International Exchange is more important than ever before...get involved!
Having found new talent from amongst our Fulbright community, the new US-UK Fulbright Commission’s Alumni Council (AC) is confirmed. So, we are very excited to re-introduce your Fulbright representatives. Comprising a mix of new arrivals alongside, recently established Council members, this group will actively community build - connecting with Fulbrighters, the Commission and various stakeholders within our energetic transatlantic ecosystem.
The new members of the AC encountered a rigorous application process and were subsequently elected to Council at the end of last year. The standard of candidates was exceptionally high, and the outcome authentically reflects Fulbrighters at large.
The AC will continue to advance the revitalisation of the Council and our brilliant community of Fulbrighters. Reflecting an invigorating mission statement, the new Alumni Council is ready for action and keen to hear from you via the Fulbrighter App.
Mission Statement
To engage, excite, and empower Fulbright alumni to take action through strong collaboration with the US-UK Fulbright Commission in order to further the Fulbright mission to advance knowledge, promote civic engagement and develop compassionate leaders through education exchange between the peoples of the US and the UK.
Your representatives from across the UK include, Alumni Council Chair, John Robinson, a retired finance expert and human resources professional - now Trustee and Treasurer at Citizens Advice, London, and North London’s Highgate Cemetery. Alumni Council Treasurer, Rob Lawson, Birmingham City University Associate Professor in Linguistics, an expert on language in the media alongside language and masculinities. There are also regional AC representatives including, Yorkshire representative, Detective Chief Inspector, Aneela Khalil Khan, an expert on women in the police force. And East of England and Cambridge representative Nat Segeran, a Cambridge UK medical doctor, serving over 200 hospitals and clinics in Haiti through his clinical leadership of Caris Foundation International, where he tests and treats babies born to mothers with HIV. In London, there is food systems consultant, Libby Lyon and Harsh Pershad, Head of Industrial Decarbonisation, and CCUS (Carbon Capture Usage and Storage) Teams - developing and deploying environmental technologies. The newest members of the AC include University of Manchester computational chemist and academic entrepreneur, Andrew Leach; Blackstone private equity investor, Melissa Bennington; Regent's University International Officer, Melissa Danvers; UWE Associate Professor in social and cultural history, Laura Harrison and University of Exeter Associate Professor in geography - climate, information science and sociology, Alasdair Jones. And finally, AC Emerita, Raegan Sealy a British writer, singer, performer and advocate, based in Brooklyn, New York.at Citizens Advice, London, Treasurer of Citizens
The purpose of the AC is to give-back in terms of their time, skills, knowledge, networks, partnerships and other resources e.g. philanthropic. And they will simultaneously be involved in community building amongst our Fulbrighters, in parallel with nurturing Commission dialogue and partnerships:
- Organizing and helping with social events to keep the alumni community personally and professionally connected;
- Supporting future Fulbrighters, current grantees, the Commission and, most importantly, the Fulbright alumni community;
- Helping with the Commission’s work, for example, as mentors; as scholarship application readers or interview panellists; as programme contributors e.g. Fulbright Champions or Fulbright Ambassadors or as media contributors and content creators;
- And acting as ambassadors through personal and professional networks, particularly regarding Widening Participation and philanthropy.
Ultimately, they will be engaging and advocating for an impactful network of UK Fulbright alumni for the mutual benefit of the Commission and the entire alumni community.
Find out more about your Fulbright's alumni community and activities here.