About Us

Robert William Founder and President/CEO

Robert William has worked for over ten years in international education. Prior to launching his non-profit organization, PCIEP, he served as a Program Manager at BCA Study Abroad for India, Japan, China, Mexico, Spain, Germany, Greece, and Morocco.

In addition, he served as a Director of International Student Services, helping to recruit and place international students at over ten partner institutions in the United States.

Robert’s Journey to America

Robert came to the United States as an international student in 1978 and has now made Pennsylvania his home. It was in Livingstone, Zambia, Southern Africa, that Robert and his family became good friends with an American missionary couple, Mark and Darlene Keller, who were both graduates of Messiah College, Grantham.
Exemplifying the best in the American spirit, Mark and Darlene reached out to the William family and took an interest in Robert when his father expressed a desire to send Robert to the United States for his higher education.
Driven by the love and friendship for the William family, Mark and Darlene Keller contacted several of their personal friends from America and four colleagues from other countries and made financial commitments for their education.
He was also awarded an International Student Scholarship.

Global Connections

Robert participated in Pennsylvania’s first trade mission to India led by Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker in March 2000.
In September 2000, he was invited by the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs to participate in a fact-finding mission to India, which was a result of bilateral agreements following the visit of President Clinton to India in March 2000.
Robert was invited in 2003 to attend an International Investors Conference sponsored by Trade and Investment Limpopo, South Africa, and addressed International Education Advisors from over 30 African nations.
In March 1998, shortly after Robert rejoined the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor and Industry, Honorable Johnny Butler, tapped him to serve as his liaison in planning Pennsylvania’s first Cabinet-led Trade Mission to the Republic of South Africa, which was highly successful.
Under the Secretary’s leadership, Robert created and launched the Department’s first Center for International Relations following the trade mission.
Then, as a Director for the Center for International Relations, Robert launched the Department’s International Forum on Workforce Development series and hosted over 20 delegations from several nations, including:

Jamaica
Poland

India
South Africa

Russia
South Korea

Early International Education & Experience - India to Africa

Robert was born on April 30, 1961, in Chennai, India. His father, Paul, was the headmaster of St. Thomas High School. In September 1961, when he was only four months old, his parents were appointed to teaching positions in Ethiopia, East Africa, and moved the family to Africa. This decision began the long and interesting journey to the fulfillment in 1978 of Robert’s childhood dream of coming to the United States of America.
From 1961 to 1969, Robert received his elementary education in Ethiopia. Robert’s international experience and global perspective were further enhanced when in 1973, as a teenager, he and his family went on a tour of Europe and the Middle East and visited England, Switzerland, France, Italy, Greece, and Bahrain.
In 1973, Robert’s parents made yet another move across the African continent to Livingstone, Zambia, Central Africa, where they had accepted a teaching offer from David Livingstone Teachers Training College.

Pennsylvania Center for International Exchange and Partnership

An International Student & Higher Education in the United States

The international dimension to Robert’s life continued to expand when he arrived in the United States in August 1978 for his undergraduate studies. He was elected President of the International Students Association at Messiah College, where he took an active interest in the lives of international students from Ethiopia, Pakistan, Honduras, Zambia, Vietnam, Canada, and Nigeria.

He organized educational and sightseeing trips for the international students to the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., Gettysburg, and New York.
After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1982, Robert decided to pursue graduate studies at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.
Upon receiving his Master of Science in Public Administration in 1984, he launched his career in the Pennsylvania State Government as an intern with the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s Legislative Budget and Finance Committee in Harrisburg.
Always conscious of the goodness and generosity of people who helped him to succeed in life, Robert worked hard at every position he held. Robert then accepted a position in the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry in 1987. He was quickly recognized and was offered a position as an Executive Policy Specialist in the Governor’s Policy Office in fall 1987. Identifying his strengths in communication and interpersonal skills, yet another career move was made when Robert was appointed Marketing and Technical Assistance Manager with the Pennsylvania Occupational Information Coordinating Committee, part of the national network of State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee in the United States.

State and National Award Recipient

A proud moment for Robert and his family came in 1995 when he was selected from among the national network of State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee staff from among all fifty states in the United States to receive the 1995 NOICC National Outstanding Staff Member Award.

His commitment to excellence in projects assigned to him was further affirmed when he accepted a position in the private sector as Publications and Public Relations Manager at Penn State University's Office of Public Relations. In 1997, he received the International Association of Business Communicator’s Gold Award. He also received a Recognition Award for his role in planning and organizing the 2001 Pennsylvania Workforce Summit.

Robert’s Family

Robert resides in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, USA, with his wife, who is also originally from India, is the former Chief Medical Officer at Hamilton Health Center, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They have four children, Prasana, Prema, Preeta, and Priya.

Why Choose PCIEP

You will be talking to the CEO when you need to contact the company. Robert’s experience as an international student in the United States has positioned him well to help in the recruitment and placement of international students in the United States.

In 2006, Robert was invited by the State Department to speak at the Africa Region Educational Advisors Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, on the topic- Marketing Higher Education in the United States. The conference was attended by the Education USA advisors from over 30 African nations.

Our Core Business Values

Integrity

Passion

Accountability

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