CIEE Response to Forum Session on Private Equity in Study Abroad

At the recent Forum on Education Abroad conference in Nashville, CIEE was featured in a session titled, “Non-Profit, For-Profit, and Private Equity: Revisiting Definitions,” led by Mark Beirn, Melanie Mala Ghosh, and Thomas Scheiding. 

The session included extensive and impressive slides presented by Mark, Melanie and Thomas. The learning objectives of the session were to provide attendees with a working definition and current state of Private Equity in the field of education abroad, a framework for advancing productive conversations, an understanding of the advantages and challenges of private equity, and strategies to incorporate this new variation of organization with appropriate standards of quality in the important work we do. 

In the spirit of continuing this important conversation, we offer the following observations:

1. In August 2025, CIEE shared reflections on the implications for international educators of the different missions of nonprofit study abroad organizations and private equity-owned study abroad organizations. You can read that reflection here.  In response to feedback, CIEE posted a second note to clarify our message was not to criticize the wonderful, hardworking staff of PE-owned study abroad organizations, but rather to highlight the implications of organizations that have different models of ownership.
2. In their Forum presentation last week, Mark, Melanie and Thomas shared side-by-side financial information for CIEE and CEA CAPA. We believe the comparison of the two financial data sets, as presented, does not provide readers with an “apples-to-apples” comparison of financial data. The information shared for CIEE appears to be drawn from our public annual Form 990 data that is derived from our audited financial statements. This financial data includes all CIEE businesses, including our college study abroad, high school study abroad, teach abroad, BridgeUSA international exchange programs, IEXTICO insurance programs, and other business activities that we manage to support 50,000 annual student exchange participants between the USA and 140 different countries. The CEA CAPA information appears to be drawn from unaudited internal company documents and likely reflects only college study abroad participants. We encourage readers of the slides to understand the differences in data sets.
3. In their Forum presentation, Mark, Melanie, and Thomas share many important definitions and observations about nonprofit, for-profit, and private equity-owed organizations. We offer three additional observations:

• Ownership matters – a nonprofit is not owned by individuals but is governed by an independent, voluntary board of directors, and all proceeds or financial margins remain in the enterprise to be reinvested in the nonprofit’s mission. A private equity-owned company is owned by individuals and investors, and all proceeds or financial margins (e.g., profit) are legally owned by the investors. Regardless of the quality of the student experience or of the skills of the staff delivering those programs, it’s important to know that if you send student tuition money to a PE-owned study abroad organization, you are sending student dollars ultimately to private investors.
• Leadership matters – a nonprofit is led by a CEO selected by the independent board and tasked with advancing the organization’s mission. A private equity-owned company is led by a CEO selected by the owners/investors to maximize their financial return on investment. To anticipate how leaders might lead, one might review prior professional experiences to explore expected leadership styles between a CEO at a nonprofit and a CEO at a PE-owned company. Do their past experiences demonstrate skills at advancing a nonprofit mission or skills in maximizing investor financial returns?
• Mission matters – a nonprofit has a mission that is linked to advancing the public good. A private equity-owned company has a mission to maximize financial returns to investors. CIEE’s mission is to advance peace in the world by supporting people-to-people international exchange programs and to ensure that these life-changing programs are accessible to as many students as possible. Below is a summary of some of the ways CIEE reinvests financial margins in programs that advance our mission to expand access to study abroad for all students from all backgrounds:

Reinvesting in Student Scholarships and Grants

• CIEE invests over $12 million in College Study Abroad scholarships and $10 million in High School Study Abroad scholarships every year.
• CIEE invested $4 million in Pledge to Lead Change in Study Abroad grants over four years to incubate new study abroad program models that drive student access and enhance student outcomes at selected Pledge partners.
• CIEE invested $2 million in full semester scholarships to students studying abroad in Latin America in the 2025/2026 academic year to reintroduce the region to American students and build bridges throughout the western hemisphere.
• CIEE invested $1 million to establish paid global internships for American students, international students, and recent graduates to learn and work abroad. 
• CIEE invested $1 million to overcome barriers to study abroad through the Frederick Douglass Daniel O’Connell Global Internship in Ireland program, in partnership with the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, the African American Irish Diaspora Network (AAIDN), and the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation, providing full fellowships to Pell-eligible students to complete and 8-week internship in Dublin. Applicants not selected receive a $1,500 grant to use on any CIEE program. We are celebrating our 10^th Anniversary of the FDDO program.
• CIEE launched the Scan Design Foundation Environmental Sustainability Internship in Denmark, providing fully funded 8-week internships for Pell-eligible students in Copenhagen, in partnership with the Scan Design Foundation. Applicants not selected receive a $1,500 grant to use on any CIEE program.
• CIEE invested in a partnership with Arizona State University to ensure all students from all academic majors can study abroad in the international city of their choice by providing all CIEE students with free access to ASU’s catalogue of thousands of online courses as part of CIEE College Study Abroad programs in all 45 CIEE locations.

Reinvesting in Global Communities – Building Bridges of Trust Through Community Service

• CIEE College Study Abroad launched in November 2025 the Community Impact Initiative, offering opportunities for students to engage in meaningful international community service projects as part of every CIEE study abroad program, linking global study with community engagement across 160+ service organizations in all 45 CIEE international locations.
• CIEE High School Study Abroad will soon launch the Good Neighbor Kitchen initiative, supporting 1,000 high school student scholarships each year for high school students to study abroad, learn life-long career skills, and build bridges of mutual respect and understanding by engaging in meaningful community service in 20 CIEE international locations.
• CIEE BridgeUSA will soon launch the One World Café initiative, serving and supporting over 10,000 BridgeUSA international student participants each year in iconic American communities across the nation, including Big Sky, Cape Cod, Wisconsin Dells, and others.
• CIEE invests in operating study abroad programs in non-traditional international locations, including, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Amman, Jordan, Tallinn, Estonia, and Taipei, Taiwan, to allow students to study abroad in locations that help build communities of mutual understanding and respect in regions of the world where there are unique deficits of trust.

In closing, we wish to extend our appreciation to the Forum and to Mark, Melanie, and Thomas, for continuing this important conversation. Mission truly matters.

You can learn more about CIEE’s mission and our commitment to building bridges of mutual respect and trust through people-to-people exchange programs on our website.