Presenter Bios

The Joining Hands Symposium is organized by a small but mighty team of MIUSA staff who administer the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange project. They are Monica Malhotra (Manager, she/her), Justin Harford (he/him), Ashley Holben (she/her), and Johileny Merán (she/her), who together bring different backgrounds in disability and international exchange into their work on the project. You might have met them at past conferences and events! Read their individual staff bios here.

As CEO and co-founder of Mobility International USA, Susan Sygall (she/her) is an internationally recognized expert in the area of international educational exchange and leadership programs for persons with disabilities. Susan, a wheelchair rider, has had a personal and professional commitment to disability rights and women's issues for more than 30 years. Read Susan's full bio here.

Cindy Lewis is the Director of Programs with Mobility International USA and internationally recognized as an expert on inclusive international exchange and development. Ms. Lewis has developed, directed and implemented international programs, trainings and technical assistance, focused on disability rights, youth leadership and disabled women’s empowerment for more than 30 years.

Matthew Lussenhop joined the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) as Principal Deputy Secretary of State (PDAS) in July 2019. He is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, and has served his country as a Foreign Service Officer since 1990.

Prior to his arrival at ECA, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) at the Embassy of the United States to the Kingdom of Belgium, August 2016 – June 2019, including 18 months as Chargé d'affaires. From 2013 - 16, he was the DCM at the U.S. Embassy to the Kingdom of Morocco, including ten months as the Chargé d'affaires. Mr. Lussenhop previously served in ECA as a Senior Advisor for Policy from 2011-13.

Mr. Lussenhop has served in the field of public diplomacy and strategic communications in numerous posts overseas, including Public Affairs Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan from 2010-11. Other overseas assignments include positions at U.S. embassies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Kuwait; Muscat, Oman; Rabat, Morocco; Sofia, Bulgaria; and Manila, Philippines.

In Washington, D.C., Mr. Lussenhop has served in the State Department’s Bureau of Near East and North African Affairs, and as Director of Public Diplomacy Training at the Foreign Service Institute.

Mr. Lussenhop is the recipient of multiple State Department Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards. He speaks Arabic and French, and is a native of Minnesota and a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.

David Levin is Senior Program Manager at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs where he coordinates the Bureau's diversity-related activities, including outreach efforts throughout the United States. His diversity work includes disability matters and he also oversees the activities of the ECA-sponsored National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange. Levin also manages a number of Fulbright scholar programs and serves as Fulbright alumni liaison. His work with the State Department included proposing and helping launch International Education Week in 2000. Prior to his State Department service, Levin worked at the U. S. Information Agency, the U. S, Department of Education, and the U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. His career in the field of international education spans 44 years. Levin has been recognized for his efforts by both the public and private sectors, including receiving NAFSA’s 2019 Cassandra Pyle award for his leadership and collaboration in international education. Levin studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, holds a B.A. in Government from Beloit College and a Master's degree in Public Administration in International Affairs from American University. He has studied, worked and traveled throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

Judith (Judy) Heumann is a lifelong advocate for the rights of disabled people. She contracted polio in 1949 in Brooklyn, New York and began to use a wheelchair for her mobility. She was denied the right to attend school because she was considered a "fire hazard" at the age of five. Her parents played a strong role in fighting for her rights as a child, but Judy soon determined that she, working in collaboration with other disabled people, had to play an advocacy role due to continuous discrimination.

She is now an internationally recognized leader in the disability rights community. Her memoir, authored with Kristen Joiner, of Being Heumann “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist,” published by Beacon Press and audio recorded by Ali Stroker, who is the first wheelchair actor to perform on Broadway. Judy was featured on the Trevor Noah show. Judy is featured in Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution is a 2020 American award winning documentary film, directed by James LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham, produced by the Obama Higher Ground Production and is available on Netflix. She has been featured in numerous documentaries including on the history of the disability rights movement, including Lives Worth Living and the Power of 504 and delivered a TED talk in the fall of 2016, “Our Fight for Disability Rights- and Why We’re Not Done Yet”. Her story was also told on Comedy Central’s Drunk History in early 2018, in which she was portrayed by Ali Stroker,. As Senior Fellow at the Ford Foundation (2017-2019), she wrote “Road Map for Inclusion: Changing the Face of Disability in Media”. She also currently serves on a number of non-profit boards, including the American Association of People with Disabilities, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Humanity and Inclusion, as well as the Human Rights Watch board.

Sara Minkara is an internationally recognized champion for inclusion, leadership, individual empowerment and social enterprise. Dynamic and memorable, Sara speaks to diverse audiences around the world and facilitates transformative, interactive workshops that employ adaptive approaches to social and workplace challenges.

Sara proudly features her own remarkable journey in all her work. A Muslim, first-generation American woman, she lost her sight at the age of seven—and has pioneered a truly empowered life. As an undergraduate and dedicated to promoting inclusion as a value and guiding others on their own journeys, Sara founded a nonprofit organization, Empowerment Through Integration (ETI), through a Clinton Global Initiative grant. More than a decade later, ETI and the programs Sara designed are still active in the MENA region, providing social and life skills development for refugees and other children with disabilities. Sara is part of the Board of Directors for ETI and continues to create new programs and opportunities for the children and families it serves.

A graduate of Wellesley College and the Harvard Kennedy School, Sara currently is the Founder and CEO of Sara Minkara LLC, an organization that offers courses, workshops, executive coaching and engages in public speaking opportunities to continue to bring her leading voice in the fields of disability, inclusion, empowerment and authentic leadership to society. She has developed a holistic approach, affecting change on individual, institutional and global levels. Sara is an advocate, expert, and facilitator in the fields of disability, inclusion, authentic leadership, and social entrepreneurship.

Sara is a featured speaker with the State Department’s U.S. Speaker Program, and she has presented numerous times at the United Nations. She is a facilitator with the Harvard Kennedy School’s Executive Education program, and an advisor to numerous academic, government, and policy groups on issues related to disability inclusion, adaptive leadership and social entrepreneurship. She has been recognized for her many contributions through appointments and awards, including Forbes 30 Under 30, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology IDEAS Global Challenge, and the Vital Voices “100 Women Using Their Power to Empower” program.

Mr. Anyaele is an entrepreneur, speaker, advocate and Executive Director of the Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD). He has been interviewed on Nigerian television as an expert speaking about his organization’s role helping pass the Disability Rights Act in Nigeria (signed into law in Jan. 2019). As someone with a disability himself, he is considered a leading figure in the disability rights movement in Nigeria. Recently, he has been leveraging social media to help give visibility to the challenges faced by people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and leading conversations with the Nigerian government on their response. He is a 2017 IVLP alumnus and also completed an IVLP Gold Star virtual exchange in July 2020.

Sarah Amin recently joined the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) department as a Project Manager. In collaboration with the State Department and U.S. community-based members, Sarah oversees the design and implementation of a wide range of inbound professional exchange projects under IVLP. Prior to this, Sarah gained over four years of programmatic experience at Cultural Vistas by exploring IVLP and other unique inbound exchange projects. Sarah is passionate about diversifying the content, inclusivity, and accessibility of international exchange programs. Previously, she served as a Research Assistant with the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowship Program at the National Endowment for Democracy, where she managed research projects for human rights activists, lawyers, scholars, and journalists from all over the world. Sarah earned her Master of Arts degree in International Affairs at American University, with focuses on Human Rights, Gender, and Disability.

Cory Owen is the associate dean of student development at the Juilliard School. In this role, she oversees visa compliance for the international community while supporting the campus through diversity and inclusion work and student development. Owen also serves as a deputy Title IX coordinator and bias response investigator for the school. Beyond her work at Juilliard, she has authored two chapters in the edited volume Addressing Mental Health Issues Affecting International Students and recently published the NAFSA publication Advising International Students with Disabilities. Owen has received Fulbright International Educator Administrators grants to Germany in 2012 and Korea in 2017. She earned a doctorate of education from the University of Houston, where her dissertation focused on how the “model minority myth” impacts anxiety and stress levels for Asian and Asian American students.

Meredith Lopez is a Senior Program Officer at IREX, where she manages strategic communications for the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative. In this role, she oversees Fellowship communications, including managing the program website, brand management, and technical aspects of the Fellowship’s virtual programming. Prior to this role, Meredith served as corporate relations manager on the Fellowship from 2013 to 2019, overseeing partner relationship management and the Professional Development Experience component. Read Meredith’s full biography.

Rebecca Berman is a Program Officer at American Councils for International Education. She works on the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program. NSLI-Y is a program of the U.S. Department of State, which promotes critical language learning among American youth. She has previously worked for other exchange programs such as the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), as well as with organizations in the U.S. and overseas focusing on disability rights. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Smith College and a Master of Arts in International Training and Education from American University, focusing on disability in international development.

Irene Scott, a program manager at Texas A&M University, has worked in the field of international education for more than 12 years. She currently oversees processes and implementation of provider programs for transfer credit, co-chairs a departmental Diversity Team, as well as serves on committees for diversity excellence (Texas A&M ADA Compliance Operations Committee and the NAFSA Diversity & Inclusion in Education Abroad Subcommittee).

Ms. Scott holds a master’s degree in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University. Integrating her student affairs background and commitment to equity, she has spearheaded efforts to raise awareness of underrepresented student populations in education abroad, developed advising and training resources, and refined internal processes.

Additionally, Ms. Scott has contributed to the Diversity Abroad Advisor Manual: Access for Disabilities Abroad and collaborated with colleagues on presentations for Mobility International USA, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, and Association on Higher Education and Disability.

Heidi M. Soneson, PhD, is assistant vice chancellor for international education at the University of Wisconsin- River Falls. In this capacity, she collaborates on institutional policy and best practices for education abroad, international student advising, international partnerships, and international recruitment. Soneson has served on NAFSA’s Education Abroad Regulatory Practice Committee and on The Forum on Education Abroad Council. She has received grant funding to facilitate education abroad opportunities for students with disabilities and has presented and published on this topic as well as a variety of other education abroad areas of interest. Soneson has a doctorate in German and African studies and has taught German language at a variety of higher education institutions.

Sue Jin Hee Minder is the Director of Accessible Education Services at Willamette University. In this capacity, she partners with faculty and key university administrators on institutional policy and best practices to create a college environment that is inclusive of students with disabilities. She holds a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology: Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling and maintains memberships in the state and national affiliates of the Association on Higher Education and Disability. Minder has over a decade of experience collaborating on diversity and inclusion from an intersectional-equity lens in higher education, and has presented extensively on this topic. Her service delivery philosophy is to create transformative disability access through education, strategic planning for long-range equity, empowerment, and innovation. She has recently co-authored a NAFSA publication on education abroad advising for students with disabilities.

"My name is Andani Kholinar. I grew up in Northern Ghana. I was part of the YES Program in 2006-2007 where I was hosted in Washington DC. I took part in MIUSA in Eugene in 2006 during my YES year. I have since volunteered for international exchange programs with AFS/IEP Ghana, AFS-USA, and MIUSA supporting student placement and orientations in Ghana, Washington DC and Portland/Eugene Oregon where I chaperoned Students with Disabilities from DC to Eugene in 2013. I have a bachelors degree in English and Political Science from the University of Ghana and a Doctor of Philosophy in English from Texas A&M University, College Station."

Stemming from a lifelong belief in bringing change from within "the system", India Ochs currently is a Compliance Officer with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, focused on national security and safety issues involving foreign nationals participating in exchange programs. Prior to joining the Department of State, India was a Senior Project Associate at the Pretrial Justice Institute, working on juvenile detention reform issues with officials in 100+ counties throughout the U.S. Previous to that, India was the Legal Officer for the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, during which time she developed and coordinated legal and legislative initiatives with human rights activists on the ground in 21 countries. Other past activities include serving in AmeriCorps establishing and running a nonprofit to unite youth with and without sensory disabilities through sports and service- learning activities, supporting victim families during the Pan Am 103 bombing trial, freelance web design, teaching high school law, and volunteering as a guardian ad litem representing children in foster care.

Jamie Herrera is a Digital Accessibility Engineer contracted with United Healthcare. She works remotely with others domestically and internationally in UX design and development to ensure websites and mobile apps are accessible for all users with and without disabilities. Jamie's path to digital accessibility began within the context of international and virtual exchange. She has focused on international disability rights as human rights work in San Diego, DC, Geneva, New York, Mexico, Panama, and online.

Emely Recinos is a recent graduate of New York University where she received her BA in International Relations with a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies. She is a first generation American of Salvadoran descent, and the first in her family to obtain a college degree. As part of her undergraduate career she studied in Argentina for the fall semester of 2018 and was a recipient of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to fund her time abroad. While in Argentina Emely was able to expand her knowledge both on Inter-American relations and on the rights of people with disabilities in Latin America. Emely hopes to attend law school in the future in order to further help advocate for disability rights both within the United States and abroad.

Geraldine was born hearing in England. She is Asian American. When she was 2 years old, she became deaf. She was the alumni of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program. In 2016, she studied abroad in Japan, and in 2017, she interned in Singapore. She has a passion for learning new cultures and connecting with people. Her program in Singapore was inspired by her interest in Digital Design, Singapore‘s advanced technology and its multiculturalism where different nationalities live together in harmony. In 2018, she graduated with a bachelor degree in 3D Digital Design from Rochester Institute of Technology. She currently uses her Graphic Technology, 3D and UX/UI Design skills to volunteer with projects dear to her heart, helping people with Disability to develop their communication skills in a working environment.

Istou Diallo is a Senior Program Manager at Incarceration Nations Network, a global network and think tank supporting and popularizing prison reform efforts worldwide. Diallo’s Fulbright-Nehru student research project, “Notions of Disability: Combatting the Stigmatization of Indian Women with Disabilities,” explored personal and political strategies disabled Indian women and those in the disability justice field implemented in combating ableism. She focused on local Indian laws, examined various stigmas and strategies of disability, and explored ways to create a more inclusive society. With inclusivity and intersectionality at the forefront of Diallo’s disability epistemology, she would like to further unpack the many spaces disabled people have been critically underrepresented, including social justice and feminist movements.

Thomas Neuville is Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies in the Department of Educational Foundations at Millersville University in Millersville, PA. He has more than forty years’ experience in education, community, and organizational development. Dr. Neuville’s current work is centered on designing coherent models of planning and program development within the systems of Education. Specifically, he is working with teacher candidates to develop strategies that are founded on social justice and focused on true personalization. He serves as founder and Faculty Administrator of Integrated Studies, an inclusive post-secondary program for students with intellectual disability at Millersville. Dr. Neuville created and serves as advisor for the first approved BA-MDST – Applied Disability Studies at Millersville University. He also serves as Principal Investigator – Office of Postsecondary Education funded TPSID and the PA Inclusive Higher Education Consortium.

Shelia’s International exchange experience started when she was a sophomore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) after receiving a fellowship to research in England for the summer. The research was focused on deaf entrepreneurs in the UK and Europe and developed into her senior thesis research on the “deaf economy” - to examine, observe, and outline the traits and characteristics of the “deaf economy” in the U.S. and Europe. After graduation, she was awarded the InterExchange’s Christianson Grant to teach American Sign Language and Deaf Culture at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in Italy. Shortly after the grant ended, Sheila was awarded a Fulbright Study/Research grant to expand her work on the “deaf economy” to Italy and its deaf entrepreneurs.

Johna has participated in a number of international exchange opportunities. She was a service scholar volunteer in Cape Town, South Africa focusing on small business development and entrepreneurial education programs, then studied abroad as a Gilman Scholar at Linnéuniversitetet in Kalmar, Sweden, and as a Global Leader Scholar in Colchester, United Kingdom. Most recently, Johna was awarded a Fulbright Student Fellowship to pursue her studies at Tampere University in Tampere, Finland to study Comparative Social Policy and Welfare, in the hopes of working for an international disability-focused nonprofit.

Bobbi-Angelica Morris is a rising 3rd-year undergraduate at the University of Virginia. She identifies as an African American, Indigenous, and disabled (hard of hearing) student majoring in Urban and Environmental Planning and Global Development Studies with a minor in American Sign Language. Her overall focus is to create a more inclusive and accessible society for disabled people. Bobbi-Anglica studied abroad in New Delhi, India as an intern for the Javed Abidi Foundation which is a nonprofit disability organization focused on the accessibility and inclusiveness of all disabled people. The goal of the trip was to learn how much the average person actually knew about disability access. She had a second internship with an urban planning organization that focused on making cities safer for children and other members of the community. While abroad Bobbi-Angelica also volunteered at a children's school for disability teaching deaf kids math and English.

Esma Gumberidze, a ECA-sponsored FLEX Program alumni, is Georgia’s Youth Representative to the United Nations, a human rights defender, disabled activist, citizen journalist and blogger.Esma graduated from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University with an undergraduate degree in law.

Esma is a co-founder of a disabled women’s initiative group the Platform for New Opportunities and a member of the council on the monitoring of implementation, protection and promotion of the UNCRPD with the Ombudsman of Georgia. Esma is also an author and a host of the on-line radio show "Beyond the Horizon" on the Radio My Voice of the Helping Hand and Young European Ambassador at the EU Neighbors East.

Anna Landre is a student at Georgetown University majoring in Regional and Comparative Studies with a focus on Latin America and Africa. She serves the Washington, D.C. government as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for district 2E, and is also a disability activist focusing on the social and legal barriers faced by disabled people in the United States and Latin America. She is the co-chair of the Democratic National Committee’s Youth Disability Council and a founding member of both the Georgetown Disability Alliance and the New Jersey Disability Collective. Currently, she works with the Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies on disability-inclusive pandemic relief policies and is helping to expand The Partnership's scope to Latin America and the Caribbean. Anna's advocacy efforts have been featured in outlets including the Washington Post, Forbes, and others.