NAFSA's Board of Directors

Ahmad Ezzeddine, PhD, is the vice provost for Global Affairs at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, where he leads and manages the Office of Global Affairs and serves as a strategic thought leader for the University’s global engagement efforts. Previously, he served as the vice...

Ian Gibson is the dean of San Diego State University’s (SDSU) Global Campus (GC), leading a portfolio of more than 500 programs in international, online, and professional education. Collectively, GC serves more than 10,000 learners worldwide each year and oversees many of SDSU’s global operations...

Jenny Bowen has been involved in international student advising for nearly 25 years at Indiana University, and she currently serves as the university's director of international student advising. Active in various NAFSA roles at the national and regional level for 20 years, including with the ACC...

Samantha Lu is the director of international student services in the International Students Scholars Office at Columbia University. Lu has worked in the field of international education for more than 22 years. She is an active member of NAFSA, serving in many roles both at regional (Region XII...

Joanna Regulska, PhD, vice provost and dean of global affairs and professor of gender, sexuality, and women’s studies at the University of California-Davis, has for more than 30 years led large-scale programs that transform institutions, establish collaborative partnerships, and significantly...

Tamara Cunningham has been a transformational leader in higher education for more than 20 years, with 13 years focused on global education. As the inaugural assistant vice chancellor of global initiatives at the University of California-San Diego, Tamara is the lead architect for the institution’s...

Fanta Aw, PhD, currently serves as the executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, having previously held its presidency from 2013 to 2016. NAFSA is the world’s largest and most comprehensive international education association, with more than 10,000 members at more...

Elena Anderson specializes in global workforce development, and her work as director of talent and culture at CET Academic Programs addresses global human resources; global mobility; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and duty of care, among other issues impacting global business operations. She...

Eylem Atakav, PhD, is a professor of film, gender and public engagement at the University of East Anglia where she teaches courses on women, Islam and media; and Middle Eastern media. She also serves as the associate dean - international for the faculty of arts and humanities. She is the recipient...

Courtney Brown is the vice president of strategic impact and planning at the Lumina Foundation, the nation’s largest private foundation focused specifically on increasing U.S. citizens’ postsecondary success. As the foundation’s chief data and research officer, Brown oversees its efforts in the...

Anjam Chaudhary is the global inclusion program director at the Office of International Studies and Programs at Michigan State University where she leads transformative programs particularly in inclusive leadership, intercultural awareness, and cross-cultural communication. Bringing a wealth of...

Ketevan Darakhvelidze is chancellor of Ilia State University (ISU), one of Georgia’s most dynamic, research-intensive universities. Since 2011, she has served multiple university leadership roles and has advanced ISU’s global engagement, institutional development, and innovation ecosystem, securing...

Katherine S. Hammett has more than 30 years in U.S. higher education, having held international education positions within student development and academic affairs at a number of institutions. She currently serves as senior director of the Center for Global Engagement at Rose-Hulman Institute of...

Amanda Kelso is Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Duke University where she leads the Division of Experiential Education and serves as Executive Director of the Global Education Office. In an international education career spanning three decades, Kelso has extensive experience in...

Michael Pelletier is founding executive director of the Institute for Global Engagement at the University of Houston, supporting comprehensive international engagement. He served as a U.S. diplomat from 1987–2021, including as U.S. ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros. A graduate of Georgetown and...

Francis J. Ricciardone served as President of the American University in Cairo from 2016 to 2023. His US Foreign Service Career (1978-2014) included appointments under Presidents George W. Bush and Barak Obama as U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, Turkey, and the Philippines, and as Chargé d’Affaires and...

Edward Roekaert has been the rector of the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC) since 2014. In 2021, he became the president of the university. Before joining UPC, he was the rector at Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola where he held the positions of founding dean and faculty member of the...

Lawrence Schovanec, PhD, began his role as the 17th president of Texas Tech University in August 2016. He previously served as chair of the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, interim university president, and, most recently, provost. During Schovanec’s...

Malaika Marable Serrano, is a scholar-practitioner with more than 20 years of leadership experience across higher education, nonprofit, and private sectors. She serves as Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Computer Science at Morehouse College and previously as Vice President for Diversity, Equity...

Robbyn R. Wacker has over three decades of leadership in higher education, advancing global engagement through teaching, scholarship, and executive leadership. As president of St. Cloud State University, she led transformational strategies that expanded internationalization; strengthened...