PRESENTER BIOS Raleigh, North Carolina February 21 – 22, 2019 Assistant Secretary of State Marie Royce Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate and sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs on March 30, 2018. In this capacity, she oversees a wide range of programs that advance U.S. foreign policy objectives through educational, professional, cultural, and sports exchanges that promote mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people of other nations and create networks and partnerships to advance U.S. foreign policy goals and address global challenges and opportunities. Ms. Royce, a businesswoman and former professor, had been the CEO and Principal of Marie Royce, LLC, in Fullerton, California, since 2016. She has over 30 years of experience in the private sector with Fortune 500 companies and as a small business owner, creating and launching start-ups and new initiatives and serving as a key business liaison to 80 countries. As a former educator/full-time university professor, Ms. Royce led an international grant program between two universities. She has engaged many federal government agencies and served on 20 non-profit boards. She also served as a private sector appointee on the Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy (ACICIP) at the State Department, in addition to serving on two U.S. Cultural Exchange Boards. She traveled as an American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) delegate to Hungary and Poland. The American Women for International Understanding (AWIU) recognized her with its Internationalism Award. Ms. Royce earned a BSBA (double major) at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and an MBA at Georgetown University in International Business, with honors, Beta Gamma Sigma. She is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Amy Christianson Alumni Outreach Manager Office of Alumni Affairs, Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs Peace Corps, Dominican Republic (1990-1992) Amy Christianson is a career Foreign Service Officer who has served in Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, South Africa, and the Bureau of Public Diplomacy in Washington, DC. Currently serving as the Global Alumni Outreach Manager for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Amy oversees the digital platforms and outreach initiatives aimed at engaging the one million strong global alumni community, including over 350,000 Americans. @InternationalExchangeAlumni; @exchangealumni
Kathryn T. Crockart Diplomat-in-Residence The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kathryn Crockart is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service currently serving as the Diplomat in Residence (DIR) for the midAtlantic region. As a DIR, she helps Americans who want to serve and represent our country to pursue career opportunities with the U.S Department of State. Her most recent overseas assignment was at the U.S Embassy in Pakistan (2017-2018), where she served as the Minister Counselor for Public Affairs. Mrs. Crockart is a Public Diplomacy-coned Foreign Service officer. Her other assignments include the U.S Embassy in London (2014-2017) as a Spokesperson and Director of the Press Office, at the U.S Consulate in Medan, Indonesia (2011-2014) as a Principal Officer and leading American diplomatic efforts in Sumatra. She has also served in Malaysia, Belize and Germany. The State Department has recognized Mrs. Crockart with its individual Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards for times each. Mrs. Crockart received her BA with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. @DIRMidAtlantic
Thomas DeGeorges Development Director Kenan Institute of Ethics at Duke University Foreign Language & Area Studies Program (2003-2004), Critical Language Program Director Oman (2012) Thomas is a scholar of military history and a Harvard-trained Ph.D. skilled in Middle East history with a strong publication record in peerreviewed scholarly journals on North Africa. Thomas’ experience in higher education includes academic accreditation, fund-raising and grant management. He is currently the Development Director in the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. He has experience working abroad in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. He is a recognized as a higher education administrator with experience in strategic planning, development, alumni outreach, and grants management, both in the United States and abroad. Thomas is an expert at maximizing career resiliency by leveraging skills and behaviors learned during overseas exchange experiences. @CLSscholarship
In/degeorgesmiddleeast
Pamela Ex Senior Career Counselor, Global Coach, Trainer and Facilitator Ex & Associates International AFS Intercultural Programs, US to Brazil (1975-1976) For the past two years, Pamela has a been a Senior Career Counselor at the United Stated Department of State working with Foreign Service and Civil Service professionals. As such, she addresses all aspects of the career search: networking, resumes, cover letter, information interview, job interview, elevator pitches, skills assessment, MyersBriggs Type Indicator (MBTI) interpretation. Pamela was selected as a presenter at AFS’s first Global Conference in Budapest on September 2018 to discuss helping students become seasoned professionals, CEOs and Ambassadors, to transfer and capitalize on their international experience and intercultural competence in the job process. Pamela has over 25 years of experience working with government, multinational corporations, military, non-profit organizations and universities. She has trained 3,000 clients from 40 countries ranging from students and entry-level employees to multidisciplinary teams to Ambassadors and CEOs in various industries and professions. @AFSUSA
In/pamelaex
Randi Knox Program Officer, Education & Exchanges Partners of the Americas Randi is a Program Officer for Education and Exchanges, working primarily on U.S Department of State-funded programs that promote professional development among U.S exchange alumni and leadership development among youth in Latin America. Originally from Nebraska, Randi studied abroad in Mexico during her undergraduate career and has experience traveling in Asia and South America. Her passion for international development and education led her to intern at Partners with the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund in the spring of 2018. Following her internship, Randi continued to contribute to the Education & Global Citizenship Unit as a consultant. Randi holds a B.A in Modern Language Studies and a B.S in Political Science from Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU). Randi was a member of the NWU’s Global Service Learning, the country’s first student-led global service learning group. @Randi_Knox
Summar Lyons Senior Program Officer, Education & Global Citizenship Partners of the Americas Peace Corps Costa Rica (2009 – 2012) Ms. Lyons leads international youth leadership programming by preparing young leaders to build mutual understanding between Latin America and the United States and to develop skills that foster longterm commitment to volunteerism and service. Ms. Lyons also oversees the Career Connections Seminars for U.S. Exchange Alumni applying for opportunities to market their international exchange experience to shape their career path. Throughout her professional and academic experience, she has become well-versed in Latin American culture, youth leadership capacity building, and international development. Ms. Lyons has had the opportunity to travel through Central America on a study abroad program in Merida, Mexico in 2006 and as a Peace Corps Volunteer leading youth development projects in Costa Rica from 2009-2012. She was a Peace Corps Coverdell Fellow while earning her M.A. in International Development from American University’s School of International Service with a concentration in Children and Youth Development and a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Spanish from Northwestern University. @PeaceCorps
In/summarlyons
Katie McKenzie Career Counselor & Administrator of Educational Programs American College of Surgeons Benjamin A. Gilman Scholar (2005 – 2006) Katrina is a career counselor with a graduate degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with an emphasis on adult career development from Marymount University. Mackenzie studied abroad as an undergraduate at the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies (KCJS) for an academic year. McKenzie has worked in career services at Washington University in St. Louis, Marymount University, Georgetown University, and George Mason University. She has extensive experience delivering workshops and presentations on resume/cover letter writing, networking, and interview skills, as well as working with students individually and in small groups on career counseling and job search techniques. She currently works at the American College of Surgeons in Chicago, providing career-related programming through their Medical Student Program and High School Program diversity initiative. @GilmanProgram
In/Katrina-katie-m-997a3216
Minnu Paul Assistant Director of International Programs Methodist University Minnu Paul has obtained a degree in Economics and minored in Psychology and Business Administration at DePauw University. She decided to shift her career to the field of international education, for which she is truly passionate. She worked as the Head of Counseling and Student Services with Gen Next Education. As the company was a start-up, she took on diverse responsibilities such as college, counseling, recruiting strategy and planning, exchange program management, marketing, and operations. She currently works as the Assistant Director of International Admissions, while pursuing a Master’s in Business Administration degree, at Methodist University. Through her work and academics, she researches and experiments on various recruitment strategies and is working develop and international student enrollment management model that is customized to the university. @MethodistU #monarchsabroad #mothodistuniversity #weareMU In/minnu-paul-06062763
Jennifer Ramos Director of Study Abroad and International Admissions Specialist Methodist University Jennifer is a bilingual International Educator dedicated to creating Intercultural Experiences. She is currently the director of study abroad at Methodist University. Prior to joining Methodist University, she worked in the field of international education in Chile and Argentina for five years. She served on board of the North Carolina Association of International Educators (NCAIE) as the co-chair of two annual student conferences on global leadership development and re-entry from 2014-2018. Jennifer holds a Master’s degree in International Education from School of International Training (SIT) Graduate Institute and a Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University. @MethodistU #monarchsabroad #mothodistuniversity #weareMU In/jennifer-ramos
Alexandra del Solar U.S. Regional Alumni Coordinator Office of Alumni Affairs, Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Program, Andorra (20092010), Critical Language Scholarship, Tunisia (2008) Alexandra del Solar currently serves as regional alumni coordinator for the United States for the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. In this role she spearheads efforts to engage and support American alumni of diverse U.S. Government-sponsored exchange programs. She joined the Department of State in 2011 and has previously served as a Consular Officer in Mexico City and as a Cultural Affairs Assistant in Kabul. She is a graduate of Wellesley College. @InternationalExchangeAlumni; @exchangealumni
Dr. Lori Unruh Snyder Associate Professor, Global Engagement Research North Carolina State University Dr. Snyder is the director for the North Carolina Youth Institute for high school students interested in solving issues related to food security. She has developed and implemented student mobility programs, collaborating with 30 institutions in Latin America &the Caribbean. These programs have included scientific research, internships and service learning within agricultural and turfgass science communities. Dr. Snyder has worked with the private sector to provide joint labor development platforms to the higher education sector. In 2014, she received the “100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Grant Fund” awarded by President Obama and currently is the Academic Ambassador for the Innovation Fund. She has worked with the Jamaican Ministry of Education for educational agenda regarding turfgrass science curriculum, as well as with EDUC setting up the first science club for Dominican Republic high schools. Dr. Snyder encourages the integration of community entrepreneurs. @NCState
In/unrushsnyder
Wayan Vota Digital Health Director IntraHealth International Peace Corps (1997) Wayan is a digital development entrepreneur. Throughout his career, Wayan has started multiple initiatives to showcase technology’s promise, such as the ICT4Djobs, the premier job board and career coaching for 3,000 digital development professionals, among others. He earned an MBA in International Marketing from The George Washington University. Wayan combines three core competencies in his efforts: a deep understanding of information and communication technologies, the experience of deploying cutting-edge innovations in the world’s more difficult environments, and the ability to translate the potential and peculiarities of both into the language of international development. Wayan’s prestigious career is evident by his six publications, such as the Educational Technology Debate by the World Bank and UNESCO in 2012. Wayan is currently the Digital Health Director at IntraHealth International. @IntraHealth in/wayan
@Wayan_Vota, @IntraHelath, @PeaceCorps
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Kelly Zug Career Services & Graduate Recruitment Officer The Institute of World Politics Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Program, Bulgaria (2013-2014) Kelly works in Career Services and Graduate Recruitment at The Institute of World Politics (IWP). In this role, Kelly advices students on how to formulate a career plan, arranges campus events with employers from the public and private sector, and consults prospective students. She is currently pursuing a M.A in Statecraft and National Security Affairs at IWP. Prior to her graduate students, Kelly worked in international education, non-profit consulting and development, and intercultural exchange. She served as a field representative in Eastern Europe with Global Giving Foundation. During this time, she conducted site visits with charitable non-profits and executed workshops on online fundraising. Her field counties included Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. She worked in American Councils for International Education and provided customer service to 300+ volunteers in the D.C area, including diplomats, foreign service officers, and others passionate about intercultural exchange. @theIWP, @FulbrightPrgrm
In/Kelly-zug