Carol Jenkins named president and CEO of World Learning Inc.

Publication Date: February 20, 2018
Publication Location: Brattleboro, VT
Contact: Kate Casa  |  [email protected]

World Learning Inc. announced today that its Board of Trustees has unanimously voted to appoint Carol Jenkins as President and CEO of the organization after having served in the interim role since October 2017.

“Over the past several months, Jenkins has brought careful, decisive, inspirational leadership to World Learning Inc., and demonstrated that she had the leadership qualities and skills we were looking for,” said Board Chair Lynne Maguire. “Jenkins has an accomplished track record and she embodies and lives our core values. As proud as we are of our history, we know that with Jenkins, our best days lie ahead.”

World Learning Inc. is a thriving global organization made up of three distinct brands: The Experiment in International Living; School for International Training, which includes SIT Study Abroad and SIT Graduate Institute; and the nonprofit global development and exchange arm World Learning.

In the role of CEO, Jenkins will be responsible for developing, articulating, and strengthening the vision and impact of the whole organization. Her plans include empowering staff to continue to deliver exceptional programs and leveraging all brands as one globally committed and experientially focused organization.

Jenkins has already made an indelible mark on the organization as interim CEO and previously as President of World Learning’s Global Development and Exchange unit. She has created and implemented robust business development strategies; enhanced World Learning’s donor relationship management and external engagement; worked to remove barriers and create synergies between and across exchange programs; defined the organization’s theories of change; and set organizational metrics to demonstrate impact.

Under her leadership, The Experiment in International Living is growing and thriving, having recently been named the top-rated youth travel organization by Go Abroad. Working with SIT President Sophia Howlett—who continues to serve in that position—Jenkins has helped shepherd SIT’s Graduate Institute through a challenging yet exciting transition period as it moves its full-time face-to-face master’s degree programs from Vermont and Washington, DC, to SIT’s global centers. And for many years, she has ensured a strong pipeline for the Global Development & Exchange programs.

Jenkins has served in multiple positions at World Learning over more than a decade. She first joined in June 2007 as senior director of international programs after a 16-year career in humanitarian aid and development. She spent seven years at the organization, including three years as head of its International Development and Exchange. In 2014, after nearly a year working on business and program development for World Vision in East Africa, Jenkins returned to World Learning.

Prior to joining the organization in 2007, Jenkins was director of program development for International Medical Corps, where she managed a team of technical business development professionals to improve the quality of field programs and expand the coverage to project recipients. She also previously spent 12 years working for World Vision, including a period during which she was posted in Southern Africa.

Jenkins holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Messiah College in Pennsylvania. She was a fellow at the Luskin School of Public Affairs at University of California, Los Angeles, in 2012 and a participant in the Leadership Program at the International Civil Society Center.

Jenkins succeeds Donald Steinberg, who stepped down from the role in October 2017 and now serves as a special advisor to the organization. Jenkins has served as Interim CEO since Steinberg’s departure and was officially selected for the position after a five-month search that involved trustees, staff, faculty, and students.

“I am grateful for the support of the board, and for the patience and grace of staff,” Jenkins said. “I am honored to be given the responsibility to lead this exceptional organization, and I am excited to help define its future.”

To read Jenkins’s full biography, visit the World Learning Inc. website.


World Learning Inc. is the corporate group that oversees four flagship brands: The Experiment in International LivingSchool for International Training, which includes SIT Study Abroad and SIT Graduate Institute; and the global development and exchange nonprofit World Learning. The organization holds a unique position in the market as both an accredited academic institution and a global nonprofit.

World Learning Inc. works globally to enhance the capacity and commitment of individuals, institutions, and communities to create a more peaceful and just world through education, sustainable development, and exchange. Our programs advance leadership in more than 150 countries.