Our Leadership

We are fortunate to have many talented people from across the BridgeUSA and international education spaces engaged in the Coalition. Learn more about our Board of Directors below and see how you can get involved with CAPDL.

Carmen Iezzi Mezzera,
Executive Director, CAPDL

Carmen Iezzi Mezzera became Executive Director of the Coalition for American Public Diplomacy and Leadership in May 2024. Previously, she served as Executive Director of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs, Director of Programs and Operations at the Bretton Woods Committee; Executive Director of the Fair Trade Federation; Assistant Director for Education and Outreach at the Atlantic Council of the United States; and Director of Alumni Relations for The American University School of International Service (SIS).

Among her volunteer work, Ms. Mezzera has served with the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area, St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington DC, the Canadian Coalition for Fair Trade, and the Abyssinian Fund. She has written or provided interviews for CBS, CNN, Forbes, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Martha Stewart Living, US News and World Report, Vogue, the Wall Street Journal, and Cooperative Grocer Magazine, among other outlets. She speaks at numerous national and international conferences. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from SIS and received the 2008 Rising Star Alumni Award from American University.

Board of Directors

  • Carye Duffin began her career at CIEE in 1999. In her current role, she is leading our newest division, External Affairs, and will lead CIEE’s local, national, and international cultivation activity to promote the benefits and importance of international exchange and study abroad programs, as well as amplify CIEE’s thought leadership in the promotion of BridgeUSA programs and the power of international exchange to promote American public diplomacy, national security, and economic prosperity. 

    As the Senior Vice President of External Affairs, Carye supervises the office of Government Affairs and Advocacy, as well as the office of Funded Initiatives and Fundraising. In addition, she will serve as the Chair of the Coalition of American Public Diplomacy and Leadership (CAPDL).

    Over the past 25 years, Carye has held various management positions within CIEE involving crisis management, operations, human resources, and sales. Most recently, she was Senior Vice President of International Exchange Programs. Prior to that, as Interim Senior Vice President of International Exchange Programs, she led the Exchange team through a challenging period of transition and growth and helping shape the strategy and goals of the division as CIEE re-emerged after the pandemic.

    Carye earned an undergraduate degree in psychology and a master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania. She is based in Texas.

  • Jon currently serves as the Vice President of Immigration Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and joined the Chamber in June 2014. He works with member companies to form Chamber policy positions on various issues and advocates for sensible immigration policies before Congress and the executive branch agencies.

    Prior to joining the Chamber, Jon served as an advisor to Senator Rubio for three and a half years. In that capacity, he held a very important position as one of the Senator’s lead immigration advisors during the Senator’s involvement with the Gang of 8 and his push for comprehensive immigration reform legislation in the 113th Congress.

    Jon is an attorney and he is licensed to practice in the states of New York and Florida. He obtained his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law and he completed his undergraduate education at Syracuse University where he majored in Economics and Political Science and was a member of the Syracuse Orange football team.

  • Denise Beckson is Vice President of Government Affairs and Human Resources, Morey's Piers & Beachfront Waterparks.

    For over 20 years, Denise has worked in different capacities for Morey's Piers, Beachfront Waterparks & Resorts - a seaside amusement park consisting of three amusement piers and two beachfront water parks located in Wildwood, NJ. She is currently an executive member of the management team responsible responsible for parks operations.

    Currently, Denise's specific responsibilities include heading up all recruiting/staffing as the Director of Human Resources in addition to overseeing the entire Water Parks Division at Morey's Piers, consisting of Ocean Oasis Water Park & Beach Club and Raging Waters Water Park.

    She is actively involved in the industry and sits on IAAPA’s Education, Government Relations, and North American Regional Advisory Committees; serves as Director of the Ellis & Associates International Aquatic Safety School; has been a speaker at industry conferences throughout the country and internationally; and she has been featured in and interviewed for publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Courier Post, World Waterpark Magazine, and IAAPA’s Funworld magazine.

    Denise is a Certified Pool Operator (CPO), an IAAPA Certified Attractions Executive and an Ellis & Associates Instructor Trainer. She is a recent recipient of the IAAPA “Meritorious Service Award” in recognition of her efforts to promote safe operations, global development, professional growth and commercial success of the industry.

  • Russ Hedge is the President and CEO of Hostelling International USA (HI USA).

    For more than 30 years, Russ Hedge has been serving the youth travel sector and leading by example. Since 2000, Russ has been the CEO of Hostelling International USA (HI USA). During his tenure, he led the successful 3-year merger of 26 HI USA regional chapters and its national headquarters into a unified $50 million hostelling organization. Russ recently navigated HI USA as a shared-lodging provider through the travails of the COVID pandemic and now is focused on organizational rebirth.

    Russ is a sought-after speaker on topics ranging from sustainability, to youth travel, to impact travel. His contribution to the youth travel sector includes board service, currently:

    World Youth & Student Educational Travel Confederation (Amsterdam) – Chair

    US Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (Washington DC) – Member

    Most recently he also has served as at-large director of the US Travel Association (2017-2021), as Executive Committee member of the Alliance for International Exchange board of directors (2018-2021), and as at-large director of the United Nations World Tourism Organization Affiliate Member board (2014-2018).

    Russ’s early career focused on economics and finance at the US Department of Commerce, with stints at the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Senate Budget Committee. He initially joined HI USA as a volunteer, and later became a regional executive director before being named HI USA Chief Operating Officer, and then CEO.

    A native of Wisconsin, Hedge received his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and his Master of Arts degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin.

  • Rick Ruth recently retired from his role as acting principal deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. He also served as senior advisor to the assistant secretary. In this capacity, he advised on all aspects of international exchange policy, programs and management.

    Ruth is a former foreign service officer and member of the Senior Executive Service. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he taught Russian language and literature at the University of Arizona. He joined the government in the mid-1970s as a Russian-speaking staff member on a traveling exhibition in the Soviet Union. Ruth subsequently joined the Foreign Service, serving abroad in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Soviet Union.

    He was deputy chief of staff at the United States Information Agency (USIA) from 1988 to 1999. With the integration of USIA and the Department of State, Ruth organized the office of the under secretary of state for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs and served as its first chief of staff. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, he was the sole public diplomacy representative on the senior level steering committee responsible for coordinating the U.S. State Department's response to the attack.

    Ruth has also served in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as deputy assistant secretary for Policy, deputy assistant secretary for Private Sector Exchange, and principal deputy assistant secretary. He established the Department's first global alumni network, spearheaded cultural heritage as a key component of foreign policy, pioneered the quantitative measurement of exchange programs, originated the first high school exchange for the Arab and Muslim world, and implemented historic reforms in the regulation and oversight of private sector exchanges.

    Ruth has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service, the Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy, awarded jointly by the U.S. Department of State and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, the Lois Roth Foundation’s Ilchman-Richardson Award for contributions to cultural diplomacy, and the Alumnus of the Year Award from the College of Humanities of the University of Arizona.

  • Bastian Weinberger is the Board Chair of HanoverCRM, a full-service web agency, specializing in front-end website production, bespoke applications, and design services. He is the former Chair of Smaller Earth Group, an international group of companies with 14 subsidiaries around the world providing meaningful travel programs, and the co-founder of Landthere, a company providing international remote working opportunities. Bastian Weinberger has over 16 years experience in cultural exchange. Born in Germany and having lived and worked in the US and the UK, Bastian is front and center in promoting life-changing experiences abroad.

    Bastian Weinberger has been an elected member of the Cultural Exchange Panel of the WYSE Travel Confederation since 2014 and is committed to strengthening the voice piece and community aspect of the cultural exchange industry.

  • Bettina is Executive Director of the Experiment in International Living in Germany (Experiment e.V.) a non-profit exchange organization that offers a wide variety of programs to all age groups.

    Bettina is an active member on the Board of German Youth Associations, serves as an advisor to several German and international exchange organizations and is a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader.

    As a former high school and university exchange student herself, she knows first-hand the power of exchange programs to promote intercultural understanding. Bettina and her family have also already hosted 3 long-term high school exchange students as well as 3 au pairs in their home.

    She believes strongly in the fact that intercultural experiences are an important part of lifelong learning and bring huge benefits at any age and for all parties involved. In her eyes, the job of a high-quality exchange organization is to ensure that these experiences are as safe as possible and that participants are supported when it comes to health issues and challenges.