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A blog that looks behind the scenes at how we bring our mission to life, every day

Rob Rigo ‹ We are EF Blog | Careers

When Leslie moved from New York to Massachusetts in 2017, she realized she needed a change.   
  
Having worked in retail, she knew she loved building teams and working with people. So, when she came across a role online for the Benefits team at <a href="https://www.ef.com">EF Education First</a> in Boston – she went for it.  
 “I hadn’t heard of EF before,” she admitted. “But hearing the Benefits team describe their love for the company during my interview made me want to land the job more than I thought I could even want a job.”  
  
Needless to say, she nailed it.   
  
Excited for the next step in her life and career, Leslie soon immersed herself into the world of EF.    
 “The first month was a little nerve wracking,” she said. “It’s that mentality at EF. You just have to go after your tasks and advocate for yourself. That entrepreneurial spirit is such a huge part of who we are, and it took me some time to adjust to it.” 
<img alt="Leslie Anselme" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-16654" height="379" sizes="(max-width: 568px) 100vw, 568px" src="https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/LeslieAtrium.png" srcset="https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/LeslieAtrium.png 568w, https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/LeslieAtrium-300x200.png 300w" width="568"> 
 Soon she took on huge projects like EF’s employee commuter program and on-boarding new hires from across the country and the world.   
  
“The best part of my job is the people,” she said. “I love having a role that allows me to interact with new hires, current employees and product heads. I also get to learn so much on the job. Employees sometimes come to us with unique issues, and it’s our job to help them – whether we know how to in the moment or not.”  
  
With some experience under her belt and newly gained confidence, Leslie was inspired to grow her network within EF. “I learned early on that people won’t say no to you,” she said. “You can reach out to a VP or a product President and ask them to get coffee, and they’ll always say yes. It may not be that week or that month, but they’ll always make the time for you.”  
  
Leslie grew exponentially as she fostered a sense of community throughout EF’s North American Headquarters. So when she soon had a one on one with her manager, Leslie was open when asked how she’d been liking EF so far.  
  
“I hesitated a little,” she said. “But then I told him that I didn’t always feel comfortable at such a homogeneous office. He agreed with me, and asked what I thought we could do about it. That conversation charged me up and ignited my passion for diversity and inclusion at EF.” 
 Galvanized and ready to make an impact, Leslie began casually grabbing coffee with other black EF employees on a bi-weekly basis in efforts to create space for others to connect, network and feel empowered.   
 “It was a safe space for all of us that we needed here. I would recruit new people as time went on and that later morphed into the Black History Month committee. I led a team that put together bias workshops, a step class and other events. I wanted to give us a platform to make our voices heard and our experiences visible.”  
  
Leslie also became captain of Black at EF, an affinity group for EF staff  whose goal is to share African Diaspora culture with employees through internal events and programming.   
  
“It’s all about visibility,” she said. “It’s all about making people feel like they belong here.” 

<img alt="Leslie Anselme" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-16653" height="379" sizes="(max-width: 568px) 100vw, 568px" src="https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/LeslieWorkshop.png" srcset="https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/LeslieWorkshop.png 568w, https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/LeslieWorkshop-300x200.png 300w" width="568"> 
  
Today, Leslie works as a People and Data Specialist where she does everything from in-depth analytics reporting and data requests to completely revamping EF’s internal human resources portal.   
She also continues to lead weekly on-boarding sessions where she informs and answers questions from new hires about their benefits along with being one of the first friendly faces new staff meet when they begin their own EF journey.   
“Working at EF has helped me to understand the power that I have,” she said. “I work for a company that has been thriving for 55 years, but my ideas and my input still matter. This may not be my company, but I am still working to leave my mark here.”

“It’s all about making people feel like they belong here.” Meet Leslie, a People and Data Specialist with a passion for connecting people and fostering communities. This is her EF Journey.

“It’s all about making people feel like they belong here.” Meet Leslie ?a People and Data Specialist with a passion for connecting people and fostering communities. This is her EF journey

Fostering community: Leslie’s EF journey  - We are EF

Fostering community: Leslie’s EF journey  ‹ We are EF

Fostering community: Leslie’s EF journey

Leslie ef journey

“School might be closed…but we’re still here!”
That’s the message EF teachers in China sent to their students earlier this year.
When both students and teachers had to stay home due to COVID-19, <a href="https://www.ef.com/wwen/">EF Education First</a> staff worldwide sprang into action and brought the classroom to them.
Over the course of a three-week period, EF completely rebuilt class schedules and moved programs from more than 300 brick-and-mortar schools online, creating immersive group-learning experiences for 200,000 students and 20,000 staff on a newly designed cloud-based platform. The digital shift even caught the attention of <a href="https://www.cnnmoney.ch/shows/big-picture/videos/schools-out-china-education-still-comes-first">CNN</a>.
“We know that students want to get back into their classrooms and they want to be engaged,” said Jacob Torén, CEO of EF China, during an interview with the network. “In this special time we are obsessed with quality, both in our teaching and in our tech platform. Our mindset has to be: we can’t leave any student behind, we have to care for their individual needs and ensure they have a stellar experience regardless of how they access us.”
In a global collaborative effort, staff from all areas of the business made sure students had the tools they needed to continue their learning experience from home. Teachers have the same students they did before the digital pivot and class sizes are still small with a maximum of six students per class.
Since mid-January, EF has continued to add up to 10,000 students per day to online classes in an effort to ensure all students can benefit from these digital classrooms.
“[My students] have all shown a positive attitude to their online group lessons,” EF teacher Sophie Newell told the <a href="https://www.shine.cn/news/metro/2003033289/">Shanghai Daily</a>. “Many of them have also been sending us regular videos of them practicing at home.”
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JWtUrd8p_U4" width="560"></iframe>
EF created brand new online resources for students and teachers such as free daily live streams of English lessons, guides for teachers with tips for leading lessons and information for parents on how they can best support their children’s at-home learning.
EF also provided existing platforms for free, such as Grammar Pro, a personalized, grammar-focused course for kids in grades 3 through 12, the EF Nametale book series for kids 3 to 9 years old, and EF Phonics, daily 10-minute drills for kids 3 to 8 years old.
For adults, EF English Centers provided 2,000 hours of free language learning content online, and the EF Hello app was officially launched in China allowing users to practice conversational English through AI technology.
“It’s been a learning…even if you take all your colleagues…and everyone is spread out across the country and working from home, it’s possible to keep the collaboration going and it’s possible to operate at full speed,” said Jacob. “It’s a great experience to see it.”

When students and teachers in China had to stay home due to COVID-19, EF Education First brought the classroom to them.

EF builds a classroom in the cloud for students in China - We are EF

EF builds a classroom in the cloud for students in China ‹ We are EF

EF builds a classroom in the cloud for students in China

Ef builds a classroom in the cloud for students in china

For 70 years <a href="https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Animal Protection</a> has worked to create a better world for animals, improving the relationship that people have with wildlife and the approach we all take when we choose to engage with animals.
From rescuing 10,000 animals from floodwaters in Suriname in 1964, to ending bear dancing across India in 2012, to becoming the only animal welfare organization to regularly address the United Nations, World Animal Protection has made an impact in nearly every part of the globe.
So, when we wanted to increase our existing global animal welfare efforts at <a href="https://ef.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">EF Education First</a>, we knew we could count on World Animal Protection to collaborate with.
“We researched many organizations,” said Kerryann, Vice President of <a href="https://www.eftours.com/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=EFBrand&utm_content=world_animal_protection" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">EF Educational Tours</a>. “When we met with World Animal Protection, we found there were a lot of synergies between our organizations. Like EF they have been operating for over 50 years and have a worldwide network of offices in many of the same places that we do. In addition, they believe change comes through education, which ties in nicely with our mission of opening the world through education.”
<img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-16957 size-full" height="403" sizes="(max-width: 566px) 100vw, 566px" src="https://a.storyblok.com/f/204637/566x403/5639e5a104/wap-banner-v3.jpg" srcset="https://a.storyblok.com/f/204637/566x403/5639e5a104/wap-banner-v3.jpg" width="566">
Kerryann talking to EF staff in Boston about World Animal Protection
In December of 2018, EF became the first international education company to collaborate with World Animal Protection to ensure animal welfare best practices in all of our programs and avoid attractions that don’t meet animal welfare standards.
Since then, EF has taken a stance and stopped offering activities like horse carriage rides, shows that involve animals and excursions that involve unnatural interactions with wild animals (such as riding, feeding or swimming). We also plan to eliminate trips to aquariums by 2021.
“You guys embraced animal welfare as a company,” said Julie, World Animal Protection’s Wildlife Campaign Manager.
Still, the demand for animal-related tourism continues.
“We’ve focused on what we can add to our experiences and what kind of educational opportunities we can provide,” Kerryann said. “We’re bringing ethical sanctuaries onboard and partnering with NGO’s who can bring a different lens to animal welfare and conservation around the world.”
New opportunities now exist for customers, like tours in Thailand where students complete service-learning projects at elephant sanctuaries handpicked by World Animal Protection and EF Educational Tours.
<h2><img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-16961 size-full" height="406" sizes="(max-width: 567px) 100vw, 567px" src="https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/blog2-resized.jpg" srcset="https://a.storyblok.com/f/204637/567x406/1eaefad264/blog2-resized.jpg 300w" width="567"></h2>
World Animal Protection is also doing their part to educate EF staff about animal welfare best practices.
Over the past few months representatives from World Animal Protection have conducted refresher trainings for staff in our US and China offices as a follow up to the worldwide trainings that were hosted for EF staff when the collaboration was announced. Trainings focused on the importance of animal welfare, common misconceptions, simple ways individuals can make an impact on global animal welfare and the guidelines that EF has put in place for every program.
During the recent trainings, Julie highlighted that doing your research before you travel and that leaving reviews, positive or negative, of excursions featuring wildlife is one of the easiest ways to influence how people travel.
“Because of social media, kids know a lot more than adults do nowadays,” said Alesia, World Animal Protection’s U.S. Executive Director. “Get the knowledge to evaluate what you see, because you don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes.”
Travel-sized excursion checklists developed by World Animal Protection were also given to EF staff along with an outline on how to identify if attractions adhere to animal welfare guidelines.
“The enthusiasm from staff has been awesome and it’s really exciting that we have taken such a stance,” Kerryann said.
As EF continues to collaborate with World Animal Protection, we look forward to developing educational initiatives, preparing travelers on best practices before they go on tour, and being a resource to help answer any questions along the way.
“When in doubt,” Julie said, “If you can ride, hug or have a selfie with a wild animal, don’t go!”

When we wanted to increase our existing global animal welfare efforts at EF Education First, we knew we could collaborate with World Animal Protection.

A commitment to responsible tourism: EF Education First and World Animal Protection - We are EF

A commitment to responsible tourism: EF Education First and World Animal Protection ‹ We are EF

A commitment to responsible tourism: EF Education First and World Animal Protection

A commitment to animal welfare

At <a href="https://www.ef.com/wwen/">EF Education First</a> we explored, innovated, inspired and opened the world through education in 2019.
EFers across the globe helped people explore the world, learn a new language, try something new and make memories that will last a lifetime.
As we usher in 2020, we’re reflecting on a handful of EF’s 2019 highlights. Relive some of our favorite moments of the year below and share your own #2019EFmoment with us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ef/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a>.
<h3 class="cn-post-heading__title">Popping up (in pink!) across the US capital for Hello DC</h3>
Seventy-two EF Ambassadors from more than 30 countries flew to Washington, D.C. this past July where they popped up all week to greet fellow travelers, share their EF experiences and rep pink throughout the nation’s capital. Together, these international ambassadors speak 16 languages and have had a wide range of EF experiences, from learning a language at one of EF’s <a href="https://www.ef.edu/ils/">International Language Campuses</a>, to becoming part of an American host family with <a href="https://www.efexchangeyear.org/?utm_source=EFbrand&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=_2019_ef_moments">EF High School Exchange Year</a>, going on an EF trip with their school through <a href="https://www.efexploreamerica.com/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=EFBrand&utm_content=2019_ef_moments">EF Explore America</a> or <a href="https://www.eftours.com/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=EFBrand&utm_content=2019_ef_moments">EF Educational Tours</a> and more. But they all have one thing in common—a passion for exploring the world.

<h3 class="cn-post-heading__title">Teaming up with the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi</h3>
This year we <a href="https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/we-are-ef/special-olympics-world-games-partnership/">teamed up</a> with the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi as an official supplier and the exclusive training provider for nearly 20,000 volunteers to help learn English. This year was the first time the games were held in the Middle East with an estimated 7,500 athletes and 3,000 coaches from over 190 nations making it the world’s largest humanitarian and multisport event in 2019.

<h3 class="cn-post-heading__title">Launching our largest EF English Proficiency Index (EPI)</h3>
More people than ever are learning English and this year, with data collected from 2.3 million participants globally, we launched the 9th edition of the EF English Proficiency Index (EPI). Our biggest report to date, 100 countries were ranked based on their English proficiency. Read the full report <a href="https://www.ef.edu/epi/">here</a>.

<h3 class="cn-post-heading__title">Opening a new Zurich headquarters in the former Swiss Stock Exchange Building</h3>
EF Education First became the new stewards of Zurich’s former Swiss Stock Exchange building located at Selnaustrasse 30 following its acquisition of the facility in late 2015. EF then set out to renovate the space opening the doors of the 35,000-square-meter <a href="https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/we-are-ef/ef-opens-new-zurich-headquarters/">EF Zurich office</a> complex earlier this year. The building is surrounded on three sides by the Sihl River, the Schanzengraben Canal and the City of Zurich public pool, pulling water from the Canal to heat the building in the winter and cool it during the summer.


<h3 class="cn-post-heading__title">Ranking #1 on The Boston Globe’s Top Places to Work</h3>
In November EF landed the <a href="https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/we-are-ef/things-that-make-ef-a-top-place-to-work/">#1 spot</a> on The Boston Globe’s 2019 Top Places to Work. Our secret sauce? Celebrating EFers for who they are, embracing unabashed positive vibes and encouraging others to leave their comfort zones through culturally immersive experiences.


<h3 class="cn-post-heading__title">Celebrating 10 Years of innovation with the Hult Prize</h3>
In partnership with the United Nations, the Hult Prize is the world’s largest student competition and movement for social good. Student teams are challenged to solve a pressing social issue by developing a sustainable social enterprise. The winning team is awarded 1M USD by the Hult family to turn their concepts into reality. Over the last 10 years students have created high impact solutions to global issues such as early childhood education, affordable energy, crowded urban space and global youth unemployment.


<h3>Breaking ground for EF Academy in Pasadena</h3>
<a href="https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/we-are-ef/ef-properties-update/">In September</a> EF staff went to California to break ground on EF’s first West Coast boarding school. The new EF Academy is scheduled to open in 2020 and will be the first major boarding school campus to open in the Los Angeles region in nearly 100 years.


<h3 class="cn-post-heading__title">Inspiring great minds at Global Leadership Summits</h3>
<a href="https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/we-are-ef/ef-global-leadership-summit-2019/">This past summer</a>, future leaders from across the U.S. and Europe came together at EF’s Global Leadership Summits. In North America and Switzerland, students heard from storytellers who encouraged them to really listen, to raise their voices for what they believe in, and to open their minds to the beliefs of others. Every EF Summit empowers students, educators and world-renowned thought leaders to explore solutions to some of the most pressing global challenges. The 2019 events were no different, with attendees tackling a timely topic: the power of communication.

<h3>Cheering on EF Pro Cycling in the Tour de France</h3>
Eight fearless EF Pro Cycling riders took on the biggest race the sport has to offer this July with 50,000+ pink-clad EF co-workers behind them at every pedal stroke, ready to embrace every effort and celebrate every accomplishment – all in it together.

<h3 class="cn-post-heading__title">Collaborating with World Animal Protection to promote animal welfare</h3>
With the best interests of our furry (and fuzzy, and slimy and scaly) friends in mind, EF collaborated with the nonprofit organization World Animal Protection to implement animal welfare guidelines throughout all our travel programs worldwide. Truly experiencing a destination should not mean harming the animals that call it home, and EF is relentlessly committed to respecting and promoting animal welfare as we help our travelers experience the world.

Take a look at a handful of EF's 2019 highlights as we explored, innovated, inspired and opened the world through education. We can't wait to do it all again in 2020.

Rob Rigo

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