Fulbrighters have an impact beyond the time and place of their exchanges. When they return to their home countries, they are fundamentally changed, ready to accept the responsibility of leadership in their communities, their nations and the world. Fulbrighters carry with them the belief that they can make a lasting difference—and they do.

Whether on a grand or small scale, that difference can be measured in lives changed for the better.  Bogaletch Gebre, from Kembatta, Ethiopa, grew up in an isolated village where she faced beatings and ridicule because she was determined to get an education.  She prevailed by winning scholarships to Hebrew University in Jerusalem and, later, a Fulbright award to the University of Minnesota.  Convinced by her international exchange experiences that women can and do achieve great things, she returned to her home with degrees in microbiology and parasitology, as well as a passionate commitment to advance women’s rights.  Gebre first established Parents International Ethiopia (PIE), which provided 250,000 books for Ethiopian children, and later launched the Kembatta Women’s Health Center, an innovative organization that provides health, vocational and empowerment programs to nearly one million women.

Another example of inspired leadership is found in Alex Counts, a Fulbright student to Bangladesh.  Counts studied the impact of Grameen Bank microcredit programs and understood first-hand how small loans enabled impoverished women to start small businesses.  He returned to the U.S. with a commitment to put his ideals—and knowledge—into action as a social entrepreneur.  As the first president of Grameen Foundation USA, he is expanding access to microfinance around the world.  Under his leadership, the foundation has invested over $5 million in a network of microfinance organizations in 17 countries to replicate the successful programs pioneered by the Grameen Bank to provide impoverished families with credit and other financial services that are a proven pathway out of poverty.