Conference Executive Team

The Executive Team provides vision and oversight and ensures the conference is aligned with NAFSA’s Strategic Plan. They set content and networking priorities for the conference (including both concurrent sessions and poster events). They lead the content planning meeting to review the program submitted by the Conference Content Team and, with their help, engineer or re-engineer sessions, seminars, and workshops to meet content goals. In addition, they evaluate data from the previous years’ conference to inform their goals for the upcoming conference.

• Conference Chair: Kathy Hammett, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
• President of NAFSA: Ravi Shankar, University of Rochester
• Vice President for Scholarship and Institutional Strategy: Jeff Riedinger, University of Washington
• Chair-Designate for 2021 Conference: Sherif Barsoum, New York University
• Chair of Conference Content Team: Brad Sekulich, University of North Carolina-Charlotte
• Workshop Coordinator: Jenny Bowen, Indiana University
• Poster Chair: Namiko Bagirimvano, Tacoma Community College

Conference Content Team

The Content Team develops a content plan for the conference and helps shape the Call for Proposals. They solicit and review proposals for sessions (including both concurrent sessions and poster events) and workshops that fit the conference theme and advance knowledge and skill-building for the field of international education and exchange. Each team member develops a ranked set of session and workshop proposals for their respective audience group to contribute to the creation of a coherent, comprehensive, and cutting-edge program. Posters are reviewed and organized under the direction of the Poster Chair.

• Chair of the Conference Content Team: Brad Sekulich, UNC Charlotte
• Workshop Coordinator: Jenny Bowen, Indiana University
• Poster Chair: Namiko Bagirimvano, Tacoma Community College
• EA KC Coordinator: Louis Berends, PhD, CEA Study Abroad
• IEL KC Coordinator: Rick Lee, PhD, Rutgers University
• IEM KC Coordinator: Matt Beatty, EdD, Concordia College
• KC ISSS Coordinator: Krista McCallum-Beatty, Michigan State University
• TLS KC Coordinator: Bryan McAllister-Grande, EdD, Northeastern University

Conference Volunteer Leadership

The two co-chairs of the Local Arrangements Team (LAT) play a critical role in creating excitement about the annual conference city, recruiting and coordinating volunteers, and managing on-site operations at the NAFSA Annual Conference. As members of the Annual Conference Committee (ACC), the co-chairs bring information regarding the conference site into the overall planning process and serve as the communication link between the ACC and their team members.

• Co-Chair: Brent Reeves, McKendree University
• Co-Chair: Hannah Verity, Webster University