ABOUT LINDEN

Mission

Through recruitment tours and consulting, Linden Educational Services, Inc. assists regionally accredited U.S. Universities and regionally accredited U.S. styled/based universities abroad in their efforts to recruit, enroll and serve international students. We strive to be professional, knowledgeable and promote international understanding.

Mission of Linden Boarding School Division

Linden Boarding Schools, llc assists regionally accredited Boarding Schools from across the globe with their efforts to recruit, enroll and serve international students.  We foster international understanding while serving our Schools highly individualized needs and objectives.

History

Linden Educational Services was founded in 1982 by Linda Heaney.  Since that time, Linden has conducted over 126 tours to China, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia (India, Nepal, Sri Lanka), Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East; over 28 overseas programs for small groups; 16 Washington Embassy Visit Programs.  Additonally, nearly 1,000 individuals have represented 460 colleges and universities to over half a million students in over 70 cities around the world. On most tours, 85% of the colleges/universities and 65% of the tour members are repeat clients.

Linden Staff

Linden staff members are educational and enrollment management professionals with extensive international experience.  All are active members in NAFSA: Association of International Educators and the Overseas Association of College Admission Counselors. While most tours last two to three weeks, the staff plans for the tours year round. While the staff has experience leading tours globally, each has a regional focus to provide an exceptional knowledge base from which tour members and universities seeking consultations can draw.  Each tour is lead by one tour leader from the staff (and in most cases a second assistant tour leader) who is responsible for the professional programming and logistics.

Kathy Harrington, Owner and Executive Director 

Kathy joined Linden full time in June 2004 and has led tours to Asia, India Latin America  and the Middle East . Before joining Linden, Kathy lived in Brazil for more than 20 years, where she directed and taught in a large English as a Foreign Language (EFL) program and coordinated  the EducationUSA office at  Associação Alumni in Sao Paulo. Kathy also worked at Ohio University, where she was the Associate Director of the Intensive English Program and was responsible for developing and implementing ESL programs for students and training programs for teachers, as well as recruiting students to the program. She is an active member of NAFSA.

John A. Williamson, Owner and Executive Director - Boarding School Division

John's career in directing enrollment management offices has spanned more than twenty five years at both the university and boarding school levels. John, too, has overseen, and often created, the international offices at his institutions and has vast experience establishing exchanges, partnerships, and programmes in places such as Cuba, Japan, South Africa, Malaysia, the British Virgin Islands and many more. John received his Masters degree in International Relations in Paris, France and is involved both professionally and personally in international organizations which work with global issues such as poverty, education, child welfare and the empowerment of women.

Jesse Jurgens, Events Coordinator

Jesse joined Linden in July 2008. Originally from California, Jesse is a graduate of Santa Clara University, where she majored in Political Science and Spanish and minored in International Studies. Her international experience includes exchange programs in Cordoba and Buenos Aires, Argentina and teaching English as a Foreign Language at an institute in Santiago, Chile. Before coming to Linden, Jesse worked as a substitute teacher in Grand Rapids Public Schools in Michigan.

Andy Gavilanes, International Marketing/ Communications Coordinator

Andy joined Linden in February, 2010. He was born and raised in Ecuador, and has traveled, worked and studied in the United States, Europe and Africa. With an M.A. from the School for International Training (SIT), Andy is pursuing his career in International Education. Before Linden, he worked in community development and international education both at the international and domestic level. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa, worked with at risk youth in Washington D.C. and in Ecuador, coordinated teacher and volunteer abroad programs for LanguageCorps and the Peace Corps.

JoBeth Brudner is Executive Director of Consultants for Educational Opportunities (CEO), an independent counseling service in Buenos Aires, Argentina. From 1988 to 1998, she was the coordinator of the U.S. government advising centers throughout Argentina and represented Latin America on the NAFSA: Association for International Educators OSEAS Leadership team from 1993-1996. Utilizing her thorough regional knowledge and excellent contacts, JoBeth leads Linden's tours to Latin America.

Carol Proko Easton has been leading tours to Asia and India for Linden since 2006. Before Linden, she was the Director of International Admissions at Clark University in Worcester, MA. She has lived in Beirut, Lebanon since 2002 where she heads Proko Easton Consultants. In additional to counseling students, Carol consults to Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA; Endicott College, Beverly, MA; AMIDEAST, Lebanon and Washington, D.C; and the American Community School at Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.

Gregory T. Walker worked for 11 years as an international admissions officer at three U.S. universities and has led Linden Tours to Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East since 1996. Currently a flight attendant for American Airlines when he isn't leading a Linden group, Greg is an active member of NAFSA and has consulted with the College Board, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), AMIDEAST, and a number of international corporations.

Deborah Hefferon is an independent consultant in international education and cross-cultural training in Washington, D.C. She has led Linden Tours to Asia, India, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America since 1990. She also works with several non-profit organizations such as the College Board, AMIDEAST, ACCELS, as well as the U.S. Department of State. She has consulted in more than 50 countries and has lived in Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Haiti, Malaysia, Morocco, Scotland and Thailand. She presents regularly at NAFSA conferences.

Advisory Committee
The Linden Advisory Committee provides advice to the professional staff on the design of the tours and the guidelines for participation.  Comprised of international enrollment management officers and cross cultural consultants who have participated in or led tours for Linden, the Advisory Committee is also responsible for the selection of new tour members.

Heather Augar, Fairleigh Dickinson University

Nicole Eversley Bradwell, Ithaca College

Sandy Gault, University of Missouri, Kansas City

Michael Gaynor, Villanova University

Deborah Hefferon, Consultant with the College Board and the US Department of State

Csilla Samay, Loyola Marymount University

David Schmidt, University of the Pacific

Kay Thomas, University of Minnesota

Since 1982, Linden has organized 116 recruitment tours for U.S. universities to Asia, India, the Middle East and Turkey, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as 28 overseas programs for small groups. Nearly 1,000 individuals have represented 440 U.S. colleges and universities to almost half a million students in 66 cities around the world. On most tours, 85% of the universities and 65% of the tour members are repeat clients.