As Founder and CEO, Abby leads the team by developing the vision, strategy and resources to make a global bridge year after high school a common expectation and opportunity.

Prior to founding Global Citizen Year, Abby spent more than a decade as an educator and entrepreneur in communities across the U.S. and around the world. One of her most notable achievements was designing an initiative that empowers youth to address global poverty, a model which has now become a flagship program of Mercy Corps.

A frequent speaker on social innovation and global education, Abby’s work has been featured in leading forums including the Clinton Global Initiative, the Aspen Ideas Festival, Pop!Tech, and The New York Times. For her achievements as a social entrepreneur, she has been recognized as an Ashoka Fellow, a Draper Richards Kaplan Entrepreneur, a Mind Trust Fellow, and a Harvard Social Enterprise Fellow.

Abby holds a B.A. and M.Ed. from Stanford University, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.