About Us
A Word From Our Director....Why I Started The Interchange Institute
In 1988 I moved from Boston to London with my two-year-old daughter and my accompanying spouse. At the time I was a full-time university professor. I was off to be the academic advisor for our study abroad program for a year while my husband wrote a book. It had promised to be a plum assignment but a series of interlinked problems made it a bit of a lemon. Happily, our short sojourn turned into a career-changing adventure for me, for when I came back, I found I wanted to do something different, something important with my intercultural experience.
I learned many things that year:
- Living in a new culture is easier if you understand its values and history. I was stunned by how different the US and UK cultures were. But after all, 400 years of separate history is a lot of years of separate history. Still, I thought, if this cultural transition was so hard for me, how do people from much more different cultures possibly manage?
- People from two cultures will work together more easily if both recognize the differences and try to learn from each other. All that year, I was scrambling to understand the cultural differences I was feeling. The most helpful exchanges came from British colleagues who were also interested in the ways our cultures had diverted.
- You can do a much better job living in a new country if your spouse is happy. I had all sorts of problems to deal with in my job in London, but my husband was having a ball. He kept our house going. He took our daughter to every London park. And he was a valuable sounding board for me.
I founded The Interchange Institute in 1997, with the goal of using my psychological and research expertise to increase knowledge about intercultural transitions, and then turning that knowledge into practical products for real people. You'll see the fruits of my London experience throughout our work - in our research on accompanying spouses, in our materials about values and history for newcomers to the United States, and, perhaps most importantly, in our various attempts to educate both newcomers and hosts about the challenges this global world poses.
I have loved this work since I began it. But since September 11,
2001, I have felt its urgency. The work of smoothing intercultural
transitions has never been so critical. The work of helping others
understand us and of coming to understand others is our mission.
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Anne P. Copeland, Ph.D. |
Dr. Copeland is also Adjunct Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at Boston University. From 1979 to 1997 she was Associate Professor where she conducted research and research supervision in psychological aspects of family process assessment, ethnicity, cultural influences, immigration, development, developmental disabilities and affective development.
She has written several books on topics of families and transition (Studying Families, Sage 1991, and Separating Together, 1997), has completed extensive intercultural research pertaining to family and adjustment and has authored over 60 research articles, chapters, and professional presentations.
Dr. Copeland developed and conducts International Writers' Club meetings for international newcomers in her community; essays from these Clubs about cultural differences are published in school newsletters, enhancing intercultural understanding throughout the school community.
In 1994, Dr. Copeland began her role as editor/publisher of the Newcomer's Almanac, a newsletter for international newcomers to the United States, used by individuals and by corporations bringing foreign nationals into the U.S. to work.
Since 1995, Dr. Copeland has directed the "Many Women Many Voices" study of expatriate accompanying spouses, a multinational in-depth analysis of the social, familial, and personal aspects of moving to a new country. This study was competed in the fall of 2001 and a copy of the final report is now available. She herself relocated with her family to work in London in 1988, where she was the academic advisor for Boston University's British Programs.
Dr. Copeland is a licensed psychologist with expertise in families in cultural transition, child development, and clinical psychology. Among the many services and tools she provides to businesses is cross-cultural training for individuals and families moving to and from the United States. She currently lives with her husband and two daughters in Brookline, MA.
Among Her Other Research Activities:
- Member of Peer Review Panel for US National Institute of Mental Health Small Grants Program (1983-88)
- Consulting Editor, Psychological Assessment (1994-1998)
- Reviewer for Journal of Marriage and the Family, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Child Development, Journal of Pediatric Psychology, and other child development and abnormal psychology journals
- Advisor to 4-8 doctoral dissertations annually, 1977-present
- Head, Doctoral Program on Human Development in Context, Boston University (1990)
- Director, Family Research Training Program, Boston University (1986-88)
Education
Organizational Development - Boston Institute for Psychotherapy and Human
Resource Counseling, 1992
Ph.D. Clinical Psychology - The American University, 1977
Clinical Internship - Oregon Health Sciences University, 1977
M.A. Psychology - The American University, 1975
B.A. Psychology - Eckerd College, 1973
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Margaret Alexander |
Margaret joined The Interchange Institute as Director of Administration in July 2004. Her responsibilities include operations, order fulfillment, customer service, and database management. She also assists with research projects and marketing initiatives.
Margaret graduated from Stanford University with a B.A in psychology.
and has a M.Ed from University of Vermont in counseling. Margaret
developed her office management skills while working for many years
for BBN (Genuity) in Cambridge, MA. Her last position with Genuity
was as Manager of Customer and Information Services in the Facilities
Department.
Margaret lives in Newton with her husband and two dogs. Outside of work her
time is spent as coordinator of a municipal "Adopt-A-Space"
program, editor of her regional dog club newsletter, and other volunteer
activities.
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Natasha Orlova |
Natasha Orlova is originally from Saint Petersburg, Russia. She is a junior at Boston University majoring in Economics and Mathematics. She has been an office assistant at The Interchange Institute since September 2006.
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Emily Sadler |
Emily is a senior at Boston University double majoring in Journalism and Anthropology. She has been an office assistant at The Interchange Institute since September 2007.
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Catherine Wechsler |
Catherine first joined The Interchange Institute as a graphic design intern in November 2003. She was an intern for a year, during which time she designed many of the pieces The Interchange Institute continues to use to this day. Today she works at the Interchange Institute as a part-time graphic designer and consultant.
Catherine graduated from Clark University in May 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art, concentrating in graphic design and photography. After interning at The Interchange Institute, she accepted an offer from Endicott College in Beverly, MA to work in their publications department. Catherine continues to work for Endicott as one of their in-house graphic designers and the primary staff photographer.
