The 2022 Virtual Exchange Academy prepares over 80 education and exchange leaders and practitioners to participate in the innovative and powerful field of virtual exchange. This year’s cohort is double in size of the 2021 group and expands beyond the Initiative’s traditional regional focuses of the United States and Middle East and North Africa region. Selected through a competitive application process, participants come from 26 U.S. states and Washington, DC, and from 19 countries and territories around the world. Participants work with young people at both the K-12/primary and higher education/post-graduate levels. This cohort is passionate about global education and will be well prepared to bring virtual exchange to their schools, institutions, or organizations, whether as individual programs or as part of a larger global education plan.

2022 Virtual Exchange Academy Participants

Nuhu Abdulmalik | Nigeria

Facilitator, Soliya and Founder, Mamo Connect

Melba Acevedo | Massachusetts, U.S.

Director, Instructional Technology & Online Education, Northern Essex Community College

Jihane Ait Bihi | Morocco

Program Coordinator, Stevens Initiative at the Aspen Institute

Esra Ali Abdelnabi Alamami | Libya

Lecturer, University of Benghazi

Omar Alsawalha | Washington, DC, U.S.

Finance & Operations Manager, Stevens Initiative at the Aspen Institute

Yahya Sami Al-Taie | Iraq

MERLA Consultant, Management Specialist, and Freelance Trainer and Engineer, Local and International Institutions in Iraq

Mohammed Ammouri | Morocco

English Teacher, EasyGlish

Soufiane Amzile | Morocco

English Teacher, Salah Eddine Elayoubi High School

Caroline Anderson | Washington, DC, U.S.

Program Coordinator, Hands Along the Nile Development Services (HANDS), Inc.

Kimberly Anderson | Delaware, U.S.

Assistant Director, Graduate & International Admissions, Goldey-Beacom College

Roger Anderson | Ohio, U.S.

Assistant Professor, Central State University

Emerald Archer | California, U.S.

Associate Professor, Political Science, Mount Saint Mary’s University

Sarita Badhwar | India

Volunteer and ICL Facilitator, AFS Intercultural Programmes India

Benilde Banda Cabrero | Mexico

Internationalization Projects Advisor, Universidad de Monterrey

Alice Bardan | California, U.S.

Assistant Professor, Mount Saint Mary’s University

Miguel Barreto | Connecticut, U.S.

Program Director, Creative Connections

Loubna Boulaid | Morocco

Teacher of English, Zoubair Bno Laouam Junior High School

Gonzalo Raul Bruce | Idaho, U.S.

Assistant Provost, Global Education, Boise State University

Stacy Burger | Pennsylvania, U.S.

Director Global Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives, Lehigh University

Arshelle Carter | Virginia, U.S.

Program Coordinator, TechGirls, Legacy International

Rey Castuciano | Missouri, U.S.

Executive Director/ Founder, Table Wisdom

Claudine Clark | Wisconsin, U.S.

World Language Teacher Leader, Madison Metropolitan School District

Brittany Corn | Virginia, U.S.

Program Coordinator, TechGirls, Legacy International

Sandra A. Daniel | Georgia, U.S.

Language Coordinator, The GLOBE Academy

Abderrahim Elmers | Morocco

Arabic Teacher for Non-Native Speakers, Safir Institution Rabat

Aya Fetoui | Tunisia

Research MA Student, Higher Institute of Human Sciences of Tunis

Ghdi Abdel-rahim Mohamed Abdelfatah Foda | Egypt

Kindergarten English Teacher, Egyptian English School

Ana Carolina Freschi | Brazil

Project Coordinator, Centro Paula Souza

Ahmed Ihcen Gasmi | Algeria

Assistant Professor and Higher Education Coordinator, World Learning

Gabrielle Gonzalez | Virginia, U.S.

Program Associate, TechGirls Program, Legacy International

Jenna Graff | Wisconsin, U.S.

Director, International Education, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

Luz Angela Guzman | Colombia

Legal Representative and Country Manager, The Marshall Legacy Institute

Kirsten Hagen | Washington, DC, U.S.

Specialist, Global Studies, DC Public Schools

Mohammed Hammou | Morocco

Ph.D. Student, University of Mohammed V Rabat

Melissa Hendrickson | North Carolina, U.S.

Coordinator (Retired), North Carolina State University

Ann Heusser | California, U.S.

Executive Consultant, Sister Cities of Long Beach, Inc.

Abdulsamad Humaidan | Illinois, U.S.

Ph.D. Candidate in Language, Literacies, and Culture, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Leora Jaeger-Siegel | New Mexico, U.S.

Board Member and Digital Program Lead, Water Resources Action Project

Monte Kalisch | Colorado, U.S.

Director of Technology, Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education, University of San Diego

Tatiana Karabchuk | United Arab Emirates

Associate Professor, UAE University

Elizabeth Kelleher | Connecticut, U.S.

Program Officer, Youth Exchanges, World Learning

Viviane Klen-Alves | Georgia, U.S.

Graduate Student Assistant for the Portuguese Flagship Program, University of Georgia

Abdellatif Ahmed Laaziz | Morocco

General Secretary, Chantiers Jeunesse Maroc

Dana Lindaman | Minnesota, U.S.

Associate Professor of French, University of Minnesota Duluth

Avani Mack | Virginia, U.S.

International Baccalaureate Coordinator, DC Public Schools

Cynthia Martinez | Texas, U.S.

Executive Director, Office of International Programs, The University of Texas at Tyler

Raven McKenzie | Nevada, U.S.

Assistant Director of International Programs, College of Southern Nevada

Holden Mershon | Washington, DC, U.S.

Program Coordinator, Professional Fellows Program, Legacy International

Seth J. Meyer | Massachusetts, U.S.

Assistant Professor, Bridgewater State University

Isabel Moctezuma | Mexico

Advisor, Aspen Institute Mexico

Kaoutar Moutaouakkil | Morocco

Ph.D. Student, Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University

Roger Narayan | North Carolina, U.S.

Professor, North Carolina State University

Rawan Nasir | Alabama, U.S.

Program Coordinator, Stevens Initiative at the Aspen Institute

Hebatalla Nazmy | Oklahoma, U.S.

Teaching Assistant Professor, Oklahoma State University

Samantha (Sami) Noble | Virginia, U.S.

Assistant Director, Youth Ambassadors Program, Center for Intercultural Education and Development, Georgetown University

Nadia Nuseir | Libya

Faculty Member, University of Tripoli and Educational Consultant, TESOL Libya

David Oaks | Georgia, U.S.

Executive Director, Bethlehem International School Foundation

Dr. Daniel Otieno | Kenya

Lecturer, Kenyatta University

Caesar Perkowski | Georgia, U.S.

Professor of English, Gordon State College

Diego Prado Pérez | Mexico

Head of International Office and Teacher, Universidad Latina de América

Sophia Rahaman | United Arab Emirates

Program Director, Comp. Sci and IT, and Coordinator, International University Collaborations, Manipal Academy of Higher Education Dubai Campus

Laura Rampazzo | Brazil

Professor, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo (Federal Institute of São Paulo)

Melanie Rathburn | Canada

Associate Dean, Academic, Mount Royal University

Lia Roberts | California

Academic Director, Center for Global Initiatives and Professor, Political Science, Mount Saint Mary’s University

Dr. Ashley Rodrigues | Massachusetts, U.S.

Assistant Professor, Bridgewater State University

Jean-Louis Romanet Peroux | Tunisia

Director, North African Policy Initiative

Beth Lewis Samuelson | Indiana, U.S.

Associate Professor and Associate Chair, Indiana University School of Education

Tanja Carmel Sargent | New Jersey, U.S.

Associate Professor, Rutgers University Graduate School of Education

Baiba Zvaigznite Šedriks | Illinois, U.S.

Lecturer, School of Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Rani Shahwan | Palestinian Territories

Assistant Professor, An-Najah National University

Liz Shaw | Colorado, U.S.

Education and Exchange Fellow, WorldDenver

Shelley Smith | Washington, DC, U.S.

Virtual Program Design Expert, Peace Corps

Dan Solomon | Colorado, U.S.

Program Manager, University of Denver

Sarah Spromberg | Louisiana, U.S.

Instructor, Tulane University

Takeo Suzuki, Ed.D. | Tennessee, U.S.

Executive Director, Center for Global Education, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Julia Tang | California, U.S.

Associate Professor of Psychology, Mount Saint Mary’s University

Gumercinda Erica Tapia Illa | Peru

Teacher, Daniel Becerra Ocampo High School

Blanca Lilia Urdiales Lozano | Mexico

Internationalization Projects Advisor, Universidad de Monterrey

Shiri Vivek | Michigan, U.S.

Professor of Business, Eastern Michigan University

Lara Watkins | Rhode Island, U.S.

Faculty/Academic Advisor, Bridgewater State University

Mary M Williams | South Carolina, U.S.

Interim Department Chair, Claflin University