Our mission is to connect our divided country. 

Toxic polarization has moved into our daily lives, corroding our faith in one another and our democracy, and shaping the choices we make, the people we associate with, and the places we call home. As a consequence, our kids are growing up isolated in bubbles that burden their mental health and limit their development as young adults and young citizens.

Welcoming the stranger, hometown pride, a deep love of our children, and a reverence for the character-building journey—these are deeply American ideals. AEP harnesses them, along with the energy and curiosity of young people, to create a solution: a free domestic youth exchange program.

We’re stitching our country together, one student, one high school, one hometown at a time.

The Team

David McCullough III stands with AEP students eating ice cream

David McCullough III

CO-FOUNDER + CEO

Michael Wilonsky

Michael Wilonsky

CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER

Giselle Ferro Puigbo

Christopher Cooper

CHIEF REVENUE & DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

Christopher Cooper

CHIEF Of STAFF

Aislinn Moore

Aislinn Moore

COMMUNITY RECRUITMENT TEAM LEADER

Molly Rabinovitz

ONBOARDING AND TRAVEL SUPPORT LEADER

Marielle Wakim

HEAD OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Lacey Buck

VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS

Jessica Golden

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Claire Jeantheau

Claire Jeantheau

MARKETING MANAGER

Vicky Eaglebear

OPERATIONS MANAGER

Michael Brown

Michael Brown

SENIOR ADVISOR

Adar Cohen

Adar Cohen

EXPERIENCE DESIGN & TRAINING

Charlotte Kadifa

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE CEO

Julia Minson

Julia Minson

SENIOR IMPACT EVALUATION ADVISOR

Anne Marie Green

Anne Marie Green

IMPACT COORDINATOR

Board of Directors

  • David Adams

    CEO, THE URBAN ASSEMBLY

  • Akhil Amar

    STERLING PROFESSOR OF LAW, YALE UNIVERSITY

  • Jonathan Fanton

    FORMER PRESIDENT, THE MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

  • Sarah Gerstein

    MAJOR IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY

  • Richard Gibson

    PASTOR, ELIZABETH BAPTIST CHURCH OF CLEVELAND

  • Arlie Hochschild

    PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF SOCIOLOGY, UC BERKELEY

  • Mitch Kamin

    GENERAL COUNSEL & CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER, LUCAS MUSEUM OF NARRATIVE ART

  • David McCullough III

    AEP CO-FOUNDER + CEO

  • Paul Solman

    AEP CO-FOUNDER
    PBS NEWSHOUR’S ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT

  • Glenn Young

    PASTOR, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF KILGORE

Exchange Managers

  • Chelsea Baldree

    Albuquerque School of Excellence
    Albuquerque, New Mexico

  • Helen Comellas

    Siembra Leadership High School
    Albuquerque, New Mexico

  • Peter Glahn

    American Fork High School
    American Fork, Utah

  • Temperance Tinker Kays

    West High School
    Anchorage, Alaska

  • Barbara Taylor

    Pomona High School
    Arvada, Colorado

  • Matthew Strecker

    Babcock Neighborhood School
    Babcock Ranch, Florida

  • Shira Bland

    Thread
    Baltimore, Maryland

  • Sally Stolly

    Benjamin Logan High School
    Bellefontaine, Ohio

  • Henry Stolly

    Bellefontaine High School
    Bellefontaine, Ohio

  • Brenda Millmann

    Blue Earth Area Senior High School
    Blue Earth, Minnesota

  • Bekah Lejarde

    John Marshall High School
    Cleveland, Ohio

  • Eric Bergman

    The Morgan School
    Clinton, Connecticut

  • Carl Barnes

    Croton-Harmon High School
    Croton-on-Hudson, New York

  • Alissa Russell

    Life School Oak Cliff
    Dallas, Texas

  • Luke Cribbs

    W.T. White High School
    Dallas, Texas

  • Camay Hunter

    Denver Center for International Studies
    Denver, Colorado

  • Taylor De La Torre

    Dodge City High School
    Dodge City, Kansas

  • Erin Boyer

    Foxcroft Academy
    Dover-Foxcroft, Maine

  • Jamie Diehl

    Ennis High School
    Ennis, Montana

  • Tessa Hughes

    Northwest Rankin High School
    Flowood, Mississippi

  • Niki Kubeck

    Gettysburg Area High School
    Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

  • Matt Anderson

    Gloucester High School
    Gloucester, Massachusetts

  • Lois MacMillan

    Grants Pass High School
    Grants Pass, Oregon

  • Laura LaChapelle

    Jackson High School
    Jackson, Georgia

  • Nicole Clotiaux

    Jasper Public Schools Foundation
    Jasper, Texas

  • Stephen Joseph

    Bonnabel Magnet Academy
    Kenner, Louisiana

  • Jennifer Quine

    Kilgore High School
    Kilgore, Texas

  • Nikki Offerding

    Kilgore High School
    Kilgore, Texas

  • Val Love

    Dobyns-Bennett High School
    Kingsport, Tennessee

  • Ben Nguyen

    Sunrise Mountain High School
    Las Vegas, Nevada

  • Sonja Czarnecki

    Bishop Seabury Academy
    Lawrence, Kansas

  • Trevin Wurm

    Lincoln Northeast High School
    Lincoln, Nebraska

  • Deidra Brown

    Little Rock Central High School
    Little Rock, Arkansas

  • Gynesis Baird

    Little Rock Central High School
    Little Rock, Arkansas

  • Patrick Foley

    Little Rock Central High School
    Little Rock, Arkansas

  • Ryan Parson

    Little Rock Central High School
    Little Rock, Arkansas

  • Lynda McGee

    Downtown Magnets High School
    Los Angeles, California

  • Annia Bello-Forte

    STEM Academy of Hollywood
    Los Angeles, California

  • Chelsea Brown

    Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School
    Nashville, Tennessee

  • Tiphanie Farmer

    Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School
    Nashville, Tennessee

  • Felipe Pineda

    Urban Assembly Media High School
    New York, New York

  • Jessie Street

    North Powder School
    North Powder, Oregon

  • Stephanie Chesnut

    Rivendell Academy
    Orford, New Hampshire

  • Cait Drewes

    Palo Alto High School
    Palo Alto, California

  • Melinda Mattes

    Palo Alto High School
    Palo Alto, California

  • Kevin Murray

    Casco Bay High School
    Portland, Maine

  • Liz Galli

    Salmon River High School
    Riggins, Idaho

  • Jerry Skotleski

    Scranton High School
    Scranton, Pennsylvania

  • Gretchen McCafferty

    Sheridan High School
    Sheridan, Wyoming

  • Sara Keast

    St. Ignatius High School
    St. Ignatius, Montana

  • Kory Loyola

    High Point Regional High School
    Sussex, New Jersey

  • Charlene Wallace

    Toms River South High School
    Toms River, New Jersey

  • Leonardo De Andrade

    The Holland Hall School
    Tulsa, Oklahoma

  • Emily Listug

    Verona Area High School
    Verona, Wisconsin

  • Meredith Hooper

    Odyssey Charter School
    Wilmington, Delaware

  • Lara Adewoye

    Eastern High School
    Washington D.C.

  • DeLaina Tonks

    Mountain Heights Academy
    West Jordan, Utah

  • Teresa Akagi

    Mountain Heights Academy
    West Jordan, Utah

  • Travis Michelson

    Willmar Senior High School
    Willmar, Minnesota

Sponsors