The Georgia Council for International Visitors (GCIV) has announced the appointment of Dr. Rashad Richey as Chairman of the Board. The GCIV, which administers the US Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program in Georgia, is dedicated to building mutual understanding and strengthening relationships between the United States and other nations through carefully designed professional visits and programming.
U.S. Ambassadors have consistently rated the IVLP as the most effective public diplomacy tool available to them, and the GCIV is committed to enhancing the effectiveness of ambassadors, thereby strengthening the good work of the State Department nationally and abroad.
Dr. Richey is a noted policy expert, university professor, and broadcaster, and his appointment by the GCIV Board has garnered support from various leaders.
"I congratulate my friend Dr. Rashad Richey on his appointment as Chairman of the Georgia Council for International Visitors, where he will help lead Georgia's engagement with the world. A distinguished broadcast journalist and academic, Dr. Richey now adds diplomacy to his formidable array of skills and accomplishments." - United States Senator John Ossoff
"The Georgia Council for International Visitors, a U.S. Department of State funded organization, just made a game-changing decision by appointing scholar, broadcaster, and policy expert, Dr. Rashad Richey as Chairman of the Board. Dr. Richey is the first African-American to become Chair of the GCIV and will bring his knowledge of government, international policy, and high-level communications to make the GCIV a household name. The Mayor's Office of International and Immigrant Affairs and GCIV have been key partners in connecting Georgia and Atlanta, to the world. A key example was our partnership at the 2022 International Consular Ball. The GVIC brings people together from all over the world, reminding us of the beauty in our global diversity." - Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens
"The Carter Center has long been a supporter of GCIV and a host to many of its valuable citizen-diplomacy programs that link the local to the global. I am delighted by the appointment of Dr. Rashad Richey. His work exemplifies the bridge-building that is critical to mutual understanding in our increasingly polarized world" - Paige Alexander, Carter Center CEO
"I am beyond excited for the election of our new Board Chairman, Dr. Rashad Richey. Along with his wealth of experience, expertise, and unwavering commitment to GCIV's mission, his leadership will help guide us toward greater success", said Emily Shaw, GCIV Executive Director.
In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Dr. Richey will continue the GCIV's tradition of promoting international understanding and cooperation. His expertise and leadership will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the organization's efforts to build relationships between the United States and other nations.
ABOUT GCIV:
The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is a professional exchange initiative of the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Annually it brings approximately 5,000 foreign nationals from all over the world to the United States to meet and confer with their professional counterparts and to experience America firsthand. The visitors, who are selected by American Foreign Service Officers overseas, are current or potential leaders in government, politics, the media, education, the arts, business and other fields.
Among the thousands of distinguished individuals who have participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program since its inception almost seven decades ago are more than 590 current and former Chiefs of State and Heads of Government, 2,000 cabinet-level ministers, and many, many other distinguished leaders from the public and private sectors. Click here to see the list of current IVLP alumni who are current heads of government or chiefs of state.
The invitation to visit the U.S. under the auspices of the International Visitor Leadership Program is extended by U.S. embassies. For that reason, individuals can not apply to participate in the program.
The programs are managed by program officers assigned to the Office of International Visitors, who work in concert with a broad range of private, not-for-profit organizations operating under cooperative agreements with the Department of State. In addition to program agencies, the International Visitor Leadership Program also relies on the commitment and skills of volunteer-based community organizations across the U.S. whose members offer professional program assistance and dinner hospitality. These volunteer organizations are known as Councils for International Visitors (CIVs). There are currently more than 90 CIVs in 45 states, under the leadership of Global Ties U.S.
For more information about the GCIV and the International Visitor Leadership Program, please visit their website at www.gciv.org.
Dr. Rashad Richey, who serves as President of Rolling Out Magazine, the largest free-print urban publication in the country, is a multimedia powerhouse with over 2-million subscribers on Facebook Watch, YouTube and Twitch combined, a noted scholar and university professor/lecturer, Emmy-nominated television Political Analyst for CBS News Atlanta, TV Anchor for 'Indisputable with Dr. Rashad Richey on the TYT Network', which was named 'fastest growing TV news show in America', and Political Commentator for The People's Station V-103 FM, America's largest urban station.
Dr. Richey is also host of the award-winning ‘Rashad Richey Morning Show’ on News & Talk 1380 – WAOK/V-103FM (HD3) (Weekdays 7am -10am), ‘Dr. Rashad Richey Review’ on SiriusXM’s Urban View (Sundays at 1pm and 9pm), and was voted 'Best Talk Radio Personality in Atlanta' by readers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and named 'Most Trusted Voice in Atlanta' by the Atlanta Business Journal, making him the first African-American to receive these distinctions.
Dr. Richey holds several advanced degrees and was recently named “one of the most academically-credentialed individuals in American history” by America News Now Magazine. Dr. Richey completed doctoral studies in federal policy reform from Clark Atlanta University, Master of Science in Applied Physics and Quantum Mechanics from UNEM University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Beulah Heights University. Dr. Richey also holds additional research PhDs from Business University of Costa Rica and Western Orthodox University in Philosophy and Religious Studies. He is currently in Law School completing his Juris Doctor degree at Birmingham School of Law.
As host of The Rashad Richey Morning Show, Dr. Richey has interviewed everyone from Vice-President Kamala Harris to TI, and always brings relevant information, the best on-air debates, and most insightful interviews in media. Tune in every weekday morning from 7am-10am on News and Talk 1380-WAOK, V-103FM (HD3), www.WAOK.com, or on the Audacy App