Through the YLAI Fellowship Program, U.S.-based Fellowship Placement Organizations (FPOs) collaborate with YLAI Fellows in short-term, mutually beneficial exchanges designed to support business growth and innovation. Since 2015, YLAI has collaborated with more than 1,900 U.S. businesses across 85 cities in 34 states.

The Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Fellowship Program is an essential commercial and public diplomacy tool for strategic partnership-building and economic investment across the United States and the Western Hemisphere. Two hundred and fifty YLAI Fellows are competitively selected from 37 countries to collaborate with small-to-medium sized U.S. businesses, accelerators, and startups in a professional exchange. By engaging with entrepreneurial leaders, local U.S. businesses gain access to new perspectives and expertise, unlocking unique insights and opportunities that drive innovation in their own companies and organizations, generating prosperity in domestic markets as well as the potential to expand in new markets.

Learning opportunities and knowledge exchange facilitated by YLAI

Two-time YLAI Fellowship Placement Organization (FPO) partner Robert Van Sickle has experienced measurable business and network growth through his participation in the YLAI Fellowship. Rob is the CEO and co-founder of Polkadog, a premium dog treat company founded in 2002 and based in Boston, Massachusetts.  

Rob participated as an FPO in summer 2023, hosting Andrés Urioste, a Bolivian entrepreneur in the pet manufacturing sector. Even from their initial conversations, Rob recognized exciting potential for collaboration and the foundation of a long-term professional relationship; all made possible through YLAI Fellowship introductions.  

During the fellowship, Andrés brought a wealth of skills in manufacturing and operational efficacy, which he applied to business challenges identified by Polkadog. By working closely with Polkadog’s Operations Manager, Andrés contributed to improvements and optimized processes for more efficient and lean operations. He also assisted in thoughtfully sourcing other potential vendors for raw materials and supplies and streamlining logistics management across different carriers.  Andrés’ expertise resulted in the reallocation of labor to develop additional products-- increasing the company’s revenue by $200,000.  

Rob’s experience reflects broader program outcomes: 87 percent of YLAI partners agree that hosting a fellow contributed to organizational growth or innovation.

Following this successful exchange, Rob participated in YLAI a second time, hosting Paraguayan entrepreneur and software engineer Rodrigo Parra Zacarías in 2024. With a focus on strengthening Polkadog’s technology strategy, Rodrigo supported advancements in digital operations, including solidifying a new technology reporting dashboard to track and perform reviews on the effectiveness of Polkadog’s digital efforts.  

Leveraging his technical proficiency, Rodrigo played an instrumental role in making this technology accessible, selecting an app for a digital platform which has since been implemented in the organization as a core part of its virtual protocols. Reinforcing the advantage of fresh insights being brought to the organization thanks to YLAI, Rob noted that, “It was refreshing to have an outside perspective with the experience to help solve the puzzle.”

Along with Rob, 92 percent of FPOs report a positive impact on their organization or professional development.

Exploring global markets and innovative new strategies through reciprocal exchanges

Building on their collaboration during the fellowship, Rob and Andrés pursued a YLAI Outbound Exchange Grant, which supports U.S. business partners in traveling to a fellow’s home country to advance a joint project. Since 2016, YLAI has supported more than 250 Outbound Exchanges, enhancing professional relationships formed during the pivotal experience in the United States. These grants allow pairs of FPOs and YLAI Alumni to support each other's ventures and share knowledge with additional entrepreneurs through training and workshops.

As a selected grantee in 2024, Rob was able to continue conversations initiated during the fellowship, exploring the design and production of pet treats for the U.S. market using Central and South American supply chains. The grant funded Rob’s travel to Bolivia, where Andrés led site visits to observe production and packaging facilities, including meat, fish, and grain suppliers. These visits enabled Rob to establish new sourcing connections and assess the feasibility of new manufacturing partnerships.  

Rob noted YLAI’s role in building this partnership, as the grant application took into account his priorities, along with the priorities and value for both Robert and Andrés. As a symbiotic collaboration, the YLAI Outbound Exchange illustrates how YLAI supports U.S. businesses in testing new markets and strategies through trusted, cross-border partnerships.

Building sustainable networks adding value to U.S. businesses

Rob and his team continued to leverage their participation in the YLAI Program well beyond the formal exchange period, applying the insights and collaborations developed through their work with Andrés and Rodrigo. The knowledge they brought enabled Polkadog to reassess its operations, manufacturing processes, and use of technology, while also opening internal discussions around new product partnerships with global potential.

“YLAI confirmed that although the world is big, it is also a small place, [and] there is space to turn the connections we’ve built into real opportunities by creating something truly unique.” – Robert Van Sickle, CEO and co-founder of Polkadog Bakery.  

Together, these outcomes highlight how the YLAI Fellowship positively impacts American business. Through access to the right people, U.S. partners can transform short-term exchanges into sustained innovation, global engagement, and long-term business growth.

The YLAI Fellowship Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by IREX.  

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) designs and implements educational, professional, and cultural exchange and other programs that create and sustain the mutual understanding with other countries necessary to advancing United States foreign policy goals. ECA programs cultivate people-to-people ties among current and future global leaders that build enduring networks and personal relationships and promote U.S. national security and values.