Expert Resources

NAFSA's senior staff and leadership can provide expert commentary and perspectives on international education and exchange, as well as a wide range of other domestic and international issues.

Meredith M. McQuaid, JD

NAFSA President and Chair 2011-2012

Meredith M. McQuaid, JD, serves as the associate vice president and dean of international programs for the University of Minnesota. As the senior international officer, she promotes the global dimensions of teaching, research, and engagement across all colleges and campuses of the university, including developing the university's global agenda; supporting international students, faculty, and staff; and facilitating development of critical interdisciplinary and international partnerships.

McQuaid’s experience with international education began early on in her academic career. As an undergraduate, she was one of the first U.S. students to study Mandarin in China after the country opened to the West. After earning her BA in linguistics in 1981 from the University of Minnesota, she spent two years teaching English in Japan, and then took a trip around the world by motorcycle before returning to the University of Minnesota, where she earned her JD in 1991.

She practiced immigration law in Minneapolis before returning to the university as an administrator in 1994. She served as associate dean of administration and international programs (1995-2005) and director of international and graduate programs (1994-2006) at the University of Minnesota Law School.

McQuaid has served on the University of Minnesota China Center Advisory Council and on several selection committees for prestigious international fellowships, including the Edmund Muskie Scholars Program.

McQuaid joined the NAFSA board of directors in 2010. She was elected to serve a two-year term as president and chair, starting in January 2011.

Marlene M. Johnson

Executive Director and CEO

Marlene Johnson is executive director and chief executive officer of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the world's largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education. NAFSA's nearly 10,000 members worldwide are the professionals that make international education opportunities possible for thousands of students each year. The association seeks to increase awareness of and support for international education and exchange in higher education, government, and the community, believing that citizens with international experience and global awareness are crucial to U.S. leadership, competitiveness, and security. Under Johnson's leadership, NAFSA has become the leading advocate on behalf of international education, actively participating in the public and policy debates that impact the field and emerging as a respected voice in support of educational exchanges as a key tool of U.S. foreign policy and public diplomacy.

Johnson's leadership in government, business, and the nonprofit sector spans more than three decades. From 1983 to 1991, she served as lieutenant governor of Minnesota. Strengthening and expanding the state's connections with the rest of the world in trade, tourism, education, and the arts was a hallmark of her time in office, and she was a particularly outspoken advocate of international educational exchange at the secondary and postsecondary level. Johnson also served as associate administrator for management services and human resources in the U.S. General Services Administration during the Clinton Administration.

Johnson currently serves on the board of the Kakenya Center for Excellence, the board of the Communications Consortium Media Center in Washington, DC, the Advisory Council of the US-China Education Trust, and the Advisory Board of the Center for Women's Intercultural Leadership at St Mary's College (Notre Dame, Indiana). She is also an honorary fellow with the Foreign Policy Association. Johnson is a former board member of the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange, AFS-USA, AFS Intercultural Programs, the World Press Institute, and the National Association of Women Business Owners. In 1988, she was awarded the Royal Order of the Polar Star by the Kingdom of Sweden.

Subjects of expertise

• International education policy
• Global competition in higher education
• State-level initiatives in international education

Victor C. Johnson

Senior Adviser, Public Policy

Vic Johnson provides strategic planning, advice, and consultation for NAFSA's CEO and public policy department, focused on the development, strengthening, and execution of the association's public policy agenda. He also continues to serve as the department's chief press spokesperson. Before assuming this new role in 2008, Johnson was associate executive director for public policy at NAFSA for nine years. A frequently consulted expert on policy issues related to international education, Johnson served for more than 20 years in senior foreign affairs positions in Washington, DC. From 1981 to 1993, he was staff director of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs, where he was responsible for all significant issues of Inter-American relations. In 1993, President Clinton appointed him director of the Peace Corps programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. Before joining NAFSA, Johnson was associate dean of international education at Jacksonville University in Florida. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia, West Africa, and has lived and worked in South America. Johnson is a member of the board of directors of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).

Subjects of expertise

• International students and scholars in the United States
• Study abroad
• U.S. foreign policy
• Latin America and the Caribbean
• The Peace Corps