Presenters

Precious Perez

Precious Perez is a classically trained pop/R&B and Latin vocalist/songwriter currently pursuing a double major in music education and vocal performance at Berklee College of Music. Her goal is to make a difference by doing what she loves and showing the world that blind people are as capable as everyone else. She hopes to inspire future generations to pursue their dreams and be successful in the same way that she has because she knows that anything is possible, and giving up is never an option.

As an artivist and music educator, she will be able to make a difference by using her reach as a Puerto Rican Spanish speaker to crush stereotypes by sharing her experiences across cultures and doing what has not been done while advocating for all of the communities she represents. She is confident that she can lead, she can achieve, and she can be the one who alters the way people see.

Tony Memmel

Tony Memmel is a singer-songwriter, speaker, and teacher with unique charisma and creativity. Though he was born with one hand, he taught himself to play the guitar by building a special cast that he designed out of Gorilla Tape.

As a cultural ambassador for the U.S. Department of State, he’s toured to 17 countries, and has led virtual programs in 13 countries. His music and his message are about hard work, determination, and resilience.

His work ranges from composing symphonies, to writing and arranging music for children, visiting schools, hospitals, and churches, to performing in historic concert venues, and helping people with hand/limb-differences (like his) to develop their own adaptive methods that allow them to make music a part of their lives.

Tony grew up in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and now resides in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife and son. He enjoys playing basketball, swimming, hiking, and cooking/trying new foods... especially if hot sauce is involved.

Matthew Lussenhop

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 N. Levin

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.

Jaelyn Evans

Jaelyn Evans of Chicago, Illinois is a senior at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia. She is pursuing a Political Science major and a Chinese Studies minor. Her academic honors include Dean’s List, membership in Omicron Delta Kappa - a national leadership honor society, and membership in Pi Sigma Alpha - a national political science honor society. During the fall of 2019, she studied abroad in Beijing, China as a recipient of the Chinese government scholarship.

While in Beijing, Jaelyn was able to enhance her understanding of Chinese culture firsthand and complete an intensive on Chinese language, greatly improving her fluency. After graduating, Jaelyn plans on continuing her passion for learning languages and experiencing cultures by taking a gap year abroad before attending law school. She’s currently a member of the America Association of People with Disabilities’ Summer Intern class and is interning with the National Council on Disability.

Kala Allen Omeiza

Kala Allen Omeiza graduated from Miami University in 2016 with a degree in Psychology. Since then she worked at Harvard, Duke, Harvard Medical School, and finally as a US Fulbright Scholar in Nigeria. She graduated grad school at the University of Oxford in 2020 with an MSc in Psychological Research where she served as an Oxford Innovation fellow, Student Union Disabilities committee leader, and conducted research on artificial intelligence in neurodivergent communities. ⁠

After Kala’s Fulbright grant, she won a Citizens Diplomacy Action Fund Rapid Response grant to assist orphaned youth with adequate local mental health care in Nigeria. She currently works for the Oxford Business Review and runs her own nonprofit. ⁠

Kala is autistic and loves to read and write. During her free time this year, she wrote two novels: a contemporary young adult novel about an autistic Black teen and a fantasy middle grade novel about youth with ADHD, dyslexia, and autism. She looks forward to assisting other people of color to pursue their ambitions and dreams.

Uyanga Erdenebold

Born and raised in Mongolia, Uyanga Erdenebold is a public relations and diplomacy professional with over nine years of experience working for the U.S. Department of State and in non-profit NGOs.

Working at the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar to oversee educational exchange and scholarship programs such as the Fulbright fellowship, Uyanga standardized the scholarship selection process, enhanced selection transparency, and launched successful outreach programs to rural, and other disadvantaged audiences to diversify the applicant pool. Through this program, Uyanga and her guide dog Gladys have traveled to all of the 21 provinces of Mongolia and had direct conversations with thousands of rural youth, educators, entrepreneurs, and professionals. This program, now standardized and held annually, has recently been recognized as the top best-practice for the U.S. State Department’s Education USA initiatives worldwide. She also served as the U.S. Embassy’s main point of contact for over a thousand alumni of various U.S. Government-exchange programs, and directed and supported numerous alumni-led social projects. She also served as an advisor and manager for the board of directors of the Mongolian Association of State Alumni (MASA), an active and dynamic association that she helped to build.

Uyanga is the first blind Mongolian to receive the Fulbright scholarship, and she completed her graduate studies in Library and Information Science at Louisiana State University (LSU) in the United States. She conducted professional internships at the Library of Congress and at the Maryland State Library. Most recently, Uyanga worked as the Program Manager for the Tomodachi MetLife Women’s Leadership Program at the U.S. Japan Council in Tokyo Japan (until July 2020). She currently serves as an executive board member for the Council on Diversity and Inclusion at the U.S. Embassy in Japan.

Through marriage, Uyanga immigrated to the United States and is also the mother of a mixed-race son. She values her intercultural experiences and works to promote meaningful diversity, one not solely based on external attributes, but more on our shared human experiences, respect, and dignity, so that she can contribute to leaving her son a world in which everybody matters.

An avid dog lover, Uyanga is one of the founding board members of Lucky Paws, the first animal rescue/advocacy group in Mongolia. Uyanga’s first guide dog Gladys went on to become the first ever guide dog to live and work in Mongolia.

Inocencio Zandamela

Inocencio Joao Raul Zandamela is from Maputo, Mozambique, a country on the eastern bank of Southern Africa. He describes himself as a Deaf person who is dedicated to developing the cultural identity and improving the quality of education for Mozambique’s deaf children and youth. His methods focus on teaching, capacity-building, psychology, counseling, sign language acquisition, and more.

Inocencio became a deaf person early in his childhood and attended mainstream schools throughout his life. As a deaf learner in these schools, Inocencio struggled due to the lack of access to accommodations such as sign language interpreters. Despite these environmental barriers, Inocencio completed his high school studies in Mozambique and went on to attend the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa to pursue his undergraduate degree. Upon graduation, Inocencio qualified as a teacher and officially started working in his dream profession in 2008, serving the deaf community and schools. There, he counseled students and guided them in their psychological development. To advance in his profession, Inocencio received a Fulbright scholarship to pursue graduate-level studies in psychology in the United States. From 2013-2015, Inocencio attended the College of St. Rose in New York, where he earned his Master’s in Education, specializing in Educational Psychology.

In the education field over 12 years, Mr. Zandamela has had teaching experiences in five different schools for the deaf in South Africa and worked as a teacher for three special schools for the deaf in Mozambique. With his expertise in Sign Language, he has been assistant researcher for the African Studies Center at the Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique where he authored a Mozambique Sign Language Dictionary. He also has been a Sign Language trainer for many education institutions both public and private on appointed by Mozambique’s Department of Education and has presented during many conferences, workshops and seminars.

Apart from education, Mr. Zandamela has been actively involved as a leader for many organizations such as the International Students Societies at Wits University, National Association of the Deaf’s board and the Association Educating the Deaf of Mozambique, etc.

As a member of the Deaf community, Inocencio enjoys sharing a common cultural identity. Inocencio is married to a Deaf woman named Suzete Zandamela, with whom he has five children who are hearing and bicultural sign language users. As a follow-up dream, Mr. Zandamela is eager to engage in research about linguistic and deaf culture by getting a scholarship to fulfill a doctoral degree, conducting research and coursework at a prestigious university in his home country or abroad.

Adriana Pulido Camargo

Throughout her career development, in her home of Bogotá, Colombia and abroad, Adriana Pulido Camargo has been strongly committed to the full inclusion of people with disabilities, both as an activist and as part of the public, private and the international cooperation sectors. While working for the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies, she was able to lead a Pioneer initiative in the world to promote the inclusion of individuals with visual impairment around the country through the use and adoption of technologies. Currently, she works as the disability Inclusion Advisor for the International Committee of the Red Cross, where she has the opportunity to foster the inclusion of individuals with disabilities who have been affected by the armed conflict and urban violence.

In 2011, Adriana received a Fulbright grant to pursue a master’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of Florida, the first Colombian with a disability to win this scholarship. After winning the Fulbright Scholarship, she defeated her fears as a blind woman and made the decision to travel alone for the first time. While doing her Master’s, she was able to expand her academic and cultural knowledge, as well as to share one of her greatest passions with her friends: playing music.

Adriana has also played an important role as an activist regarding the rights of visually impaired people. She belongs to the National Network of Women with Visual Impairment, a group that gathers women coming from different regions who are blind and low-vision. The purpose of this Network is to promote women’s empowerment, social and political participation.

Undoubtedly, the Fulbright scholarship has had a strong impact in Adriana’s life, both personally and professionally. She could widen her world view and build a network of friends, as well as acquire enough tools and skills to promote inclusion projects in her country. She is convinced that, thanks to the scholarship, she has been able to create a trust and credibility environment around her in every place she has worked as a project leader or inclusion advisor. She has shown that the Fulbright scholarship for people with disability is worthy, and that those with disabilities add value to the initiatives they are involved in, which in turn contributes to a more inclusive society for all.

Most recently, Adriana was named the Winner of the Fulbright Excellence Award in 2021.

Pedro Castillo García

Pedro Castillo García is a writer and musician from Bogotá, Colombia. After completing his undergraduate studies, earning a bachelor’s degree in Literature, Pedro’s first job was as a high school English teacher in one of Bogotá’s most vulnerable neighborhoods, through "Enseña por Colombia" (organization of the Teach for All/Teach for America global network). In the evenings, Pedro channeled his creativity into writing poetry, plays and songs.

In 2014, after a suggestion from a friend, Pedro applied for and received a Fulbright Foreign Student Program grant to attend Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, where he pursued an M.F.A. program in Writing for the Screen & Stage. There, he had the chance to study the craft of play and screenwriting, as well as the history of musicals, under masterful instructors. Upon graduation in 2016, Pedro stayed for a year to teach and to work in the theatres of Chicag, assisting in great productions at the prestigious Goodman and Victory Gardens theatres; the latter in fact, did a small production of Pedro’s musical "Dorian" (a jazz adaptation of Wilde's celebrated novel). After a year in OPT (Optional Practical Training), Pedro returned to his native Colombia with a universe of knowledge and experience ready to share and put to service.

Pedro's first visit to the United States was at a young age to receive his first prosthesis, having been born without legs. He traveled there with his mother, Maria Luz García, whom Pedro cites as an important influence on his development as a young person with a disability exploring new passions in teaching, theatre and music.

Peggy Retka

Peggy Retka is a Program Director at the University of Minnesota’s Learning Abroad Center (LAC). Managing programs in the Francophone world; she collaborates with faculty and departments to realize semester-long and short-term programs. Specific to disability work; Peggy is the LAC’s office liaison to the Disability Resources Center (DRC). She also represents the UofM at the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange’s Roundtable Consortium (RTC) aimed to increase the participation of people with disabilities in the broad range of international exchange programs.

Peggy came to the LAC in November 2018 after 3 years working in International Education in France. This on-site, Resident Director experience provides unique insight as to how to accommodate students with disabilities while abroad.

With over 15 years of experience in the field of international education in many different types of institutions, Peggy has a wide variety of scenarios to draw from.

Becca AbuRakia-Einhorn

Becca AbuRakia-Einhorn is the Manager of Education Abroad and International Fellowships at Gallaudet University, the world's first and only university in the world designed to be barrier-free for the deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing. She holds a BA from Pomona College, an MA in International Affairs from American University's School of International Service, and an MPA from American University's School of Public Affairs. She is completing an EdD in Higher Education Administration at The George Washington University. In 2019, she was named the Diversity Abroad EDIIE Rising Star and the NAFSA Rising Star Young Leader.

Heilwig Jones

Heilwig Jones is the founder and Director of Kaya Responsible Travel. Following her experiences working in Thailand after the 2004 Asian Tsunami, Heilwig established Kaya with the mission to promote sustainable social, environmental and economic development, empower communities and cultivate educated, compassionate global citizens through responsible travel programs. Working in non-traditional destinations across Asia, Africa and Latin America, Kaya’s service learning and internship programs can provide unique opportunities and also unique challenges for disabled students.

Darrel Christenson

Over the past three decades, Mr. Christenson has been professionally employed at 2 Centers for Independent Living, assisting persons with disabilities to be more independent and integrated in their community of choice, as well as advocating for a more accessible society.

For nearly 23 years, he has been the Vice President of Community Integration for Ability360 in Phoenix, Arizona, where he oversees 10 programs at Ability360, one of the largest Centers for Independent Living nationwide with an operating budget of over $48 million this year. Prior to moving to Arizona, he was the Program Outreach Coordinator for nearly 12 years at the Southeastern Minnesota Center for Independent Living (SEMCIL) based in Rochester, Minnesota, opening 3 branch offices in rural MN.

Mr. Christenson was elected Treasurer for the National Council on Independent Living’s (NCIL) Board of Directors for 2017 – 2019, serving on the Board for a total 7 years. He also Co-Chaired the NCIL Housing Sub-Committee for the past 14 years, addressing national issues of increasing and promoting accessibility in all housing nationally.

Mr. Christenson earned a Masters of Science degree in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, as well as earning a double major in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Minnesota-Mankato.

Caleb Chapman

As the Communications Coordinator at Texas A&M’s Education Abroad, Caleb is fairly new to the education abroad field, but has worked in higher education since 2009. He assists with coordinating outreach efforts that include presentations and speaking engagements, events, social media, departmental communication, and various print and digital publications. Caleb also advises the Education Abroad Ambassadors – a group of students passionate about and dedicated to getting more Aggies to participate in study abroad programs.

Prior to coming to Texas A&M, Caleb worked for the Division of Student Affairs at Tarleton State University where he served as director of multiple programs such as marketing and communications, student media, and leadership and service programs. He obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Tarleton and a Master of Arts in College Student Development from St. Edward’s University in Austin.

Caleb is a Texas native and enjoys traveling and spending time in the great outdoors with his wife and dog.

Sachiko Flores

Sachiko Flores was born profoundly Deaf in New Mexico and grew up in Texas with her Japanese-Mexican family. She graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Wildlife and Fisheries Science at Texas A&M University in 2011. When she went on study abroad in Fiji and Australia, she was inspired to study more about natural resources and conservation, so she decided to joined AmeriCorps and worked in various conservation corps programs.

Working with local communities and in conservation field influenced her decision to graduate with a Masters of Art in International Development from Gallaudet University in 2014. From there, she worked for Asia Pacific Development Center on Disability in Thailand for almost 2 years. She assisted to initiate a project, 60+ Bakery and Cafe, an inclusive bakery and café that promotes employees with disabilities to thrive its skills. She also facilitated a regional training of women with disabilities in South Asia to take part in the discussion process of the Beijing+20 Review at the Asian and Pacific Conference on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment.

After coming back to the U.S., she saw the chance to create a new opportunity in expanding Deaf representatives in the outdoor community. This led her co-founding an non-profit organization, CorpsTHAT, in 2016. Not only she is dedicated to conservation, she also contributes to the advocacy of international and local Deaf communities through her current role as Co-Executive Director of Deaf Worlds (DDW).

History Estill-Varner

History Estill-Varner became involved with the Deaf community in 2005 and after spending an academic year in Costa Rica, shifted focus to working with international deaf communities.

In May of 2015, she graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in American Sign Language/English Interpreting and International Studies from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Shortly after, she was awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Research grant to conduct research in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Her project titled “Improving Deaf Access in the DR: Researching Service Deficiencies, Creating an ITP”, collaborated with the Dominican Republic’s National Deaf Association as well as the National Interpreting Association to research service deficiencies and contribute to the ongoing effort of establishing an interpreter training program.

Through her research, she learned of the challenges, concerns, and goals of the community which allowed her to identify shortcomings in interpreting services. Upon completion of her research, she provided the interpreting association with recommendations that would enable interpreters to better serve and empower the Deaf community.

In addition to serving as DDW’s Co-Executive Director, Estill-Varner works as a nationally certified (NIC) freelance interpreter in Washington, D.C. providing interpreting services for a variety of federal government agencies. She also serves as a Fulbright Alumni Ambassador promoting the Department of State’s flagship program at conferences, colleges and universities across the United States.

Erika Wang

Erika began at Watson as a Jeannette K. Watson Fellow. With her passion for urban sustainability policy and community-centered solutions, she interned at Gotham Gazette in New York covering City Council bills, 100 Resilient Cities in Los Angeles where she managed the working draft of the Los Angeles Resilience Strategy, and then the World Resources Institute in Bengaluru, researching participatory planning processes in cities throughout India. Her evergreen dedication to her fellow fellows and enthusiasm for landing big ideas led her back to Watson, where as Project Coordinator she now manages new Foundation initiatives.

Erika can be found avidly keeping up with New York City policy and experimenting in the kitchen with friends and family.

Laura Caloudas

Laura is the senior program coordinator for Special Projects in Texas Global at the University of Texas at Austin. She initially joined Texas Global in Education Abroad as a program coordinator for customized, faculty-led programs in 2015. Prior to joining The University of Texas, Laura worked for international development NGOs in Washington, DC. She managed education, economic, and legal empowerment programs for women in Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Balkans. Through her work coordinating USAID and U.S. State Department programs, Laura traveled to Bangladesh, Bosnia, DRC, Rwanda, and Turkey.

Laura has an M.A. in international development from George Washington University, and a B.A. in international relations and public communication from American University. Her love for travel and intercultural learning began with a transformative study abroad experience at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic.

Nicholas Hoekstra

Nick Hoekstra is a martial artist who currently finds himself doing a Ph.D. in special education at the University of Kansas. For the past 8 years, Nick has worked in the area of international development, focusing on the promotion of inclusive education in low-income and low-resource environments. His work (or the martial arts) has taken him from Spain to Japan, Ecuador, Switzerland, Chile and Rwanda. His first exchange experience was a trip to Spain to hike the Camino de Santiago with a group of students from the University of Michigan. Several years later, Nick returned to the Camino to hike the 800km trail alone, looking for sighted guides each day to advance along the Way. In the years since, his work in education and interest in sport and fitness have provided him with opportunities to meet incredible people around the world, including his wife, who he met while training Brazilian Jiujitsu in Geneva.

Doris Alcántara

Doris Alcántara is a Deaf Afro-Latina from New York City. She is a first generation college graduate and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Gallaudet University where she earned a B.A. in Government, a B.A. in International Studies with a concentration in Latin American Studies, and a minor degree in Spanish. During her undergraduate studies Doris was awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship which allowed her to conduct preliminary research for her project titled “The Current Status of Deaf Education in the Dominican Republic” which she presented at the American Educational Research Association 2019 international conference. Miss Alcántara then earned the opportunity to continue her research when she was awarded a 2019-2020 U.S. Fulbright award to the Dominican Republic. She presented part of this work at the University Council for Educational Administration 2019 conference. Miss Alcántara continues to dedicate her career to the development and empowerment of marginalized communities.

Teneisha Ellis

Teneisha Ellis is a current Ph.D. student in Psychology at Abertay University in Dundee, Scotland. Not only has Teneisha had over 10 years of working in the field of international education, 3 years of which were as the Director of Education Abroad Programs at the University of Northern Colorado, in the United States, but she also has a deep connection to this research topic as she completed her master's at the height of the 2020 global pandemic at the University of East Anglia in England. She is also a huge proponent of education abroad experiences being accessible for everyone. She was also a key player in the Enabled Abroad program at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, to help students who identified as having a disability, have the opportunity to experience and international education experience.

Judith Jones

Judith Jones, (Judy) , grew up in New York State. She moved to New York City, after graduating from Hofstra University with a BS in Music Education (classical bassoon). Judy ultimately attained a Masters degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at Columbia University and she chose to teach adults and children, in addition to mentoring and providing professional development to new teachers. After 30 years, she retired and searched for a fulfilling, challenging and rewarding job outside of the public school system. In 2019, she chose to volunteer with Peace Corps Response Belize, Central America, as a Literacy Support Specialist. She loved her experience and considered it one of the most profound in her life. In 2020, all volunteers, including Judy, were evacuated due to the pandemic. Judy plans to return soon and continue the work she loved. She is now working to help Peace Corps Response and FEMA in a historic effort to get Oregonians vaccinated. She enjoys knitting, practicing her Swedish, playing bassoon, keeping in touch with friends and family and making new friends internationally.

Elisabeth Egel

Elisabeth Egel is a blind student from Estonia and an alumna of the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Program, which she attended during the 2018/2019 academic year. During the program, she spent a year in Armada, Michigan where she attended the local high school. Elisabeth also had the chance to learn about American history and culture, English teaching, and to conduct presentations about Estonian culture. After returning from the exchange year, she worked on different projects with the Estonian Blind Union and conducted a grant project to make the Estonian National Opera accessible to people who are blind. She has also been teaching English and American culture for two years at the local American English Conversation club and organized events for the alumni of the Future Leaders Exchange Program as the representative of her city.

For fun, Elisabeth enjoys running, reading and listening to music. She especially enjoys the freedom which these activities offer as well as the chance to learn more about the different cultures of the world.

Stephanie Woodward

Stephanie Woodward is an attorney and Executive Director of Disability EmpowHer Network, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering girls and women with disabilities through mentoring and transformative learning experiences. Stephanie is passionate about Disability Rights and empowering people with disabilities. Stephanie has litigated, worked for two U.S. Senators, and led a disaster response ground team in Puerto Rico to assist disabled people in distress after Hurricane Maria. As a proud disabled woman, Stephanie credits her success to mentoring she received from member of the Disability Community starting in her early twenties and is committed to helping even more girls and young women with disabilities through mentoring.

Christine Liao

Christine Liao is the Programs Manager at the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). She coordinates and implements all of AAPD’s national programs, including the Summer Internship Program, AAPD Paul G. Hearne Leadership Awards, Disability Rights Storytellers Fellowship, and NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship.

Prior to joining AAPD, Christine worked at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). She collaborated with diverse stakeholders to rebrand and strengthen the infrastructure of the AUCD Emerging Leaders Community, an initiative that serves as a professional home to thousands of current and former trainees and early career professionals.

Christine has extensive experience serving the deaf and disability communities in mental health, health care, academic, and community settings in both of her native languages, American Sign Language and English. She has supported deaf refugees through a global non-governmental organization, deaf children and adults with developmental and other disabilities, and adults who became deaf due to brain and/or physical injury. Through these activities, Christine gained experience in universal design, program planning, community outreach, and community organizing; she also developed expertise in disseminating information using technology accessible to a variety of audiences.

Christine earned her MSW from Arizona State University’s School of Social Work, with an emphasis on policy, planning and community organizing. She holds a BS degree in Psychology with a minor in American Sign Language from the University of Washington.

Molly Stern

Molly Stern is the Education Innovation Manager for AFS Intercultural Programs. She is primarily focused on sharing the educational curriculum and virtual Global Up programs, delivered by AFS and facilitating intercultural training sessions. Prior to joining AFS, Molly co-founded the Minneapolis Toy Library, a non-profit aimed to reduce consumption and increase community access to healthy child development through play. Her work experience in international education spans 12 years from education abroad within higher education to the nonprofit sector, recruiting multigenerational groups for volunteer and cross-cultural immersion experiences with indigenous communities around the world.

Molly has an M.A. in International Education from the School for International Training, and a B.A. in Sociology, Women’s studies and Spanish from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Her first study abroad experience was through the Institute for Central American Development Studies (ICADS) In Costa Rica and Nicaragua. She has led programs to both Peru and Mexico and spent time living and working in Venezuela.

Tim Fuchs

Tim Fuchs (he/him) joined the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) in 2003. The National Council on Independent Living is a national disability rights organization representing Centers for Independent Living (CILs), Statewide Independent Living Councils (SILCs), and other individuals and organizations fighting for the rights and independence of people with disabilities. Since 2007, Tim has been NCIL’s Operations Director. As Operations Director, Tim oversees NCIL’s membership programs, projects, conferences, and events, while assisting in the direction of administration and financial management. Tim is a graduate of Clemson University and lives with his family in Washington, DC.

Dr. Mona Minkara

Dr. Mona Minkara is a blind scientist, an adventurer, and a storyteller. She is known for her passion, dedication, and commitment to the idea that “Vision is More than Sight”, which has and continues to permeate all her professional and personal projects. Dr. Minkara has lost her vision at a young age and, through perseverance and personal ambition, she is now not only an Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Northeastern but also the creative mind behind her one-of-a-kind YouTube travel show Planes, Trains, and Canes (PTC).

As a visionary and inventive creator, Dr. Minkara perceived that PTC would be a fantastic platform to introduce her audience to her interest in travel, different cultural experiences, public transportation as well as a perfect platform to inspire individuals to reflect about their own society’s systems. Through PTC, Dr. Minkara aims to bring light to society’s regulations and structures and how they may carry hidden assumptions about individuals with disabilities.

In this case, Dr. Minkara’s PTC aims to open our eyes to ways that society’s systems, including public transportation systems, can impact the empowerment (or disempowerment) and inclusion of individuals with disabilities, by either facilitating or preventing these individuals from freely experiencing solo travel in diverse communities around the globe.

If you would like to know more about Dr. Minkara’s work, projects, and achievements, check out her website at www.monaminkara.com.

Hugo Trevino

Hugo is a first generation Mexican American. As an activist, he has advocated for the rights of Latinxs, LGBQTIA, people with disabilities & other marginalized communities. He earned his B.A. at the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana (UIUC) in 2014. His passion for education, student affairs, and travel, inspired him to obtain his Master of Education in International Higher Education in 2018, from Loyola University Chicago. Hugo has studied abroad with MIUSA to Costa Rica, during his time at UIUC he went to Costa Rica, China, and Taiwan. During his Masters he went to Vietnam and Italy. His work passions include helping people with disabilities in multi-faceted of ways including education, healthcare, and self-advocacy to name a few. This passion of service has led him to public speaking and working at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he makes sure students with disabilities have equal access to higher education and can achieve their full potential.

Michelle Sawah

Michelle is the Disability Component Coordinator for Secondary School Programs at American Councils. Her focus includes recruiting students with disabilities, coordinating accommodations while on program, and supporting programming for alumni with disabilities. Michelle has an M.A. in Russian-English Translation and Interpretation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and a B.A. Russian and Eurasian Studies from Colorado College. She received a Fulbright scholarship in 2009 to spend a year teaching English in Voronezh, Russia.