Most recently serving as Co-President of IIE, A. Sarah Ilchman advanced the strategic excellence, relevance, and impact of the Institute’s programmatic work across the world, including the implementation of the global Fulbright Student and Scholar Programs at IIE, as well as emergency initiatives supporting artists, scholars, and refugees.  Championing the organization and advocating its mission to internal and external stakeholders, Ms. Ilchman developed relationships with U.S. and foreign governments, higher education institutions, multi-lateral organizations, and NGOs to promote access to opportunity, advance scholarship and build economies.

With three decades of dedicated service to IIE, Ms. Ilchman has demonstrated an impressive record of impactful results in program management, inspiring ideas and innovation, and strategic planning. Prior to becoming the first woman Co-President of IIE in 2021, Ilchman was Senior Vice President overseeing the global Fulbright Student and Scholar Programs. Previously Ms. Ilchman directed the Fulbright Foreign Student program after spending more than a decade leading programming with Africa, South and Central Asia and the Near East. Elected a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an inaugural member of the National Academy for International Education, the first learned society dedicated to international education, she also chairs the Institute-wide Emergency Management Task Force. Ms. Ilchman has presented on panels and led workshops in numerous countries on five continents.

Ms. Ilchman received her BA from Vassar College, has studied in the United Kingdom (at Oxford) and in France, and holds a Master’s degree in Management with a concentration in Non-Profit Management from the New School for Social Research.