News & Press Archive | Global Citizen Year

Global Citizen Year Recieves the Karl Haigler Excellence in Research Award

2023-05-31

The Gap Year Association has awarded Global Citizen Year the Karl Haigler Excellence in Research Award in recognition of our research demonstrating the transformative power of immersive experiences. This is a particularly meaningful award for us as Global Citizen Year has always held a deep commitment to ensuring our experiences deliver the impact we design for. We...

Leadership Development Beyond Projects

2023-04-20

Originally published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review By Elikem Tomety Archer & Jessica Harrington In 2017, as part of her participation in the youth leadership program Global Citizen Year, Dora—an 18-year-old from Huntington Beach, California—spent seven months in Thiadiaye, Senegal. One requirement of the program was the completion of a community project designed to address...

Gen Z’s priorities are changing — are gap years the new path?

2023-03-22

by Wyatt Foster. It’s hard to know what to do after high school. We’re often pushed to make huge life decisions at the young age of 17 or 18. We’re told to go to college or get a job, and to start “adulting.” But how often are we encouraged to pause and reflect on some...

Global Citizen Year: Creating Transformative Experiences for Young People on the Cusp of Adulthood

2023-03-03

by Denver Frederick The following is a conversation between Erin Lewellen, CEO of Global Citizen Year, and Denver Frederick, the Host of The Business of Giving. Read or Listen on Denver-Frederick.com/ Denver: One of the most innovative and forward-thinking nonprofit organizations to come into existence over the past 15 years is Global Citizen Year. It’s also an...

Designing Programs that Develop Global Citizens with Erin Lewellen

2023-02-10

Erin Lewellen is the CEO of Global Citizen Year, a non-profit that is addressing our current global challenges by changing the composition, operating system, and impact of the next generation of changemakers. She joins host Mike Palmer in a conversation about how transformative experiences abroad can shape the pathways and perspectives of rising leaders. Listen...

Global Citizen Year Pioneered A New Educational Pathway, Launching Next Generation Of Global Leaders

2022-12-23

by Cheryl Robinson | Contributor Societies are no longer just locally interconnected. What happens thousands of miles away affects people worldwide. Global issues cannot be resolved by one community or country. People must begin leadership development at a young age to ensure continued growth within their communities. The fate of humanity rests on our ability...

Academy Impact Report

2022-12-13

How do students benefit from an experience like Global Citizen Year Academy? We asked Harvard University researchers to help us measure the impact and… WOW. Take a look at our impact report to see how students showed significant growth in everything from happiness and mental health to project management and collaboration. We’re feeling proud of...

In Her Own Words: Erin Lewellen learned about the power of ‘we’

2022-10-27

By Ellen Sherberg, Bizwomen Contributor The pandemic cut off a myriad of programs designed to help youths around the world. Erin Lewellen, CEO, Global Citizen Year, found herself having to find out her team could continue to reach out to young people — and how to keep her employees together. View Article on BizJournals.com “I...

It’s not impostor syndrome if it really looks like this

2022-10-26

Erin Lewellen, the CEO of Global Citizen Year, maintains that this label is a way of shaming, and perpetuates the very type of oppressive leadership we need to change.   View Article on FastCompany.com On my first day as CEO of Global Citizen Year, I looked in the mirror and did not see a CEO looking...