TRANSFORMATIVE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
IN AFRICA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA SINCE 2006

GEI is a private institute offering transformative education and engagement programs for students, institutions, and professionals in Africa and Southeast Asia. Since 2006, we have helped students and institutions engage some of the world's most dynamic regions with depth, integrity, and academic rigor.

Our mission: GEI empowers global change leaders through a comprehensive portfolio of innovative, impactful, and sustainable programs that combine deep regional expertise, experiential and community-engaged learning, and academic rigor. GEI meets the evolving needs of students, institutions, and communities by preparing participants to address global challenges and drive meaningful change.

Our portfolio has two parts. Six academic tracks - Global Business, Global Engineering, Global Health, Global Mental Health, Global Public Policy, and Sustainable Development - pair with six core destinations - Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam. These run as study abroad programs and as career-aligned internships that partners can co-brand as their own. Alongside them, we design faculty-led programs in virtually any discipline across more than 30 destinations in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Our story

2006 - The beginning
Dr. Michael Grosspietsch founds GEI in Kigali, Rwanda, as an educational travel provider in response to demand for professional development and exchange programs in Africa.
2009 - First university programs
GEI launches faculty-led university programs across East Africa and opens a second office in Nairobi, Kenya.
2011 - Going global
GEI becomes a U.S.-incorporated company, headquartered first in New York; operational leadership later moves to Berlin, Germany.
2013 - Regional expansion
New offices open in Cape Town / South Africa (2013), Ho Chi Minh City / Vietnam (2015), Bangkok / Thailand (2024), and Accra / Ghana (2025), extending GEI's reach to more than 30 destinations across Africa and Southeast Asia.

2018 - First study abroad and internship programs

GEI introduces U.S.-accredited programs in women and leadership, global health, social innovation, and mental health, with The College of New Jersey as its school of record at the time.

2020 - Launch of mHub
During the COVID-19 pandemic, GEI creates mHub, The Mental Health Hub, in Kigali, licensed by Rwanda’s Ministry of Health as Rwanda’s first private mental health clinic and serving more than a thousand people a month.
2022 - Launch of sustainability program series
GEI introduces its Change Leadership for Sustainable Development series: Global Field Engagements and Global Practica, supported by a new eLearning platform.
2024 - Launch of a comprehensive study abroad portfolio
GEI launches its study abroad portfolio around the Certificate in Global Engagement, which builds the competencies of global change leaders through immersive academic and hands-on experience. Programs are organized into 6 academic tracks across 6 core destinations, offered as study abroad programs and career-aligned internships, alongside faculty-led programs in virtually any discipline.
2026 - Hamline University becomes school of record
GEI enters a new school of record partnership for U.S. academic credit with Hamline University in St. Paul, MN.
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The GEI difference 

Transformative learning, by design

Every program follows a mapped sequence of themed days and daily assignments that build the competencies of global change leaders step by step - practical skills, intercultural fluency, and a grounded understanding of the region. Growth is built into the structure of the program, not left to chance.

Deep regional expertise

Full-time teams in six core destinations - and trusted local networks across Africa and Southeast Asia - host every cohort from arrival to departure. The people who run a program are from the place where it runs.

Ethical engagement

Community benefit is a design requirement, not a by-product. Every partnership is built for reciprocity, and every program follows GEI’s Community Engagement Code of Practice.

One partner, end to end

Program design, logistics, housing, safety and 24/7 support, and U.S. academic credit through Hamline University, GEI's school of record, all come from one partner, so institutions and students deal with one team and one contact.
our people

Meet our core team

GEI’s teams live where the programs run: full-time teams in the 6 core destinations, coordinators across the faculty-led destinations, and academic and support staff on 4 continents.

Dr. Michael Grosspietsch, PhD
CEO & Founder

Melissa Lesage, LLB
Director, Business Management
Jonathan George, MEd
Director, Program Management
Waleed Fatth, MPH
Director, Academic Affairs
Sondra Schreiber, MA
Director, Partnership Development
Elizabeth Scutchfield, MEd
Strategic Global Partnerships
Patty Kelly, RN
Neonatal Care Program Leader
Yvan Rubengebenge
Regional Director, East Africa
Thuy Phan, MA
Regional Director, Southeast Asia
Kari Cousins, MSc/MA
Regional Director, Southern Africa
Francoise Uzamukunda, MA
Academic Director, East Africa
Chone Chaowai, MIDP
Academic Director, Southeast Asia
Eric Kingoina, DCS
Operations Manager, Kenya
Mabwe Gwamure, BSc
Operations Manager, Southern Africa
Henry Azanu, BA
Operations Manager, Ghana
Dang Huynh, BA
Operations Manager, Southeast Asia
Denyse Iradukunda, BA
Operations, Rwanda
Fred Mugisha, BSc
Operations, Rwanda
Catherine Shimwa
Operations, Rwanda

Sammy Davies Mochama, BSc

Operations, Kenya


Jacqueline Datoo, DBA

Operations, Kenya


Dr. Michael Williams, PhD

Operations Affiliate, Ghana


Vinay Sapra, DM

Operations, Tanzania


Juliana Katende, BSc

Operations, Uganda


Dr. Marie Guéye, PhD

Operations, Senegal


Ray Lyabunya, BIS

Operations, Malawi


Ted Mwale, DTTM

Operations, Malawi


Elliot Banda

Operations, Zambia


Blessing Mumbure, DTBS

Operations, Zimbabwe


Tina Rakotomanga, LLB

Operations, Madagascar


Thuy Phuong Nguyen, MA

Operations, Vietnam


Noon Sasithorn, BA

Operations, Thailand


Angela Nawaporn

Operations, Thailand


Kitipoom Promposa (Goal)

Operations, Thailand


Phin Sihourch (Chary)

Operations, Cambodia


Doni Purnawi Hardiyanto, MEd

Operations, Indonesia


Kevin Bathman, MA

Operations, Malaysia


Yong Min Ho, BSS

Operations, Singapore


Cailin Human, MBA

mHub CEO


Rachel Irakoze, BA
mHub Director, Client Engagements

Magnifique Munezero, BSc
mHub Lead Facilitator, Mental Fitness

Annick Akaliza, BA
mHub Client Relationship Manager