Global Leadership Adventures
Global Leadership Adventures Headquarters, 3511 Camino Del Rio S, Suite 201, San Diego, CA 92108
About
Global Leadership Adventures offers travel programs and internships where teens take part in community service, service learning, hands-on learning, cultural immersion activities, and adventure excursions. Participants may zipline through jungle canopies, snorkel among coral reefs, trek to Machu Picchu, and join interactive workshops, guided exploration, role play, and style exploration. Some programs include community service projects that benefit local communities or habitats in need, along with fieldwork, professional development, and independent study.
• Ages: 11–18 years old
• Schedule: Travel internships for high school students run 21 days; travel programs for high school students run 7–21 days; travel programs for middle school students run 10 days
Global Leadership Adventures has been operating summer programs for teens for over 21 years. Its mission is “to inspire the next generation to realize their potential to transform the world and their unique role in it.” Programs are offered in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, and include travel internships that pair meaningful travel with real-world career path discovery, with completion of at least 60 hours of fieldwork, service learning, professional development and independent study in internships. High school travel programs include community service, cultural immersion activities and adventure excursions while students discover their leadership style, and middle school travel programs are for younger aspiring student travelers under the guidance of experienced mentors.
Students serve the community through community-led volunteer efforts, and service projects are developed in collaboration with local partners to address real community priorities and create lasting impact, in communities that welcome GLA as guests and whose leadership, cultures and customs are followed and honored. Global Leadership Adventures embraces nine core values inspired by its roots with the African Leadership Academy, welcomes teens and young leaders from every background, and brings together people with different identities and beliefs. Students and staff co-create Community Agreements that set shared expectations for kindness, responsibility and communication.
Global Leadership Adventures is a certified B Corporation accredited for its social, environmental and governance impact, has been recognized with a win in the category of Extraordinary Experience at the Global Youth Travel Awards, has been featured in the New York Times, and its founder Fred Swaniker was honored as a pioneer by Time. The leadership team includes founder Fred Swaniker, Executive Director Jessica Rose Miller, and Director of Admissions Korissa Zanrosso. One alumni, Ruthie from East Tennessee, described a service trip in Peru as an experience that affects her daily and makes her a more passionate, daring person.
Last updated April 8, 2026.
• Ages: 11–18 years old
• Schedule: Travel internships for high school students run 21 days; travel programs for high school students run 7–21 days; travel programs for middle school students run 10 days
Global Leadership Adventures has been operating summer programs for teens for over 21 years. Its mission is “to inspire the next generation to realize their potential to transform the world and their unique role in it.” Programs are offered in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, and include travel internships that pair meaningful travel with real-world career path discovery, with completion of at least 60 hours of fieldwork, service learning, professional development and independent study in internships. High school travel programs include community service, cultural immersion activities and adventure excursions while students discover their leadership style, and middle school travel programs are for younger aspiring student travelers under the guidance of experienced mentors.
Students serve the community through community-led volunteer efforts, and service projects are developed in collaboration with local partners to address real community priorities and create lasting impact, in communities that welcome GLA as guests and whose leadership, cultures and customs are followed and honored. Global Leadership Adventures embraces nine core values inspired by its roots with the African Leadership Academy, welcomes teens and young leaders from every background, and brings together people with different identities and beliefs. Students and staff co-create Community Agreements that set shared expectations for kindness, responsibility and communication.
Global Leadership Adventures is a certified B Corporation accredited for its social, environmental and governance impact, has been recognized with a win in the category of Extraordinary Experience at the Global Youth Travel Awards, has been featured in the New York Times, and its founder Fred Swaniker was honored as a pioneer by Time. The leadership team includes founder Fred Swaniker, Executive Director Jessica Rose Miller, and Director of Admissions Korissa Zanrosso. One alumni, Ruthie from East Tennessee, described a service trip in Peru as an experience that affects her daily and makes her a more passionate, daring person.
Last updated April 8, 2026.
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