America Abroad Media (AAM) is an international media organization that produces documentaries, educational programming, and dramatic programming promoting the values of critical thinking, women’s empowerment, and pluralism for international audiences. ¹

AAM maintains partnerships with media personalities, television hosts, and channels in the Middle East to reach an audience of more than 100 million. ²

Activities

America Abroad Media produces townhall-style programming to connect American and foreign audiences to discuss international issues. AAM aims to provide a platform for people from different countries to engage and learn from each other through a dialogue-based format. Past townhalls have included discussion of the threat of violent extremism with audiences in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the creation of new political parties with audiences in different parts of Tunisia, and the roots of terrorism in South Asia with audiences in Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan. ³

America Abroad Media produced America Abroad, a long-form documentary radio program, which ran from 2003-2018 and was distributed by Public Radio International. The program debuted at the beginning of the war in Iraq in 2003. Each episode featured discussion of one major issue in international affairs and U.S. foreign policy. ⁴

America Abroad Media’s annual Awards Dinner was established in 2013 to recognize individuals and organizations that use the media as a means to shape the views of citizens regarding current social and public policy issues. ⁵

Funding

America Abroad Media is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. AAM discloses some of its supporters on its website, including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, ExxonMobil, and the U.S. Department of State. ⁶

Board of Directors

Jane Aiken is dean of the School of Law at Wake Forest University and chair of the University Task Force on Gender Equity at Georgetown University. Aiken is a member of the American Law Institute and the American Bar Foundation. ⁷

Chip Andreae is the co-chair of Partnership for a Secure America. ⁸

Markos Kounalakis sits on the strategic advisory board of the left-wing Washington Monthly, is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, and sits on the board of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy. ⁹

Aaron Lobel is the founder and president of America Abroad Media, the founder and executive producer of America Abroad, and the chair and CEO of Black Birch Entertainment. Lobel is a former fellow at the Brookings Institution, the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University, and Harvard University’s Institute of Politics. Lobel sits on the advisory board of the Edward R. Murrow Center for a Digital World at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the advisory council of the United States Institute of Peace. ¹⁰

James Wertsch is the founding director of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy at Washington University. Wertsch is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. ¹¹

Enders Wimbush is the founder of the Society for Central Asian Studies at Oxford University, where he formerly served as director. Wimbush formerly worked as senior vice president at the Hudson Institute, senior director of foreign policy and civil society at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and director of Radio Liberty. Wimbush formerly sat on the board of governors of United States Broadcasting. ¹²

1. “Aaron Lobel.” America Abroad Media. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.americaabroadmedia.org/board-of-director/aaron-lobel.
2. “Aaron Lobel.” America Abroad Media. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.americaabroadmedia.org/board-of-director/aaron-lobel.
3. “Documentaries and Town Halls.” America Abroad Media. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://www.americaabroadmedia.org/events-all.
4. “Aaron Lobel.” America Abroad Media. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.americaabroadmedia.org/board-of-director/aaron-lobel.
5. “Aaron Lobel.” America Abroad Media. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.americaabroadmedia.org/board-of-director/aaron-lobel.
6. “Supporters.” America Abroad Media. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://www.americaabroadmedia.org/supporters.
7. “Jane Aiken.” America Abroad Media. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.americaabroadmedia.org/board-of-director/jane-aiken.
8. “Chip Andreae.” America Abroad Media. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.americaabroadmedia.org/board-of-director/chip-andreae.
9. “Markos Kounalakis.” America Abroad Media. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.americaabroadmedia.org/board-of-director/markos-kounalakis.
10. “Aaron Lobel.” America Abroad Media. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.americaabroadmedia.org/board-of-director/aaron-lobel.
11. “James Wertsch.” America Abroad Media. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.americaabroadmedia.org/board-of-director/james-wertsch.
12. “Enders Wimbush.” America Abroad Media. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.americaabroadmedia.org/board-of-director/enders-wimbush.