging and social ensures a future where online learning can provide high quality education for all.

Stroke: the loss and recovery of familiarity | Mark Ware

Familiarity may sometimes breed contempt, but it can also lead to empathy and greater understanding. In this talk, Mark Ware argues that we are hard-wired to seek familiarity.

Since 2015 Mark has developed a series of art/science collaborations that have investigated how the natural environment can have a positive impact on wellbeing and health. Mark is the founder and CEO of The Wavelength Project, a charity that further investigates how exposure to the natural environment can be of health benefit to the public, including for those who find access to nature difficult due to disability, or because of socio-economic circumstances.

Alumni Council members

Alumni Council members

The Alumni Council exists to advance the mission of the Fulbright Commission and to be the voice of Fulbright alumni, working closely with the Commission team to contribute ideas on how to engage with alumni.

George Greenbury

AC Chair

Natasha Hessami

AC Member

Portia Owusu

AC member

Sanjay Prasad

AC member

Raegan Sealy

AC member

George Greenbury

AC Chair

George Greenbury is a Fulbrighter, Teach First Ambassador, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. George holds an MA in Theology and Religious Studies from the University of Cambridge, an EdM in School Leadership from Harvard University (where he completed his Fulbright in 2015), and a PGCE and MA in Educational Leadership from the University of Warwick. George is currently Head of Religious Studies at Epsom College. Before this, he was Principal Intern at Community Charter School of Cambridge and Head of Faculty at Grace Academy Darlaston. George’s interest in the Alumni Advisory Council concerns how it can work to build a more dynamic community of Fulbrighters in the UK.

Natasha Hessami

AC Member

Natasha Hessami is a 2019/20 Fulbright alumna, having completed her MSc in Social Policy Research with Distinction at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Her dissertation explored the retraumatizing effects of hostile immigration policy for asylum seekers in Scotland, and made a case for compassionate and community-oriented policy and practice. Her Fulbright year facilitated a discipline shift – from Biochemistry and Mathematics to Policy – allowing her to dive deep into welfare policy and better understand the factors which shape social needs and varying ways in which societies have responded to these. While at Strathclyde Natasha volunteered as her course representative, worked as an equity and diversity research assistant, and explored Glasgow via her bike. Natasha currently lives and works in Glasgow as a Researcher at Dartington Service Design Lab, a UK-based organisation focused on bringing evidence and people together to design and improve children's services. She continues to bring a racial justice and equity-oriented lens to her work.

Portia Owusu

AC member

Portia Owusu, PhD, is currently an Assistant Professor of English and Africana Studies at Texas A&M University. In 2015/16, she was a Fulbright Researcher at the University of Kansas. Her most memorable experience during that year was sitting behind Toni Morrison (her favourite writer) and eavesdropping in on her conversation with Angela Davis! The biggest impact of the Fulbright Award for her is the lifelong friends and connections made with people from around the world. Portia’s interest in the Alumni Council is to help build the Fulbright programme as diverse and inclusive community.

Sanjay Prasad

AC member

Sanjay Prasad is Professor of Cardiology at Imperial College and a Consultant Cardiologist based in London. His main interest is trying to work out causes and early diagnostics of heart failure. His Fulbright scholarship was to Harvard between 1991 and 1993. He previously sat on the Fulbright Selection Committee for three years. His ongoing collaborations with the US – including with colleagues he first met in Boston during his Fulbright years – are fundamental to his research work. This has reinforced that the work of the Fulbright Commission is not to foster one or two years of study abroad, but to build strong lasting relations. Sanjay is a committed educator and passionate about fostering mutual understanding.

Raegan Sealy

AC member

Raegan Sealy is a British writer, singer, performer and advocate based in New York City. Raegan was awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 2015. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and Poetry from The New School and a Bachelor of Arts from De Montfort University. Raegan’s 2019 TED Talk was delivered entirely in verse and to a standing ovation. Raegan’s work challenges stigmas around trauma narratives, and empowers others to own their stories. She has supported Ice-T, Shane Koyczan, Kae Tempest and Judah & The Lion, and performed around the world in a plethora of venues ranging from classrooms to stadiums, including New York Central Park Summer Stage, The Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center and Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia. Raegan was the recipient of the P.E.O International Peace Prize in 2016 and was a Women’s International Leadership Fellow and Resident Fellow at the International House of New York from 2015 to 18. Her non-profit project, Sound Board NYC, was featured by Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation in 2017, and she was selected as a Fulbright NY Alumna-in-Residence in 2019.