NAFSA 2024 Annual Conference Committee (ACC)
The NAFSA annual conference brings together the global international education community to reflect, celebrate, inspire, and create. Together, we recognize and learn from the strength and expertise of the community, renew our mission, and chart the course for the future.
Each year, the Annual Conference Committee uses the principles below to develop the conference program:
- Meet challenges by sharing lessons learned, diverse perspectives, and innovative approaches.
- Explore trends in professional development and career advancement, and advocate for the well-being of all as we plan for the future of international education.
- Create intentional community-building and networking experiences.
- Ensure that the conference is accessible to all.
- Highlight global thought leadership and multigenerational perspectives.
- Underscore the global imperative for social justice and access, and the importance of inclusive internationalization for long-term impact at our institutions, as well as our local and global communities.
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 year’s conference to inform their goals for the upcoming conference.
- Conference Chair: Jenny Bowen, Indiana University-Bloomington
- Content Chair: C.K. Kwai, Cleveland State University
- Poster Chair: Anna Hayes, Duke University
- Chair-Designate, 2025 Annual Conference Committee: Sara Thurston, Kansas State University
- Vice President for Scholarship and Institutional Strategy: Ahmad Ezzeddine, Wayne State University
- President of the Board of Directors: LaNitra Berger, George Mason University
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...
C.K. Kwai, PhD
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Cleveland State University
Content/Workshop Coordinator, 2023 Annual Conference Committee
C.K. Kwai, director of the Center for International Services and Programs at Cleveland State University, has extensive experience in all areas of international education. C.K.’s research interest is in the areas of international education and cross-cultural communication and management. He holds a...
Anna Hayes
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Duke University
Poster Chair, Annual Conference Committee/ Academy Coach, Region VII
As Director of Global Health and Safety at Duke University, Anna provides strategy and vision for risk assessment, mitigation, health and crisis preparedness, faculty leader training, and response plans for undergraduate programs and students undertaking Duke-sponsored travel domestically and abroad...
Sara Thurston, PhD
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Northwestern University
Chair, 2025 Annual Conference Committee
Sara Thurston, PhD, has more than 18 years of professional experience in international education, including the last eight years that she has been at Kansas State University. Thurston’s past involvement with NAFSA includes presenting on numerous topics, mentoring, and serving in the Trainer Corp and...
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...
LaNitra Berger, PhD
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George Mason University
NAFSA President and Chair of the Board of Directors
LaNitra Berger, PhD, is the Associate Professor of Art History and Director of African and African American Studies at George Mason University (GMU). She has helped students secure more than 60 prestigious fellowships such as the Fulbright, Boren, Gilman, Truman, Udall, and Critical Language...
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, 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. The team reviews and organizes posters under the direction of the Poster Chair.
- Education Abroad Knowledge Community Representative: Bradley Titus, University of Minnesota
- International Education Leadership Knowledge Community Representative: Jiangyuan (JY) Zhou, James Madison University
- International Enrollment Management Knowledge Community Representative: Jessica Sandberg, Duke Kunshan University
- International Student and Scholar Services Knowledge Community Representative: Sheena Maria Connell, University of the Incarnate Word
- Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship Knowledge Community Representative: Ling LeBeau, Syracuse University
Bradley Titus
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University of Minnesota Learning Abroad Center
2024 Annual Conference Committee Member, EA KC; Past Chair, EA KC
Bradley Titus works in the Learning Abroad Center at the University of Minnesota. He has served at the university for most of his professional career and presently is the director of institutional relations, diversity and inclusion, a position he has held since 2013. He is active in NAFSA and serves...
Jiangyuan (JY) Zhou, EdD
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James Madison University
Chair-Designate, 2026 Annual Conference Committee
Jiangyuan (JY) Zhou, EdD, is the executive director, Center for Global Engagement at James Madison University. Her work focuses on internationalization, faculty empowerment, global learning, and assessment. JY keeps an active research agenda on a new theoretical framework to define and assess...
Jessica Sandberg, MA
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Duke Kunshan University
2024 Annual Conference Committee Member, IEM KC; Past Chair, IEM KC
A seasoned international educator, Jessica Sandberg, MA previously served as director of international admissions for Temple University and held earlier positions with Community College of Philadelphia and Vesalius College in Belgium. Sandberg appeared on the Chronicle of Higher Education’s...
Sheena Maria Connell
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University of the Incarnate Word
2024 Annual Conference Committee Member, ISSS KC; Past Chair, ISSS KC
Sheena Maria Connell has been involved with the development of international education at public and private U.S. universities, Intensive English Programs, and secondary schools. She has more than 10 years of combined experience in an international education setting, SEVP regulations and policy...
Ling LeBeau, PhD
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Syracuse University
2025 Annual Conference Committee Member, TLS KC
Ling Gao LeBeau, PhD, is director of international student success at Syracuse University. LeBeau is a scholar practitioner in the field of international higher education with many years of experiences in teaching, research, and administration. She has served in various roles in international...