Ayusa (Ayusa International) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promote global learning and leadership through foreign exchange, study abroad, and leadership programs for high school students from the U.S. and around the world. The organization was co-founded by John Wilhelm and Takeshi Yokota in 1981 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. John Wilhelm and Takeshi Yokota also founded Intrax.
Ayusa is a founding member of the Counsel on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET) and has received a full listing as an accredited exchange organization for 25 years, since CSIET’s inception.
Ayusa matches American host families (in all 50 states) with international high school students between the ages of 15 and 18 years old for an academic year or semester. Ayusa also has various short and long-term study abroad programs for American high school students between the ages of 15 and 18 years old.
Intrax
Ayusa currently administers several grant programs funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State including the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Programs (YES) and the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program (CBYX). In the past, Ayusa has also administered several other U.S. Department of State grants, including the Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX), the Mexico Youth Leadership Program (Jóvenes en Acción), and the Emerging Youth Leaders Program.
1981 Ayusa (Academic Year in the U.S.A.) international founded as a non-profit in San Francisco, California.
1982 Ayusa began offering J-1 visa programs as a U.S. Designated Exchange Visitor Program Sponsor.
1983 Ayusa received a grant from the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) to expand exchanges with the Intermountain States.
1984 Ayusa became a founding member of the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET). Ayusa is approved for listing by CSIET, and has been approved for listing each year since.
1985 Ayusa Japan established in Tokyo, Japan and began to provide cultural exchange programs for Japanese students.
1990 Ayusa opened Ayusa Germany in Stuttgart, Germany.
1993 Ayusa was selected by USIA to operate the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) with Germany.
1994 Ayusa was selected by USIA to operate Freedom Support Act Future Leaders Exchange (FSA/FLEX) with the newly independent states of the Soviet Union.
1999 U.S. Information Agency incorporated into the U.S. Department of State. Ayusa Grant programs operate under the auspices of Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
2003 Ayusa awarded major grant from the U.S. Department of State to administer the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program (YES), an academic year program for students from predominantly Islamic countries. This initiative was created as a result of Congressional discussions following the events of September 11, 2001, to build bridges of understanding between the United States and countries with significant Muslim populations. The first YES participants arrived in the U.S. in August 2003.
2010 Ayusa administered the Emerging Youth Leaders Program, a U.S. Department of State grant program, consisting of a two-way exchange involving 30 high school students from the U.S. and Senegal. Ayusa receives a grant to conduct the Mexico Youth Leadership Program (Jóvenes en Acción), jointly sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, the Mexican Ministry of Education, and private sector companies in Mexico, 50 Mexican students participate in the pilot program. Ayusa World Leaders, a three-week summer leadership experience for high school students from around the world launches on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.
2011 Ayusa adopted new logo and identity and stops using acronym Academic Year in the U.S.A. as diverse program offerings now far exceed original program scope.
