Invest in the next generation of travelers and hospitality professionals.
The American Experience Foundation (AEF) enriches the lives of students through inspirational experiences and educational opportunities to cultivate the next generation of hospitality industry leaders. AEF invests in young people, connecting them with the travel and tourism professionals, entrepreneurs, and executives to help ensure they can enter college and career with confidence.
- INSPIRE - Free field trips to our nation’s capital for students from DC and across the country
- TRAIN - Internships and educational opportunities to connect students with hospitality industry professionals
- EDUCATE - Scholarships to qualified students and alumni from DC’s ten high school Academies of Hospitality & Tourism, Culinary Arts, and Mass Media
AEF is the official non-profit affiliate of Destination DC (DDC), the destination marketing organization for our nation’s capital. By leveraging the resources and networks of DDC and its 1,000 member businesses, AEF is uniquely positioned to open doors for students, filling a need for career exposure and paths to success.
Kelly Cantarero-Flores, AEF Intern Summer 2020 & 2021, Wilson High School Class of 2022
"I will be forever thankful to have the AEF team as mentors and for all the valuable things I have learned from and through this internship. I feel more confident in my abilities and skill sets to enter the workforce."
Learn More About AEF
AEF Staff
Program Manager
202-789-7064
Executive Director, American Experience Foundation
Senior VP, Partnerships & Alliances, Destination DC
202-789-7048
Assistant
202-789-7050
Associate Director
202-789-7065
AEF 2024 Career Ready Interns
Asly Argueta Benitez
Senior, Coolidge High School
Nealia Williams
Senior, Coolidge High School
Christian Osborne
Senior, Ballou High School
Valerie Benitez
Senior, Jackson-Reed High School
*Valerie completed a co-hosted internship with the Washington Nationals
AEF 2024 College Intern
AEF 2023-24 Advanced Internship Program
Mailing Address
American Experience Foundation
901 7th Street NW
Fourth Floor
Washington, DC 20001
AEF Board of Directors
Chair
John Snedden
Owner, Rocklands Barbeque and Grilling Company
Vice Chair
Tanisha Lewis
Vice President for Diversity, Inclusion and Social Impact, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
Secretary
Skye Curry
Manager, Global Quality, Marriott International
Treasurer
Greg Casten
President, Oceanpro Industries
At-Large Members
Michael Akin
President, LINK Strategic Partners
Michael Borris
Director of Global Accounts, Encore
Skye Curry
Manager, Global Quality, Marriott International
Stacy Eacho Smith
Hotel Executive
Elliott L. Ferguson, II
President & CEO, Destination DC
David Grosso
Partner, ArentFox, Shiff, LLP
Bill Heater
Vice President & General Manager, Big Bus Washington DC
Eric Kincaid
Vice President of Sales, Choose Chicago
Tanisha Lewis
Vice President for Diversity, Inclusion and Social Impact, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
Destiny Kibalama
Director of Recruiting & Human Resources, Clyde's Restaurant Group
Elif Sen,
General Manager, Cambria Hotel Washington D.C. Navy Yard Riverfront
Rauf Shakir
Chief Executive Officer, USA Guided Tours
Gail Smith-Howard
General Manager [Retired], Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill
Charles Williams II
Director of Sales and Marketing, Hotel Indigo Old Town Alexandra
Alex Wilson
Director [Retired], Jackson- Reed High School Academy of Hospitality and Tourism
AEF Student Advisory Board
Chair
Zoe Roberts
George Mason University Class of 2022
Lauren Brown
Howard University Class of 2022
Full Sail University Class of 2023
Morehouse College Class of 2019
Temple University Class of 2022
Columbia Heights Educational Campus Class of 2019
Washington & Jefferson College Class of 2027
Columbia Heights Educational Campus Class of 2019
JP Roberts
Eastern Connecticut State University Class of 2026
Anura Sharma
Georgetown University Class of 2026
American Experience Foundation Diversity Equity & Inclusion Mission
The American Experience Foundation recognizes and celebrates personal and cultural differences within our organization and its work and is committed to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for all program participants, staff, volunteers, and stakeholders.
-
AEF strives to empower and support those from traditionally underrepresented communities, especially young people, in order to bring meaningful transformation across racial, cultural, and generational boundaries.
-
AEF believes in the value of every individual and that each of us is deserving of dignity and respect in the workplace. This commitment to this is not only about professional responsibilities. It is also about actively cultivating a supportive environment based on acknowledgment and appreciation for a diversity of experiences and beliefs.
-
AEF is committed to ensuring that our employees, as well as our partner educators, scholars, and other stakeholders, can work, learn and grow in an environment free from discrimination on the basis of a protected characteristic and free from any conduct, comment, gesture, graphic or contact that is likely to cause offense or humiliation.
American Experience Foundation Sustainability Mission
The American Experience Foundation (AEF) views sustainability through a lens of People, Purpose, and Place, encompassing a wide range of actions and policies that affect the long-term health of our natural and built environment, the communities where we live and work, and the people that we serve.
-
As AEF has close ties to the hospitality and tourism industry, the organization follows and promotes the United Nations Tourism’s definition of sustainable tourism, “that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.”
-
AEF’s mission is to connect students and young people with professionals and executives that look like them, sound like them, and come from similar backgrounds and lived experiences. It will actively seek out a variety of partnerships to best build opportunities to make these connections; AEF promotes authentic representation through its partners, scholars, educators, and other stakeholders telling their own stories in their own words when possible.
-
AEF encourages community capacity building and engagement by hosting programs, events and outings in all four quadrants of the city; AEF prioritizes local suppliers and businesses for all purchases and the use of reusable and sustainable materials at events and programs. AEF prioritizes the use of public transportation for programs and events, most especially for staff; however, the organization recognizes public transportation use is not always a safe or practical decision for educators, scholars, or program participants without immediate access in their neighborhoods.
-
AEF works with its office partner Destination DC to monitor energy, water, and other amenity usage in the office and future reduction goals, including compliance goals with DC Department of Energy and Environment’s Building Energy Performance Standards.
