About
Mission:
The Standards & Accreditation Committee is responsible for improving the Standards and Accreditation process for Programs and Consultants in compliance with U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission requirements. Our Standards & Accreditation Committee, composed of gap year program staff, gap year consultants, risk management experts, and additional invited professionals, updates the Standards every 2-4 years. We publish the new standards and update the accreditation process accordingly.
Goals for 2023:
- Finalize 2023 Official Standards of Accreditation (DONE!)
- Begin 2023 GYA Professional Gap Year Consultant Standards
How to Get Involved:
Reach out to standards@gapyearassociation.org
Co-Chairs
Chris Barlow is Director of Programs at High Mountain Institute (HMI) and co-founder of HMI Gap, an Accredited Gap Year Program.
Dave Dennis is the founder of Cornerstone Safety Group, a full service risk management and emergency response consulting firm supporting tour operators and experiential education providers worldwide. Dave has a master’s degree in Business Continuity, over 25 years’ experience in the adult and student travel industries, is secretary of the Gap Year Association’s Standards and Accreditation Committee and has served as the Vice President of Risk Management and Safety at both Rustic Pathways and Verto Education.
Through his work, Dave has overseen the response of thousands of incidents, managed hundreds of vendors, was one of the first in the world to safely re-introduce international travel during the Covid-19 pandemic and has remained committed to positively influencing the travel industry through strong leadership and integrity. He profoundly believes in the transformational power and influential change that can occur with international travel and is passionate about preserving these experiences through balanced and equitable risk management practices.
Dominique Robinson is a New York-based artist, and educator. In 2014 she founded Pizarts to support cultural exchange initiatives through travel and art. Pizarts is a registered company with the United Nations International Dance Council. In 2016 Pizarts launched Dance Gap Year with programs being hosted in New York, Los Angeles, and abroad. Robinson is a member of the Gap Year Association and is an active contributor to GYA’s Standards & Accreditation Committee and the Fair Trade Learning Committee.
Inspired by his own gap time studying conservation and wildlife biology in East Africa and wilderness leadership in North Carolina, Jason Sarouhan has spent 25 years: leading, designing, directing, and advising about experiential education programming. A supporter of GYA since its founding in 2012, he has helped develop and revise each iteration of the official Standards. He co-chairs the Standards and Accreditation Committee and has served as both primary and secondary reviewer of several accreditation applications. Jason is a dedicated long-distance trail runner and is a proud founding board member of Girls on the Run Western Massachusetts.