Airline strikes, lost passports, political unrest: dealing with the unexpected is probably the most predictable part of the travel business—and we pride ourselves on being prepared for whatever comes our way. This past January presented a conundrum of a different sort: we had nearly 40 travelers booked on two New York Times Journeys departures of Winter in Yellowstone—and the U.S. government was shut down indefinitely. We immediately contacted our partners on the ground and were able to run the full itinerary with a few logistical adjustments. As the first group arrived, our quick-thinking tour manager Caroline Ogden made contact with an area non-profit and found out that local businesses and vendors had come together voluntarily to keep the park running—cleaning and stocking the bathrooms, emptying the trash, providing freebies to the furloughed park staff. In the evenings, our groups sought out those businesses, including two restaurants in Gardiner, Montana. We ended up meeting the owners and getting to know members of the local community who were volunteering their time to take care of this national treasure. Over the past 50 years, ATA has faced its fair share of crises great and small, and we’ve weathered them all by being nimble, creative, and building strong relationships with our partners. Instead of being hampered by the shutdown, both of these trips became something more than any of us expected: our travelers forged an intimate connection with Yellowstone’s community and became involved in the inspiring local effort to help the park. Says Caroline, “When things don’t go as planned, there is almost always a silver lining if we reach out and talk to people. I think ATA does a great job at building connections whenever possible. Those are the unexpected experiences that participants will remember, and I will too!”
News & Announcements
Meet Our Newest Program Managers
When you have discerning clients like we do, your team has to be discerning too—but also creative, well informed, perceptive, and above all, passionate about travel. Our creative team comes to work each day with a tall order: to craft unique travel itineraries that embody our clients’ individual attributes and core values. This often means teasing out pertinent themes—from architecture to military history to culinary traditions—or putting a fresh spin on iconic places. They know how to craft seamless and engaging travel experiences, build strong relationships with our overseas partners, keep up with current events and foresee the unexpected. And they have to wear all kinds of hats: researcher, events coordinator, negotiator, dreamer, writer and diplomat. We’re excited to introduce you to three new program managers on our team. Two are familiar faces at ATA, and one comes to us from the world of environmental consulting. Between them, they have lived in Costa Rica, England, and Madagascar; visited 34 national parks on one road trip; sailed to 12 ports during a semester at sea; and set out on a bucket-list trip to seven European cities as far-flung as London and Istanbul. Without further ado, we present our newest travelsmiths: Jennifer Kefer, our new Senior Program Manager, joined us this past January. An inveterate traveler, she spent three months in an immersive field studies program in Costa Rica, has been to five continents, and takes summer road trips all over the U.S. with her family, exploring everything from factories and roadside attractions to national parks. Her love for travel and her passion for preserving the planet drove her into environmental consulting, where she spent nearly two decades working on climate change and energy policy. Jennifer earned a BA from Brandeis University in environmental studies, a master’s in environmental management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a law degree from Yale Law School. She considers herself a life-long student with a deep curiosity about the world—which is what led her to put her skills to use at ATA, researching, building coalitions, and inspiring others to care about the world by experiencing it firsthand. There’s a chance you or your travelers have already spoken to one of our new program managers, Megan Burden. She joined ATA in 2012 as a reservations agent, booking travelers on the trips we operate for our clients. In 2016, she was promoted to manager of the entire Guest Services team. Her experience directly communicating with our clients’ guests gives her a valuable perspective when crafting itineraries. A native of Seattle, Megan developed her passion for travel during a Semester at Sea, when she explored 12 ports on four continents. After achieving a B.A. in international affairs and history from the University of Colorado, she joined the Peace Corps as an English as a foreign language teacher in Madagascar, and was posted to a village in the island’s remote central highlands. She has worked as a staff intern at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and at International Peace Initiatives, a non-profit in Kenya that works to improve local livelihoods. Baltimore native Julie Elias came to ATA in 2015 as a program assistant, helping the team with background research and development for new and existing trip concepts. She was promoted to program coordinator in 2017 and became a full-fledged program manager this January. Julie has a B.A. in American Studies from Dickinson College, and a wide range of interests that include cooking, film production, books, trivia nights, and of course travel. She studied abroad in Norwich, England, and set off after college on a far-ranging trip that took her to a number of places on her bucket list, including Istanbul, Israel, Salzburg, Budapest, France, Germany and back to England. We are pleased to welcome Julie, Megan and Jennifer to our team of program managers, and look forward to the compelling adventures they concoct for our clients!
2018 Year in Review
Happy New Year! 2018 kept us on our toes in so many ways. As we settle into a new year, let me highlight a few wonderful things that happened last year. ATA IN THE WORLD In 2018, we fulfilled our mission—to create unique, enriching experiences for intellectually curious adults and students—for thousands of travelers, all over the world. Some of our proudest moments of collaboration included: Building a basketball court for a local community in Vietnam (Duke Engage) Managing a culinary experience to Tuscany, led by the world’s only Pulitzer-prize-winning restaurant critic (Los Angeles Times Expeditions) Overseeing a Madrid-based conference for 400+ alumni, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs (Babson College) Winning a diversity award nomination for our Hmong language and culture short term study abroad program in China (University of Minnesota) Sending an enthusiastic group of adult “students” to Oxford University (Smithsonian Journeys) Taking a deep dive into Middle East politics and the regional effects of the Syrian refugee crisis during a trip to Jordan (The Nation) NEW RELATIONSHIPS We welcomed the following new partners to the ATA family last year: Babson College, Dartmouth, Dickinson, Leadership Greater Washington, Osher Life Long Learning Institute, and the publication The Nation. BACK IN DC: OUR PRIORITIES AT HEADQUARTERS New Technology! We completed a two-year journey of implementing six new technology platforms across the company—from reservations to account management, to website performance, collaboration tools, and even human resources! This investment will allow us to serve our partners, students and travelers even more effectively. Diversity and Inclusion These concepts have informed our work since 1950, when we began to facilitate exchange between peoples of different cultures and backgrounds. However, we have been working to amplify these values within our workplace, as diversity enriches innovation and creativity, and broadens the perspective of all staff. All staff took part in a workshop this summer, and now we have a growing D&I committee to set new goals and provide additional training and resources to our teams. OUR INCREDIBLE TEAM Twenty one new team members joined us this year! We had fun on scavenger hunts, at parties, celebrating milestones and in the field! GIVING BACK Many staff and colleagues increased access to study abroad by supporting the important work of the Fund for Education Abroad. We also lobbied our Congressional representatives on Capitol Hill and discussed critical issues facing the travel and study abroad fields. OUR THANKS AND GRATITUDE We are so grateful for the travelers who count on us to enrich their lives by creating theme-based educational trips; for the colleges and universities who entrust us to shape their students into global citizens, and to the professional associations who ask us to help advance research across borders. Our best wishes for a wonderful year ahead!
Introducing Our New Logo
We are pleased to announce that Academic Travel Abroad has a new logo! Our old logo has served us well, but after several decades, we decided it was time to modernize our look. To us, the paper airplane symbolizes a journey—in motion, it can go anywhere. It embodies innovation and creativity—qualities we strive to incorporate daily into our work. It suggests education and out-of-classroom learning—a paper airplane conjures up images of science competitions, school yards, and day-dreaming students who seek to escape to the outside world. It evokes playfulness, fun, and, whimsy, as well as a bit of the unexpected. This feeds into our corporate value of “never a dull moment” and our appreciation for a sense of humor. It represents transformation—what started off as a simple piece of paper is now a vehicle for flight. We take pride that our travelers experience personal development and transformation traveling around the world on our programs. Rest assured that behind our new look, we are still the same ATA that you’ve come to know. Our mission to create unique, enriching experiences for intellectually curious travelers, all while exceeding the expectations of our partners, is stronger than ever. We continue to be committed to contribute meaningfully to our world, our field, and the community
