At the White House!

National Teacher of the Year White House Event
Last week I had the honor of watching President Obama present Sara Brown Wessling of Iowa with the 2010 National Teacher of the Year Award at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden. Wessling teaches English to sophomores, juniors, and seniors at Johnston High School in Johnston, Iowa. I was especially moved by a quote from one of her students saying that in her class there was, “no discussion fruitless, no assignment pointless, and not one day was boring.”

That is so much a part of what we try to do with our People to People Ambassador Programs; to create amazing People to People moments of excitement, learning, connection, and introspection. We want to help students become better educated and better prepared for the future via a greater global connection.

Sara Brown Wessling is one of those inspirational teachers along with the three finalists: Megan Marie Allen of Tampa, Florida; Robert L. Stephenson of East Lansing, Michigan; and Kelly A. Kovacic of La Joya, California. I feel so proud of these teachers as well as all the outstanding nominees.


This is why People to People Ambassador Programs became a program sponsor for the prestigious National Teacher of the Year. It was my first visit to the White House, and it was unbelievably exciting to be on the grounds. We attended the ceremony along with Mary Eisenhower, president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit People to People International. She had many interesting stories of spending time there with her grandfather, President Dwight Eisenhower, and pointing out changes to the grounds in the years since.

Rafer Johnson, Ambassadors Group Inc. board member and 1960 Olympic gold medalist, came with us as well, and he recalled being at the White House many times during the Kennedy administration. It was fascinating to hear the stories from the past and along with the experience of being there ourselves.

What a wonderful day! One of the key goals of our organization is to bring learning to life, and it is such an honor to spend time with these wonderful teachers who accomplish just that every day. As the president of a global educational travel company and a mother myself, I am simply in awe of what they do. Honoring great teachers is such an important message to them and to our nation.

A couple of weeks ago, we held a leadership conference for our teacher leaders, and I had the opportunity to talk to them about the challenges they face in their jobs, keeping learning fresh and exciting for students. At People to People Ambassador Programs, we believe that the more cultural experiences you have, the more you can share with your students for better impact on their futures. We have trained over 5,000 teachers to lead educational travel experiences, including former national teacher of the year nominees and recipients. I spoke with many of the state teachers of the year about how to get them involved in our programs.


2010 Travel Season Kick-Off
We are about to kick off the 2010 summer travel season, heading to more than 47 countries on all seven continents. We’re excited to begin the season this year, and our teachers are such an important part of our success. Their passion, commitment and effort help give each of our student travelers a life-changing experience.

We believe there is no better job than one that expands the horizons of young people, helping them gain a global perspective to better compete in the world while developing long-lasting friendships and memories.

Wishing you success in fulfilling your own dreams,

Peg Thomas
President, People to People Ambassador Programs

National Teacher of the Year!

I’m excited to tell you that People to People Ambassador Programs is now a program sponsor for the prestigious National Teacher of the Year award! We’ve partnered with the program—the oldest and most prominent national honors program for educators—because of their focus on teaching excellence. You can learn more about this new partnership here. I believe that one of the many reasons our programs are recommended over and over by our alumni is our amazing teachers, and I can’t think of a better way to honor them.

Honoring the Teacher of the Year in Washington, D.C.
The 2010 National Teacher of the Year will be honored by President Obama during a series of events at the White House this week. I’m excited to go to Washington, D.C., along with my husband, Jeff; People to People International president and CEO Mary Eisenhower; and Rafer Johnson, Ambassadors Group board member and Olympic gold medalist. I know that Mary especially is looking forward to re-visiting the White House. She hasn’t been back since 2004 and has many wonderful childhood memories of being there with her grandfather.

I am very much looking forward to meeting the recipient of the National Teacher of the Year award, along with the nominees. Our organization is all about bringing learning to life, and these wonderful teachers accomplish just that every day. Perhaps we will soon welcome some of them into the fold as leaders for People to People Ambassador Programs! We have trained over 5,000 teachers to lead educational travel experiences, including former National Teacher of the Year nominees and recipients.

At our recent leadership conference, and I had the opportunity to talk to our teacher leaders about the challenges they face in their jobs, keeping learning fresh and exciting for students. At People to People Ambassador Programs, we believe that the more cultural experiences you have, the more you can share with your students and the greater your impact on their future success.

2010 Travel Season Kick Off
We are about to kick off the 2010 travel season, headed to 47 countries on all seven continents. We’re so excited to launch these journeys. I know that my attendance at the National Teacher of the Year festivities will only increase my awe of the teachers who will lead this summer’s programs. Their passion to give each student traveler a life-changing experience inspires me in my own daily work.

I think that there is no better job than one that expands the horizons of our young people. Together with our leaders, we at People to People Ambassador Programs are helping students to gain a global perspective that will enable them to better compete in the world while they develop long-lasting friendships and memories.

Wishing you success in fulfilling your own dreams,

Peg Thomas
President, People to People Ambassador Programs

Our Best Teachers and Leaders in Spokane

We welcomed 157 of our best and brightest teachers and leaders to Spokane from all over the U.S. for the People to People Leader University Conference last weekend. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to gather together to learn, share, and gear up for the busy summer travel season.

We held three days of training sessions and updates, mixed with some time to catch up with each other and make new friends. We ran three separate learning tracks for our attendees as well as some joint information meetings and mixers. It had been a while since we’d all been together, and we had a lot of ground to cover!

We discussed everything from new offerings and overviews from our product management team to leader development. We shared best practices and spent time talking about our Global Hub so that our Student Ambassadors will be prepared to share their amazing travel experiences, video footage, and thoughts over the summer. And now, of course, parents can tweet about their child’s trip, sharing their child’s global experience with other parents in the group.

Leading Global Education Travel
Our wonderful teachers are just one of the reasons why we are the leader in global educational travel. As the leader in educational travel, we feel a strong responsibility to keep learning, growing, and innovating. The ongoing training of our strong network of teacher leaders is vital to our ability to consistently provide our premier programs. Another example of continuous improvement is our annual review of programs for the best customer experiences, where we add and subtract venues, review locations, examine learning opportunities, and more. We are also the only educational travel company with a senior director of health and safety. You will hear much more about our commitment to safety and leadership in this area.

I’m proud of the many, many things that make us special. We provide unparalleled access to people, places, and cultures beyond that of any other organization, allowing our travelers to learn and expand their views of the world. We currently travel to more than 49 countries on all seven continents, and our program participants come from more than 100 nations. Much of that success comes from the passion, commitment, and efforts of our teachers and leaders to give each and every student traveler a life-changing experience. We truly believe in changing lives, one person at a time.

Customer Feedback Matters
It is important to us that our programs are highly rated by our customers, and we routinely review comment cards and feedback after each travel season to continuously improve our travel experiences. In 2008, 97% of our participants reported satisfaction with their experience and 94% of students and 93% of teachers said they would recommend People to People Ambassador Programs. Of current travelers, 94% said they would travel with us again.

We closely track our customer satisfaction rating. Last year, we began recording our Net Promoter score. For a frame of reference, many world-class organizations use Net Promoter as an indicator of customer satisfaction, and a score of 50 is considered excellent. Year to date, our average score is 70.0. This puts us in very good company, on par with the likes of Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, and Federal Express in terms of customer satisfaction levels.

Community Service = Great Learning Opportunity
We are always looking at ways to further instill personal growth for our student travelers through community service, expanding the horizons of students to help them gain a global perspective that will enable them to better compete in the world as they develop long-lasting friendships and memories. We work with our teacher leaders to identify projects to help students bond with their own travel groups before embarking on their journeys. Last year, our “Summer of Service” initiative contributed 140,000 hours of community service, and we plan to beat that number this year.

Working together, we will keep accomplishing our goals and building our reputation as the leader in global educational travel.

Wishing you success in fulfilling your own dreams,

Peg Thomas
President, People to People Ambassador Programs

Growth Through Learning

As we look forward to the start of spring, I’m happy to share some recent news and a few thoughts on new growth.

NASSP Listing
I’m pleased to tell you that our Student Ambassador Programs have made the prestigious National Advisory List from the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). The list provides information to assist principals, teachers, parents, and students in making informed decisions regarding participation in a wide variety of programs and opportunities. The list is compiled by an exemplary committee that carefully reviews all programs with special regard to protecting student interests. The listed organizations are required to meet criteria designed to benefit students, promote creativity and excellence, and adhere to stringent requirements of advertising and financial accounting practices. Programs that meet all the guidelines are then placed on this important national list. We are proud to have once again met the criteria for acceptance on the National Advisory List. We had previously achieved listing with our People to People Leadership Programs.

More Alike than Not
We all want the best for our young people, and learning+experience=success. In today’s more competitive, globalized world, the greatest gift we can give our children is the gift of learning. When they see the world, they can become a more active member of it. As we learn and grow, we realize how interconnected we really are, and our differences begin to diminish.

I’ll close with a couple of my favorite quotes that reiterate how in spite of our differences, we really are a lot alike.

“As we grow as unique persons, we learn to respect the uniqueness of others.” — Robert H. Schuller

“He who adds not to his learning diminishes it.” — quote from The Talmud.

History happens each and every day. So does learning, if you choose to be a part of it.

Wishing you happy travels,

Jeff Thomas
CEO, People to People Ambassador Programs

My Favorite People to People Moment

People often ask me to tell them about my favorite People to People Moment. The trouble is I don’t have just a single favorite. One of the best parts of my job is that I have the opportunity to either hear about or see directly for myself the wonderful People to People Moments that happen almost every day. I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful it is to hear amazing stories of personal growth and discovery on a regular basis. From students learning more about themselves and their own abilities to high school students discovering what they love and who they want to be, to adults learning how to take their knowledge further and to apply that knowledge in new and different ways, I want to thank all of you for giving me inspiration each and every day. I’m so happy to be able to share some of these People to People Moments with colleagues, teachers, family members, and now with you on a regular basis.

Inspiring Moments Here at Home
With that in mind, I wanted to tell you about a few moments of inspiration that have crossed my mind lately. Inspiring moments happen everywhere, everyday. I’m inspired here locally by our community and our willingness to help each other, especially in difficult times. We have so many people that do all they can to help ensure that they convey a spirit of caring and hope, especially during the holiday season. The wonderful people at Second Harvest here in Spokane, for example, work hard to donate a million pounds of food each month. They have so many stories of inspiration—stories of people that keep working hard to help their families live better lives despite many hardships. The difficult economy has made this year harder, creating even more need. That’s why some of our amazing employees have been assisting the organization as well. In fact, our senior executive team member Scott Carrougher, head of admissions for People to People Ambassador Programs, is presenting a check for $5,000 to Second Harvest just this week to help make the winter easier for some deserving local families.

Inspiration Abroad
Inspiration also comes from the world of animals and working toward natural habitat preservation. One of my favorite programs that our organization works with is Archelon, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece. Their charter protects sea turtles and their habitats through monitoring, research, habitat restoration, awareness, and rehabilitation. Every year, our Student Ambassadors are involved in this wonderful program.

The Loggerhead sea turtle is an endangered species that is severely threatened by the development of nesting beaches, with the species returning each year to the very same beaches to nest. Against all odds, the baby turtles are hatched from their eggs on the sand, grow and persevere, and head into the sea to live their lives despite the threat of many predators. They have the fight and can-do spirit that so many people have—the ability to carry on and work through their issues, and the doggedness to survive it all. I’ve been inspired as the program tags the turtles and tracks their movement—more than 4,000 of these beautiful creatures have been tagged and released into the Mediterranean. We are proud of our work with this terrific organization and cause.

Look for Your Moments
From our family here at People to People Ambassador Programs to yours, we are wishing you health, happiness, and inspiration in 2010, both at home and abroad.

Wishing you success in fulfilling your own dreams,

Peg Thomas
President, People to People Ambassador Programs

The Season for Giving

Thanksgiving
For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food,

For love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Giving Thanks

I think Emerson had it right, even back then. This time of year is a time of reflection, of stepping back and looking at where we are, what we've accomplished, and where we go next. This year has been particularly tough for many people. So many people have struggled without jobs, resources, health care, and so on.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it gives us a chance to be thankful for all the good things we have in our lives and the energy, skills, and experiences that we have been given to tackle our challenges.

I find myself thinking about one of the best things we do have: each other. Together we can learn from each other, and together we can make a difference.

Habitat for Humanity

I recently had the honor of helping to build a home with the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. The build at 1600 E. Boone in north Spokane will produce a five-plex and two duplexes. As many of you know, eligible Habitat families invest 500 hours of their own labor in building their homes and others. Once finished, the homes are sold to partner families at cost, with a 0% mortgage held by Habitat-Spokane.

I'm pleased to say that 70 of our wonderful employees committed their time and energy to help the Habitat families construct the new homes. It was nothing short of impressive. It was the first time I had the opportunity to participate in one of these projects, and I am honored and humbled to have helped! I'm thankful to have met these amazing families and to work side by side with them.

Community Service

Community service is an important component of our programs, and I'm happy to be able to make a difference at home in Spokane as well as elsewhere. In fact, just last month we announced our plans to surpass the 140,000 community service hours programs logged for the 2010 travel year, and we've strengthened the community service portion of our programs to extend opportunities to give back to communities both domestically and internationally. I truly believe that when we gain exposure to other people, places, and life experiences, we begin to understand each other better, as well as ourselves.

We will work with Habitat for Humanity on a large build program in New Orleans for the 2010 summer program "Leadership Summit: Remembering Hurricane Katrina" to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the devastation and to help rebuild the city. This exciting new program features talks from Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and his brother, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning - both New Orleans natives. Additional speakers include former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and award-winning film director Spike Lee, who directed the Katrina documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts.

We all want the best for our young people, and with today's competitive, globalized world, the greatest gift we can give our children is the gift of learning and experience. Let's help them see the world and become a more active member of it.

Wishing you happy travels,

Jeff Thomas

CEO, People to People Ambassador Programs

Doing Good: Remembering Hurricane Katrina

What Happens after All the Help Goes Home?
One of the things I often think about after a disaster is what happens when all the help goes home? What happens when most of the volunteer workers go on with their own lives and back to their families? In general, Americans are known for our kindness of spirit and our ability to step in and help each other in times of trouble, and we can all be very proud of that. But sometimes, we need to return to stricken areas after a disaster has passed to see what else needs to be done or where else we can assist. With Hurricane Katrina, for example, volunteers are still helping impact positive changes in the lives of those affected by the disaster and continuing to make a difference in New Orleans. Along with the message of "you have not been forgotten," this can go a long way towards a strong recovery and a sense of accomplishment for the citizens of New Orleans and its affected townships.

A Program of Service to the People of New Orleans
So in the spirit of leadership, of service and assistance, I'm thrilled to tell you about a new program. People to People Ambassador Programs is commemorating the upcoming fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with a summer 2010 program called "Leadership Summit: Remembering Hurricane Katrina." The program, which runs June 28 through July 6, 2010, is part of People to People Leadership Programs, which teach students in grades 5 through 12 important leadership and teamwork skills with workshops, community service projects, and discussions with well-respected authorities on service and leadership.

On this program, you will hear from famous folks from the Big Easy, like Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and his brother; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning. They will share their own intensely personal side to the Katrina story. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and award-winning film director Spike Lee, who created the Katrina documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, will also talk about their experiences. Other speakers will be there to talk about Hurricane Katrina, highlighting the lessons they learned and providing an update on the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans.

Making a Difference Where Hope is Needed Most
The week-long program includes two major, large-scale community service projects, and I'm happy that students will be able to really get into the communities to help. One project is rebuilding a home with Habitat for Humanity. The other project is assisting with a number of school rebuilding and repair projects throughout the city with HandsOn New Orleans, an independent local affiliate of the Points of Light Institute that focuses on serving the needs of the local community. All students will receive 60 service-learning hours for their hard work.

A New Orleans Love Story
But I think that to know, love, and connect with the city, you need to see more of it! This program is designed to help students learn more about Hurricane Katrina through exploring New Orleans and by hearing firsthand accounts by guest speakers like Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, US Army 3-star general who led Task Force Katrina in the aftermath of the devastating hurricane, Tom Piazza, nationally acclaimed author of Why New Orleans Matters, and Jim Reed, world-renowned weather photographer and self proclaimed "storm chaser." There will also be a walking tour of the French Quarter, a bus tour of the city with visits to neighborhood districts, and a firsthand view of the levee that breached, causing the devastating floods. There will also be a swamp tour and a plantation tour. You can see for yourself the unique culture and architecture of a city like no other, and learn why so many people affected by the hurricane have stayed to rebuild and continue to live their lives and to create their stories in this historic city.

I am personally so excited about this program! Come see it all for yourself and help make a difference with a life changing experience. You'll hear more about this program as we get closer, or you can take a look at our "Leadership Summit: Remembering Hurricane Katrina" website. We anticipate a big response with this wonderful program, so join us!

Wishing you successes in fulfilling your own dreams,

Peg Thomas
President, People to People Ambassador Programs