Cheryl Matherly is Vice President /Vice Provost for International Affairs at Lehigh University and has responsibility for the strategic leadership of the university’s internationalization plan. She is past president of AIEA, and was named by the Institute for International Education as SIO of the Year in 2020. Matherly received two Fulbright grants for international education administrators (Germany/ Japan). She has an EdD in Education Leadership and Culture Studies from the University of Houston.
Amir Reza is Dean of Babson Academy for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurial Learning and Global Education at Babson College. He has served on leadership boards for AIEA, IFSA, NAFSA, and other institutions abroad. Reza is President of AIEA and has presented widely on international education. He holds a BA and MEd from the University of Maine and a PhD in Higher Education Administration from Boston College’s Center for International Higher Education.
Paulo Zagalo-Melo is Senior Internationalization Strategist at Virginia Commonwealth University. Previously, he served as Associate Provost for Global Education and Senior International Officer at Western Michigan University. Prior to Zagalo-Melo's role at WMU, he held executive positions at the University of Montana, the Luso-American Development Foundation, and Fulbright Portugal. In 2015, Zagalo - Melo was named an AIEA Presidential Fellow. He holds a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, and a PhD in Political Science from the Catholic University of Portugal.
Cristina Alfaro is Associate Vice President for International Affairs at San Diego State University. A recognized leader in bilingual and global education, she co-founded Formadores de Docentes Binacionales and has led international teacher preparation programs across CSU campuses. Dr. Alfaro has secured over $10M in grants and received numerous awards for teaching and leadership. She champions equity, access, and diversity in education through research, cross-border initiatives, and global engagement strategies at SDSU.
2025 Participants
Nancy Bjorklund serves as the Assistant Dean of Global and Continuing Education at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed). She holds a Doctor of Education in Global Education from the University of Southern California, where her research focused on creating standards for internationalization in higher education. Bjorklund also earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of Montana and a B.A. in International Studies from Hamline University. At WMed, she leads initiatives aimed at internationalizing medical education by fostering strategic partnerships with institutions worldwide and incorporating global perspectives into the institution’s mission and practices. Her work focuses on aligning these efforts with institutional goals, enhancing curriculum design, and creating opportunities for faculty and students that emphasize cultural competency and international collaboration. Through these initiatives, she seeks to prepare students and faculty to engage effectively in a global healthcare environment, promoting cross-cultural understanding and collaboration in medical education, with the ultimate goal of improving healthcare delivery and patient outcomes worldwide.
Chrishon Blackwell is the Senior International Officer and Executive Director of Global Education at George Mason University. Blackwell is a scholar practitioner and an organizational scientist. Blackwell has spent the past 16 years in international education with a special focus on developing global strategies that support research, teaching, and engagement across faculty, staff, and students. In previously held positions, she oversaw programs and initiatives that supported student success, retention, and campus internationalization. Blackwell holds two bachelor’s degrees in political science and business management, a master’s degree in organizational leadership, and a doctorate in human and organizational learning. Blackwell’s doctoral research explored the connections between cultural competency, comprehensive internationalization, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Rebecca Cruise currently serves as the Associate Provost for the University of Oklahoma Office of Global Engagement. Cruise knows first-hand the value of international mobility and considers it a blessing to have a career that allows her to create global learning opportunities for students, staff and faculty. Prior to her current position, Cruise was the Associate Dean of the OU College of International Studies, where she continues to hold an academic appoint as Association Professor of Security Studies.
Annette Cummins is the Assistant Director for Global Education and Business Manager at Western Michigan University. She has presented twice at NAFSA on strategic budgeting in internationalization. Cummins holds a BBA in Marketing from Western Michigan University and is pursuing her MBA.
Eowyn Brown Ferey is Interim Executive Director of the Office of Global Engagement and Innovation at Portland State University. Ferey has researched and presented on linguistic diversity in various contexts; her previous professional role was as Director of PSU’s Intensive English Language Program. She is a member of AIEA, NAFSA, and TESOL. Ferey holds an MA Applied Linguistics from the University of Essex and will begin doctoral studies at Oregon State University in September 2025.
Anja Geitmann is Vice-President (Global Engagement) at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She previously served as the Dean of the McGill's Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Associate Vice-Principal (Macdonald Campus). Geitmann is a plant biologist by training and holds the Canada Research Chair in Biomechanics of Plant Development. She did postdoctoral fellowships in Canada and the Netherlands following her PhD in Environmental Biology from the University of Siena (Italy) and studies in Germany, the USA, and Sweden. Prior to joining McGill in 2015, she was Professor in the Department of Biology at the Université de Montréal.
Mary Machira is the Executive Director of International Programs and Services and the Senior International Officer at Weber State University. A dedicated advocate for global education, she actively engages with the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) and NAFSA: Association of International Educators, where she has presented on career advancement challenges for women of color in international education. With a deep commitment to fostering cross-cultural understanding, Machira was a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright International Educators Award (IEA) in Korea, an experience that further enriched her global perspective. She holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Arkansas and a Doctorate in Psychology, bringing a multidisciplinary approach to her leadership in international education.
Carrie Manning is Associate Provost for International Initiatives at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned a doctorate in political science at the University of California, Berkeley, and is a full professor in the Department of Political Science at Georgia State, with a focus on comparative politics. She was appointed to the SIO role in 2023, following 25 years as a faculty member and academic leader in her department and college.
Randy McCrillis is the Senior International Officer at the University of Utah. In this role, he provides leadership for the Office for Global Engagement and oversees the Office of International Students and Scholars and the Learning Abroad Office. He previously served as the Dean of Students at the Utah Asia Campus in South Korea for eight years. Before joining the University of Utah, McCrillis was the Assistant Vice Chancellor at the University of Colorado Boulder. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on Leadership, Intercultural Communication, and International Public Policy. He holds a PhD in Educational Leadership from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Jamie McGowan serves as the Senior International Officer and Executive Director of International Programs at the University of Vermont. In this capacity, she leads the international strategic directions of the institution, expanding academic and research partnerships with international partners, advancing international mobility, and creating opportunities for comprehensive internationalization of the university. McGowan has held positions with the University of Tennessee, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Illinois, and the Big Ten Academic Alliance. McGowan holds her master’s and PhD from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and her bachelor’s degree from Macalester College.
Edyta Mika-Klimczak has over 20 years of diverse experience spanning corporate and academic sectors across the US and Europe, Mika-Klimczak brings unique insight to her role as Sr. Director of International Services at FAU. Her professional journey includes four years at Siemens, research work in Poland, and over a decade of progressive experience in US higher education supporting international students. As a former international transfer student herself (Warsaw University to FAU), Mika-Klimczak combines her Psychology degree and graduate studies in Sociology and International Business with firsthand understanding of cross-cultural challenges. Beyond her professional life, Mika-Klimczak loves spending time with her family, traveling, and hiking in the mountains.
Tana Ruegamer is the Director of the Slater International Center at Wellesley College and an instructor. She’s previously held adjunct faculty roles at both Bentley and Lesley University. She’s worked for 20 years in international education and holds an M.A. from Lesley University and a certificate in organizational behavior from the Harvard Extension School. She was also selected as a Fulbright scholar for the International Education Administrator program in Seoul, South Korea.
Maegan Stevens-Liska serves as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Assistant Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs and Senior International Officer and oversees the offices of Global Experiences, Global Partnerships and Initiatives, International Student and Scholar Services, Global Safety and Security, and English Language Programs. For more than a decade, Stevens-Liska has had a significant impact on the university's global initiatives serving international students, research, and mobility. She has provided leadership on programs with the U.S. Department of State, USAID, Bezos Family Foundation, and Fulbright Commissions around the world, and served as Principal Investigator for programs targeting capacity development and exchange across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. She holds a B.A. in history from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a M.A. in information science from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Mariamma Thomas is an accomplished international education management professional with over 20 years of experience. Throughout her career, she has developed and implemented strategic recruitment and market development plans, optimized admissions processes, and led global teams to enhance internationalization and boost institutional presence across diverse international markets. Currently, she serves as the Assistant Vice President for International Affairs at the Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago, IL), where she oversees global campus operations and manages international program development. Before her tenure at Illinois Tech, Thomas was at Northeastern University (Boston, MA), where she successfully led global recruitment teams, developed new international partnerships, and grew international enrollment. Notably, she helped establish the Africa Global Initiative, which significantly increased enrollments from the continent. Thomas’s expertise extends to ELS Educational Services Inc. (Princeton, NJ), where she led the company’s South Asia operations as Senior General Manager. Earlier in her career, she held various positions in admissions and credential evaluation, including at Academic Evaluation Services Inc. (Tampa, FL) and Wayne State University (Detroit, MI).
Elizabeth Trejos-Castillo, C.R. Hutcheson Professor in Human Development & Family Sciences, is the Vice Provost for International Affairs and Fulbright Liaison at Texas Tech University, and the U.S. Regional Executive Secretary for the Inter-American Organization of Higher Education (IOHE). She is the Founding Director of the Graduate Cross-Cultural Program and an International Adjunct Professor in universities in Brazil and Colombia. She has edited two books and has published over 70 research articles and book chapters in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Her research has been funded by US federal and state mechanisms nationally and internationally. She is a two-time Fulbright Scholar recipient and has over 30 years of experience working with national and international partners to support the well-being and positive development of vulnerable youth.
Gavin Webb is Dean of International Programs and Assistant Professor of Music teaching courses in ethnomusicology at Marist College. As Dean, Webb oversees Marist’s inbound and outbound operations for the International Student Services and Marist Abroad offices respectively, as well as initiatives advancing internationalization more broadly. He is active in AIEA, NAFSA, and the Forum on Education Abroad. Prior to joining Marist, he served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology at Binghamton University (SUNY), and from 2000-2012 was an Academic Director and Associate Dean with the School for International Training while based at the Institute for African Studies within the University of Ghana.
Kristen Welsh is Dean of Global Education and Associate Professor of Russian Area Studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges (HWS). She is Executive Director of the Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Union College Partnership for Global Education and has been the Associate Director of the HWS Institute for Global Studies. Welsh researches Russian-speaking American writers. Her next article is “Geocorporeality and the Unbeautiful Body in Contemporary Russian- American Fiction” (late 2025), and her most recent publication is “Playing the Fool: Failures of Creative Process in King, Queen, Knave” (2022). Welsh has also published on language pedagogy and blended learning. She holds a Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Yale University and a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from Brown University.
Basma Zeidan has been leading the Office of International Programs (OIP) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon since September 2023, bringing over a decade of experience in international higher education. She holds a master's degree in Educational Administration from Boston College and a bachelor's degree in Education from the Lebanese American University. Previously, Zeidan served as OIP's interim director (August 2022–August 2023) and associate director, where she established the highly regarded OIP Mentors Program. Before joining AUB in 2012, Zeidan founded a private consulting firm specializing in international educational projects and managed the executive MBA program’s Dubai division at the London Business School. Known for her commitment to fostering global partnerships and student support, Zeidan continues to advance AUB’s mission in international education.
