Our Story
In 2013, Bailey Ulbricht spent two months volunteering in Reyhanlı, Turkey, a small town on the Turkey–Syria border. She met dozens of young Syrian college students desperate to complete their university degrees despite the conflict in Syria. She began Skyping a few of them to help them practice English, and soon, other young Syrian refugees were reaching out to her to request English lessons. Bailey realized she could ask people in her network to volunteer to tutor and found ten tutors from her alma mater, Carleton College, to join her in the first Paper Airplanes English language program in June 2014.
Paper Airplanes continued to grow, and in December 2016, Paper Airplanes received official nonprofit status in the USA. In January 2017, the team expanded to include 25 staff members, and by June 2021, we had an active staff of over 45, many of whom were former students and tutors.
Cross-Cutting Team
English Program Team
We are a team of 4 individuals running a program of two subprograms. The One on One program has about 500 tutors and students each semester. The Speaking Class consists of 35 - 40 groups.
Women in Tech Program (WiT)
Professional Skills Development Program
Communication Team
