Seven years ago, the Texas International Education Consortium (TIEC) looked very different than today. We were an organization in need of renewed purpose and reinvigorated commitments from the universities across Texas that made up our membership. TIEC’s board wisely chose a change maker in the incoming president and CEO, Robin Lerner. She came to Texas ready to leverage years as a diplomat, policy-maker, and transformational leader. Her global connections and perspectives made her the right person to reshape an international education nonprofit with enormous untapped potential.
In the years since, Robin’s unrelenting vision and confidence have molded TIEC into what we are today: a global membership organization serving over 1 million students and 100,000 faculty and staff at TIEC's Texas and affiliate members. Her vision to vastly grow our membership to build an accessible network for all who seek to build partnerships with Texas has been welcomed by our partners around the world. Serving our member institutions and finding relevant and meaningful programs for them is what drives our work; it is the vibrant common thread that runs through everything we do.
Reshaping TIEC: From Membership to Giving Platforms
At the height of the pandemic — one of the most challenging seasons in memory for all of us in international education — she created virtual spaces for our international education colleagues to talk through the challenges they were facing and lean on each other. While so many of our friends around the world struggled to serve their students in a virtual world, TIEC immediately created continuity of education modules for educators globally and put forward virtual exchange modules and partnership opportunities for Texas educators. During that time, she launched a new membership model for TIEC, reinvigorating buy-in within our Texas institutions and introducing new ways for educators worldwide to join our consortium. Membership in TIEC has grown more than 100% during her tenure and now spreads across six continents.
Her vision created a nimble organization with programmatic flexibility through a reorganized staff and modernized structure. Simultaneously, she debuted a strong value proposition for members that centered on the power of collaboration to promote Texas, facilitate partnership development, and collectively solve global challenges. The result was TIEC’s growth across all fronts. Today, we are proud to run programs that tackle big issues like global workforce development, an equitable transition to renewable energy, and increasing access to quality education in some of the most challenging environments worldwide — aligning our work with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. TIEC has grown as a trusted program partner of both the U.S. government and individual clients who have hired TIEC to support their institutional goals.
Robin’s focus on managing TIEC’s investments and finances was instrumental in seeing our strategic assets increase by some 65% during her tenure. With that evolution, Robin and our governing board brought forward a special opportunity to internationalize Texas campuses through the TIEC Fellowship for Afghan Evacuees in 2020 and 2021. The board then supported Robin’s vision to turn that one-time program into an enduring fund through the creation of the Texas International Education Fund. Robin’s goal was to cement the role of TIEC as a resource to educators across our state and abroad working to bring global perspectives into our classrooms. With the launch of the Fund, we can now seed innovative programs and help launch new initiatives with direct support to faculty and international offices across our consortium.
Wishing Robin farewell as she moves on to her next challenge feels bittersweet. Her leadership saw TIEC through a time when the landscape of international education in Texas and beyond called for a new way forward. Without hesitation, she bet all her cards on TIEC. Through determination, she forged a direction for TIEC and took us there. She brought new people and connections to the organization that made us more attuned to what Texas offers the world and ways we could make a lasting impact on our students and our shared future as global citizens. Her imprint on TIEC won’t soon fade and we are grateful.
The Next Chapter
As Robin’s time with TIEC ends this August, a national search for our next president and CEO is already underway. TIEC is a unique model of state-level collaboration in internationalization. Seeking international opportunities collectively, sharing best practices, openly communicating challenges — all create stronger institutional efforts. This benefits our students and faculty and, ultimately, our world. Our impact through that model continues to grow as a testament to both Robin’s lasting legacy and a reason to be excited for this next chapter of TIEC. We encourage our friends and partners worldwide to share the news and opportunity to see what we can build together next.
In the coming months, Dr. William Smith, TIEC’s Senior Director for Global Engagement, will serve as TIEC’s interim officer in charge. His team will continue to be the main contact for membership, TIEF, and partnership opportunities, with Steven Kroman, Director of Programs, and his team remaining the interface on global programs. Dr. Heather Farmakis, TIEC’s Chief Operations Officer and Program Director, along with Susan Katz, will shepherd communications for the executive office.
Stay in touch directly with Robin J. Lerner, J.D. through LinkedIn.
