From left to right:  Mary Beauregard - Global LT Intercultural Consultant; Ekaterina Lebedeva – Deputy Director of External Relations St. Petersburg Chamber, Russia; Patricia Kafoe – Business/Information Officer Sierra Leone; and Lisette Poletes, Global LT CEO.

Troy, MI. – Global LT, through its membership in the Troy Chamber of Commerce, hosted two young professionals from Sierra Leone and Russia, participating in the ChamberL.I.N.K.S. (Leaders, Innovators, and Knowledge Sharing) program. This program provides talented young professionals, from chambers of commerce and business associations around the globe, opportunities to gain valuable leadership skills in the United States. Global LT, headquartered in Troy, has provided cultural training, language training, destination services and translation services to international assignees since 1979.

The interns, Ms. Patricia Kafoe and Ms. Ekaterina Lebedeva, who represent chambers in Sierra Leone and St. Petersburg, Russia respectively, are among six interns who will visit five different chambers across the United States during the months of November and December. The international interns will shadow senior staff members of their host chambers to gain experience in membership outreach, legislative advocacy, communications planning and tools, and financial management. Participants will also take part in their host chambers’ leadership programs and attend outreach events with chamber members in their local communities. During their 2-day visit with Global LT, Kafoe and Lebedeva participated in an Area Orientation/Tour of the Detroit metro area, and received cultural training, focused on living and conducting business in the United States – services Global LT offers to global corporations.

John D. Sullivan, executive director of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) said of the ChamberL.I.N.K.S. program, “This unique program gives talented young leaders from chambers of commerce around the world access to best practices and innovative services provided by chambers of commerce in the United States. CIPE continues to track the progress of the first participants as they utilize key concepts learned during their time in the United States, applying them to their own work and business environment.”

The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) strengthens democracy around the globe through private enterprise and market-oriented reform. CIPE is one of the four core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy. Since 1983, CIPE has worked with business leaders, policymakers, and journalists to build the civic institutions vital to a democratic society. CIPE’s key program areas include anti-corruption, advocacy, business associations, corporate governance, democratic governance, access to information, the informal sector and property rights, and women and youth.

About Global LT

Global LT has been serving companies around the world since 1979. Located in Troy, Michigan, with representatives in Boston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, London, and Shanghai, Global LT provides Language Training, Cultural Training, Translation Solutions, and Expatriate Destination Services. Global LT is a certified member of the Michigan Minority Business Development Council (MMBDC) and is nationally certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise Council – Great Lakes, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). Global LT holds memberships in a variety of associations and organizations, including The Association of Language Companies (ALCUS), American Translator Association (ATA), The Michigan Translators/Interpreters Network (MiTiN), ERC, and The European Relocation Association (EuRA). Visit Global LT at www.Global-LT.com for more information, or call 888.645.5881.