By Taylor Kay, Senior Director for Work and Travel, with contributions from Greenheart staff
For over two decades, we have hosted the Greenheart Work and Travel Conference, an annual event that brings together our most important stakeholders to hear from the U.S. Department of State, the Alliance for International Exchange, and most importantly each other. Rather than convening in our homebase of Chicago, this year’s event took place in historic Alexandria, Virginia, located just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. The change in venue was designed to enable attendees and staff to visit Capitol Hill to advocate on behalf of BridgeUSA programs. This turned out to be an amazing, empowering experience; indeed, our attendees found the whole conference motivational as you will see by their testimonials embedded in this recap. Let’s jump in!
“I loved getting to know not just the GH team in person but also meeting colleagues from host employers and other sending partners. The meetings at the Capitol were also a great opportunity for us to reinforce the importance of the J1 programs.”
The theme of this year’s conference was Purpose. Perseverance. Impact. 2026 was a tough year for BridgeUSA programs with program participation declining in a number of categories. For Summer Work Travel, the primary obstacle was not program interest or host organization (U.S. seasonal businesses) demand – both remain strong – but rather a bottleneck in visa interviews at certain U.S. embassies and consulates. As an organization and as a stakeholder community, we recommitted to the purpose of these programs, which are to promote and facilitate cultural exchange. Anticipating these challenges, we worked closely with our host organizations and our international sending partners to change recruitment strategies in the face of visa and economic challenges. These efforts prevailed; we saw a smaller than average decrease in program participation and few delayed program starts. Program impact, as measured by rising program satisfaction and adherence to our mission to connect people and planet, was also successful. Together we celebrated our Greenheart Global Leaders Conference winning a Youth Travel Award and rising participant survey results.
“Because of the incredibly welcoming, supportive, and genuine atmosphere. Everyone truly wants the best for one another and goes out of their way to help. The entire GHE team was amazing, always approachable, helpful, and willing to support us in every possible way. It really feels like being part of a community where everyone cares about each other’s success. It was a wonderful experience, and I would absolutely recommend it!”
The conference kicked off with some trepidation among Greenheart staff. Did we make the right choice moving away from the familiar environment of Chicago? We also took a risk and set up a silent auction, inviting attendees to bring something that represented their country or region, with proceeds going to Greenheart programming. Would guests bring items and as importantly, would they see something that was worthy of a bid? On both fronts our fears proved unwarranted. Alexandria delivered great weather, good food and high walkability. Our guests brought high energy and great ideas. The silent auction and related donations raised over $4,000 for the Greenheart Global Leaders Conference and Greenheart Impact Grants.
Deputy Assistant Secretary Rebecca Pasini, head of the office that oversees our BridgeUSA programs, pressed us all to “run a tight program” centered on the participant experience. She encoraged us to keep our eyes on providing affordable and accessible housing and transportation. Mark Overmann, Executive Director of the Alliance for International Exchange, pep-talked us through recent program challenges. He also expressed confidence that we would meet and make many allies in Congress later that day (this proved prescient). Our keynote speaker, Will Stevens, a former DAS for African Affairs, inspired us with his experience founding a cultural exchange program for South African youth, and regaled us with tales about from his postings overseas, including ensuring every J-1 visa issued by the US embassy in Moscow became a positive story on Russian social media, basically flipping the bird at the Kremlin.
“Everything was well-coordinated, timely, and informative. The highlight was connecting in person with Greenheart staff, overseas agents, and fellow host partners. These face-to-face interactions are an invaluable resource.”
Following lunch, it was time to head to DC to meet our elected representatives – or well, since Congress was on recess, with their staff.
Our asks?
- Join the newly formed Congressional International Exchanges Caucus, which weighs in on policy priorities.
- Fund State Department exchange programs at no less then FY26 levels ($667 million).
- Contact Secretary of State Marco Rubio to request he make J-1 visa appointments a priority.
This experience dispelled any notions that advocating is hard or confrontational. The congressional staff we met were eager to learn more about exchange programs. They asked good questions of our groups, formed of host employer constituents, overseas sending partners and members of the Greenheart team. Many congressional staff have experienced the power of exchange themselves or otherwise met exchange visitors in their home states. In one meeting I attended, the front desk staffer was well acquainted with Hershey Park and their international program. These visits lay the groundwork for future conversations on exchange programs, particularly if threats emerge in the future.
For me personally, I loved witnessing our stakeholders develop their advocacy skills. They became more confident and more polished from meeting to meeting. Most meetings were 10 to 20 minutes, just enough to cover our three talking points. The meetings gave concrete examples of how the program meets the needs of seasonal businesses and communities and of individuals who returned home with their lives transformed, and who went on to develop professional ties to the United States. Many of our sending partners had their lives changed by being Exchange Visitors.
The following day we addressed the practicalities of running strong international programs. We heard from two experts on seasonal housing: Dan Bullock of International Residence Halls and Nina Kleaveland of Lanyard. IRH builds and manages dormitories for seasonal staff while Lanyard’s expertise lie in sourcing already existing housing and readying it for seasonal workers. Next, Greenheart’s own Marcus Wright led the conference through a session on international cultural exchange and then we moved on to what to many was the most valuable sessions – partner and host breakout groups, where one can discuss the nitty gritty details of Work and Travel.
“The information I learned was extremely helpful for how I will run our J1 program going forward. It also has motivated me to increase our use of this program.”
As always, it’s not a Greenheart event without a volunteer project. In perfect weather, most headed to Jones Point Park on the river, part of the National Park system. They hacked out and bagged invasives vines that girdled trees and suffocated ground plants. Others stayed at the hotel to write and illustrate greeting cards for residents of an Alexandria senior living facility. There is much joy to be found in cheerful service like this. The positive vibes carried into our last dinner together.
“The topics discussed, the meetings at the Capitol, and the camaraderie at the dinners.”
We ended the week exhausted by making the most of every moment but also motivated by the exchanges of ideas and our stakeholder’s inspiration to keep improving their international programs.
If you are a business who would like to host international seasonal staff for a cultural exchange, please visit HirewithGreenheart.org to learn more.
To learn more about Greenheart’s Work and Travel program visit GreenheartExchange.org.