THE FOUNDERS
Calvin Hayes
Calvin is a U.S. Diplomat who has traveled to more than 40 countries in the last decade. With experience ranging from East Africa to South Asia to Latin America and the Middle East, Calvin has worked relentlessly to promote and defend universal human rights, bolster foreign investment to the U.S. economy and build education and cultural linkages between America and the international community. Whether it be in facilitating a hip-hop jam session between an American and a Bangladeshi, organizing a 5K race to build teamwork among refugees in Iraq, or just simply encouraging Afro-Colombians to attend HBCUs, Calvin’s true passion is in connecting cultures and their people through international exchange by telling one shared story at a time. Calvin has studied Spanish, Bengali and will begin Arabic language training in the fall of 2020. He received his bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Florida A&M University and his master’s degree in Public Diplomacy from American University. He is the co-author of “Chasing the Artificial Rainbow- A Guide to Student Success.” Calvin is married to Kindall “Sunshine” Hayes, his college sweetheart, who he met while exchanging ideas on travel and study abroad as university students living on a meal plan and a prayer. Now they’ve seen the world together, and want to open the door for the next generation of students to do the same. He lives by the mantra: “In a decisive moment you can either define the moment or let the moment define you. Define every single moment of life.”
Kindall "Sunshine" Hayes
Kindall “Sunshine” Hayes is a strong advocate for international experiences and global citizenship. As a Consular Professional for the U.S. Department of State, Kindall has worked on immigration and citizenship issues in Bangladesh, Djibouti, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Egypt. Her most recent long-term assignment was in Bogota, Colombia, where she managed public outreach for the Consular Section and the prison portfolio assisting Americans incarcerated abroad. Kindall is a former presidential appointee to the Obama Administration, where she served in the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Prior to receiving her appointment, Kindall was a fellow in the House of Representatives and on the House Committee of Homeland Security. A graduate of Florida A&M University (FAMU), Kindall recruited scholars and athletes to the university via the role of Miss FAMU. Kindall considers herself a lifelong learner and an audiobook aficionado. She studied Arabic at Middlebury’s summer institute in California and Spanish at the Foreign Service Institute in Virginia. She is married to U.S. Diplomat Calvin Hayes. She lives by the mantra, “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”