Macon Barrow, Branch Chief of the Study of the U.S. Branch at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA)

Macon Barrow is the Branch Chief of the Study of the U.S. Branch at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and has worked in the Branch for eight years.  In this role, Macon oversees three major programs including the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, the Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSI) for Students, Scholars, and Secondary Educators, and the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI).  These three programs bring more than 1500 exchange visitors to the United States for short term academic exchange programs each year.  Prior to joining ECA, Macon was a Program Officer at the Institute of International Education (IIE) in New York where she worked closely with Fulbright students pursuing graduate studies in the United States.  Earlier in her career, she taught second grade at an International Baccalaureate school in Monterrey, Mexico.  Macon earned a master’s degree in International Education from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and French from the University of Virginia.  She also holds certificates in immigration law, non-profit accounting and government reporting, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL).