On March 10, 2026, NAFSA Vice President for Public Policy and Practice Joanna Regulska presented Nora Henry with the 2026 Advocate of the Year Award at NAFSA’s Advocacy Day training. Below is an edited version of Regulska's remarks:
This person exemplifies the spirit of sustained, community-centered advocacy that strengthens NAFSA’s mission at the local, regional, and national levels.
As her region’s Advocacy Coordinator, she has been a consistent, energizing force for members to stay informed, mobilized, and connected around pressing policy issues that affect our international students, scholars, and education abroad programs.
This individual is a connector—bringing together NAFSAns and allied partners to collaborate and share knowledge, tools, and inspiration. For example, she leads monthly advocacy meetings that initially were created to serve her region but which she expanded to include participants and guest speakers from around the country. These meetings provide a welcoming space for the field to come together to address timely topics, including ICE SEVIS terminations, USCIS biometric requests, delayed pre-OPT approvals, etc.
She doesn't just understand NAFSA Public Policy Priorities—she acts on them with urgency and strategic focus. When the proposed changes to duration of status were first published, she immediately stepped forward by organizing virtual comment letter writing sessions, ensuring anyone who wanted to comment felt informed and confident in doing so. Said one participant: “When many of us felt helpless about these changes, her passion transformed that helplessness into empowerment.”
This person’s commitment to service and growing the advocacy movement is also reflected in her extensive presentations and initiatives, including sessions on key policy issues and advocacy opportunities at NAFSA’s annual conference and Bi-Regional conferences. In every aspect of her work, this individual embodies solutions-oriented advocacy that strengthens community, draws in new practitioners, and elevates our shared mission. Her personable, professional, and supportive approach to advocacy, coupled with her collaborative leadership and willingness to help others, makes her an exceptional candidate for Advocate of the Year.
For these reasons, it is my pleasure to announce that Nora Henry from the University of Buffalo is the NAFSA 2026 Advocate of the Year. Please join me in congratulating Nora and thanking her for her contributions to international education advocacy.