The Georgia Council for International Visitors is seeking a new executive director now that the nonprofit’s longtime leader, Shell Stuart, has announced her departure 11 years after taking the helm and 13 years at the organization.
Ms. Stuart, who recently married, is moving with her husband to coastal Oregon, where she plans to enjoy outdoor living while aiming to keep her passport filled with stamps.
“It’s hard to imagine a life not focused on international visitors, but when I close my eyes I can see myself hiking, paddling, tidepooling, beachcombing, and playing the ukulele. And, of course, hopefully I’ll still find a way to travel the world!” she wrote in a note to the organization’s supporters.
Ms. Stuart was also honored at the recent International Consular Ball, an annual fundraiser she helped breathe into existence. Members of the GCIV board noted that she was integral not only to creating but also to sustaining the event, a black-tie gala honoring diplomats from more than 60 countries present in Atlanta. Belize Honorary Consul Jeffrey Beecher Gram offered her a gift voucher for a stay on a private island he owns in the country.
The GCIV is tasked with administering in Georgia the International Visitor Leadership Program, which was launched by the U.S. State Department in 1940. While focused on training foreign leaders, the program provides chances for them interact directly with Americans through professional exchange, home stays and in-home dinner hospitality. The goal is “citizen diplomacy”, helping build U.S. relationships through people-to-people contacts that can turn into lifelong friendships. The organization hosts lunch forums, foreign-policy discussions, dinner hospitality and much more.
Meeting with thousands of visitors over more than a decade of service in the local community, Ms. Stuart feels like she’s earned a “hands-on degree in international relations.” One of the most rewarding aspects of the job, she said, is seeing how people from all over the world are contributing to peace and understanding by the simple act of getting to know someone from a different culture.
“It has been a tremendous honor to serve as GCIV’s Executive Director for the past 11 years. I will be forever grateful for the enriching experiences, the incredible people I have met along the way, and the opportunity to daily make the world a better place through citizen diplomacy,” Ms. Stuart told Global Atlanta in an email.
But she’s by no means finished with her work just yet. Ms. Stuart leaves Friday for a GCIV-led trip to Russia, a program to provide outbound travel opportunities for GCIV members and supporters in Atlanta. She plans to have most of her duties wrapped up by May.
The organization is taking applications for her replacement through April 30. More information on applying can be found here. Applications for 12-week internships are also being accepted through May 20 here.
Read Ms. Stuart’s full note to the GCIV community here.
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