Board Members from Left to Right: Michelle Patrick, Aisha Taylor, Jennifer Ogden-Reese, Sharon Grant, and Kristen Mack
We are pleased to announce Jennifer Ogden-Reese as the newly elected Chair of Global Glimpse’s Board of Directors. Jenn is the Chief Marketing Officer at 2U and an award-winning marketer with executive experience leading some of the most iconic and successful media brands in the world. As a longtime board member and CMO in New York City, Jenn serves alongside Board Members at United Airlines, the MacArthur Foundation, and Google. Jenn is deeply passionate about education and equity and shares her gratitude and vision for the future below.
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Dear Global Glimpse community,
I am thrilled to step into this new role as Board Chair at a pivotal time in Global Glimpse’s history. I am so proud of everything we have accomplished and even more inspired to lead this amazing organization into the next stage of growth and impact.
Over the past decade, we have served over 6,000 students, 500 educators, and awarded $13.2 million in scholarships to make travel and leadership development accessible to youth from all backgrounds. This year, we will partner with 100 high schools to deliver meaningful, high-impact educational programs. In partnership with Eliza and the amazing Global Glimpse team, I commit to balance Global Glimpse’s ambitious growth goals with quality, safety, and sustainability. Together, we aspire to raise the bar in the nonprofit sector.
I joined the Global Glimpse Board five years ago at a time in my life when I was searching for greater purpose. I had just turned 40 and was proudly balancing a fast-paced executive job in New York City and raising three wonderful boys with my husband in Rye, NY. But I was driven to find an avenue to have a greater impact and give back to my community. When I was introduced to Global Glimpse I was moved by two unique elements of the organization:
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- Global Glimpse delivers a comprehensive travel and leadership experience that prepares youth with critical building blocks of empathy, agency, and global perspective. As a parent raising three almost-teenage sons, these characteristics are a top priority.
- Accessibility is at the heart of Global Glimpse’s mission. The mix of socioeconomic diversity amongst students on Global Glimpse trips is what makes the program so powerful. As a business leader, I recognize the importance of building diverse teams and have prioritized creating an open and inclusive workplace in every executive role that I have held.
Since joining the Board, I have had the honor of experiencing the GG program in action. In Nicaragua, I witnessed shy Glimpsers gain confidence and their voice as “Leader of the Day.” In Ecuador I experienced “Living Like a Local,” where we were immersed in Indigenous Andean culture. I have watched students collaborate with local leaders to identify and implement sustainable service-learning projects. I have met the knowledgeable and passionate GG team members in the US and in Latin America and every single one of them brings courage, commitment, and compassion to their work every day. Our program quality, commitment to safety, and investment in sustainability is second to none.
Joining the Board at Global Glimpse has helped me become a more empathetic leader, a better mother, a stronger advocate, and a more open-minded citizen. As a parent and a business leader, I believe that inspiring and supporting young people to develop empathy, agency, and global perspective is urgent and important. We cannot afford the alternative.
Thank you for joining me on this journey, the future for Global Glimpse is bright!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Ogden-Reese
P.S. Interested in bringing Global Glimpse to your high school? Know an educator who would be a good fit for our program? Let us know! Give the gift of travel.