2021 Annual Conference Committee (ACC)
Executive Committee
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: Sherif Barsoum, New York University
- Content Chair: Jenny Bowen, Indiana University Bloomington
- Workshop Coordinator: Sandra Janusch, University of Washington
- Poster Chair: Tonya Veltrop, University of Missouri
- Chair-Designate, 2022 Annual Conference Committee: Sam Brown, Brigham Young University
- Vice President for Scholarship and Institutional Strategy: Ahmad Ezzeddine, Wayne State University
- President of the Board of Directors: Jeff Riedinger, University of Washington
Sherif Barsoum
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New York University
Sherif Barsoum has been in the field of international education for more than 29 years. He is currently the senior associate vice president for global services at NYU. Prior to NYU, Barsoum held positions at The Ohio State University and Vanderbilt University. Originally from Cairo, Egypt, Barsoum...
Jenny Bowen, MA
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Indiana University-Bloomington
Chair, 2024 Annual Conference Committee
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...
Sandra Janusch
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University of Washington
Content Chair, 2022 Annual Conference Committee
Sandra Janusch, a California native, has lived internationally for most of her professional career, teaching and coordinating programs in China, Vietnam, Canada, the Netherlands, France and Indonesia. An expert teacher herself, her experience includes training teachers of English as a second/foreign...
Tonya Veltrop, MBA
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University of Missouri
Poster Chair, 2021/2022 Annual Conference Committee
Tonya joined the International Center as assistant director of international health, safety and security in August 2019. She has worked in the field of international education for more than 20 years and has enjoyed experience in a variety of areas, including enrollment management, student...
Sam Brown
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Brigham Young University
Treasurer, Region II; Chair, 2022 Annual Conference Committee
Sam Brown is director of international services at BYU. He leads the office team in assisting students and exchange visitors to maintain status and in providing supporting programs. Sam received a BA in English, an MPA and EdD in educational leadership and Foundations from BYU. He also received an...
Ahmad Ezzeddine, PhD
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Wayne State University
NAFSA Vice President for Scholarship and Institutional Strategy
Ahmad Ezzeddine, PhD, is the vice president for Academic Student Affairs and Global Engagement at Wayne State University (WSU) in Detroit, Michigan, where he leads the university’s national, global, and corporate educational outreach programs. As the senior international officer, he is responsible...
Jeff Riedinger, PhD
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University of Washington
As vice provost for global affairs at the University of Washington, Jeff Riedinger had leadership and administrative responsibility for the institution’s diverse global programming including support for international research, study abroad, student and faculty exchanges, and overseas centers. He...
Content Committee
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.
- Education Abroad Knowledge Community Representative: Karen McBride, Bound International
- International Education Leadership Knowledge Community Representative: Rick Lee, Rutgers University
- International Enrollment Management Knowledge Community Representative: Dana Brolley, University of Idaho
- International Student and Scholar Services Knowledge Community Representative: Jenifer Ruby, Rollins College
- Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship Knowledge Community Representative: Bryan McAllister-Grande, Northeastern University
Karen McBride, EdD
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President & Founder
EA KC Representative, Annual Conference Committee
Karen McBride has been working in international education for 15 years, having worked for two third party provider organizations, an Italian institute for higher education, a large public university and a mid-sized private university. Most recently, Karen has worked for the University of Dayton in...
Rick Lee, PhD
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Cornell University
2022 Annual Conference Committee Member, International Education Leadership Knowledge Community
Rick Lee oversees the Einaudi Center's academic activities and programming, including undergraduate and graduate student learning and engagement, faculty grant programs, signature events, and opportunities at Cornell's new Global Hubs. He joined Einaudi in August 2021. He holds a PhD in English from...
Dana Brolley, MEd
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University of Idaho
Past Chair, IEM Knowledge Community; IEM KC Rep, ACC
Dana is the director of international services at the University of Idaho and previously was the assistant director of the Center for International Education at the University of Washington, Bothell. She has a master's in education from the University of Washington and an undergraduate degree in...
Jenifer Ruby
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Rollins College
Past-Chair, Region VII
Jenifer Ruby (she/her) embarked on her international education journey 30 years ago in Japan, teaching English with the Japan Exchange & Teaching Program. After a decade in New York City's international student advising scene, she found her home at Rollins College in 2006, where she now serves as...
Bryan McAllister-Grande, EdD
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Northeastern University
2021 Annual Conference Committee Member, TLS Knowledge Community; TLS KC Rep, ACC
Bryan McAllister-Grande, EdD, is the 2020 and 2021 Annual Conference Committee member for the Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship (TLS) Knowledge Community. McAllister-Grande is the assistant director for curriculum integration at Northeastern University. He is the cofounder of NAFSA's Global...