Chicago, Illinois, United States
I am an experienced international education professional with particular interest in West Africa & the Francophone world. My masters degree research focused on the effect of colonial languages on study abroad in West Africa, with specific focus on Senegal. I am also an experienced anthropologist, teaching undergraduate-level courses in Cultural Anthropology, Language & Culture, and Medical Anthropology. Anthropology, linguistics, and international education drive my academic interests. Professionally, I am a skilled communicator, effective leader with strong planning and facilitation skills that thrive in fast-paced environments, and organized self-starter able to maintain cultural sensitivity, establish rapport with members of diverse groups, and promote team cohesiveness while adapting to changing priorities and maintaining a positive attitude and strong work ethic. My professional areas of expertise are international health, safety, and compliance, program management, and partnership development.
- Provides leadership on establishing practical and effective international health and safety standards, protocols, site reviews, and resources for Study Abroad programs and College students. - Conducts site visits for assigned programs, identifying and vetting on-site partners and service providers, and writes comprehensive program analysis reports. - Monitors emerging trends, world events, and travel advisories in areas where Study Abroad students and summer grant recipients are present; drafts updates and warnings for inclusion on the Study Abroad webpage; monitors and assesses programming in volatile locations and manages relocation process, if necessary. - Serves as the first responder to all real or perceived emergencies for Study Abroad students and faculty; develops and maintains emergency preparedness and response plans for each program location; provides recommendations on execution of emergency response and contingency plans; provides support to affected students or faculty members and their families in the event of an emergency; tracks student health and safety incidents abroad and prepares reports and analyses of incident data for partner offices, including analyzing trends over time. - As the Chair of the Study Abroad Risk and Security Assessment Committee (SARSAC), conducts travel advisory meetings with students, reviews student petitions, and communicates the committee decisions; participates on Study Abroad and other University committees. - Manages portfolio of faculty-led study abroad programs and/or grants; develops and updates location- and program-specific materials; develops cost proposals and budget-related information; acts as the initial point of contact for concerns that come to the office from parents and families. - Builds and maintains productive alliances with on- and off-campus stakeholders, including participating in relevant professional organizations and working groups, and represents the University at relevant conferences.
Professional musician, actor, and instructor specializing in piano, voice, and musical theatre music direction.
- Actively and continuously monitor world events and proactively analyze health, safety, and security risks with the potential to impact MUSC travelers abroad and recommend appropriate and timely mitigation response. - Work with travelers to complete and improve plans to satisfactorily levels for travel approval and develop risk mitigation strategies. - Assist International Travel Oversight Committee with review processes for high-risk travel and provide relevant background materials for cases under review. - Maintain a system to verify travelers have completed travel requirements and follow-up with travelers out of compliance. - Oversee international travel systems and procedures, including the Travel Registry systems and the International SOS communication portal and online systems. - Manage day-to-day operations including but not limited to enhancements, creating/editing workflows, approvals and processes, setting access permissions, general troubleshooting; improve the tools for both end-user ease of use and reporting needs. - Serve as the primary contact and liaison with System vendors for service issues, data feed integrations, upgrades, and overall adjustments and/or improvements; support University travelers navigating the systems, and provide training as needed. - Help travelers identify and utilize campus resources, register travel, travel abroad health insurance, and provide guidance on location-specific health, safety, and travel logistics issues; serve as a University responder to crises and incidents involving international travelers including after-hours calls; issues outreach messaging to international travelers as needed. - Develop and maintain an incident reporting system and produce analytics to identify and monitor trends. - Cultivate relationships with subject matter experts on global safety including professionals from other universities, OSAC, URMIA, and the PULSE network to stay current on new tech, innovation, information, etc.
- Research with Dr. Marit Østebø on projects related to global health policy, capacity-building, and helicopter science. - Teaching Assistant: Language & Culture, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology - Instructor of Record: Language & Culture, Introduction to Medical Anthropology, Global Humankind
- Facilitate the intake of all students & residents/fellows participating in an education abroad program - Assist schools & departments with education abroad proposals, budgets, & coordination. - Develop & conduct pre-departure orientations on health, safety, & cultural awareness, as well as re-entry workshops. - Evaluate programs, collect data, & create reports. - Verify, track, & support student, resident, faculty, & staff participation in travel assistance programs. - Develop & manage an emergency response protocol and crisis response team for global incidents. - Update content related to education abroad and university-sponsored international travel on OIS website & intranet. - Manage content on institutional education abroad policy, and communicate policy & procedures to campus community. - Initiate & maintain a repository of existent international memorandum of understanding. - Coordinate of visits for incoming international students & scholars.