Decolonizing International Partnerships presented by the International Relations Professional Learning Community

Dr. Samia Chasi

Strategic Advisor, International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA)

Dr Chasi currently serves as the Strategic Advisor to the International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA). She is passionate about facilitating deeper understanding and connections between diverse people and institutions by creating spaces for critical engagement and constructive dialogue.
Dr Chasi is a practitioner-scholar in higher education internationalisation with more than 20 years of experience in this field through positions in international offices of German and South African universities, an agency of the European Commission as well as representations of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Nuffic and the British Council in South Africa. While higher education partnerships have been the main focus of her work, she also has gained valuable insights and experience in vocational and entrepreneurship education through initiatives driven in partnership with education institutions, government departments and the private sector.
Dr Chasi graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy in Education from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in 2019. Her doctoral thesis critically examines North-South partnerships in higher education from a global South perspective, facilitated by a postcolonial framework. She also holds a Master of Philosophy in Engineering Management from the University of Johannesburg and a Master of Arts in English, Russian and Sociology from the University of Rostock, Germany.

Dr. Kumari Beck

Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Co-Director, Centre for Research on International Education (CRIE)

Kumari Beck is Associate Professor, and Co-Director, Centre for Research on International Education in the Faculty of Education at SFU. Her research interests span internationalization of higher education in Canada, international education, internationalization of curriculum, globalization, postcolonial theory, and issues in education and international development. She is interested in how the experiences of those who participate in international education and internationalization processes can inform ways in which we understand and practice internationalization. Her teaching interests include equity and social justice, international and global education, anti-racist and multicultural education, and current issues in curriculum and pedagogy.

Ms. Andrea Delgado Morrow

Steering Committee Member, International Relations Professional Learning Community, Canadian Bureau for International Education and Director, International Relations, University of Calgary, Canada.

Andrea Delgado Morrow is the director, international relations for the University of Calgary’s international office where she and the team are responsible for institutional partnerships and agreements. She holds an MA in intercultural and international communication from Royal Roads University. Andrea has over 15 years of experience working in post-secondary education.

This includes University of Calgary, regional manager (Asia Pacific) and associate faculty member at Royal Roads University and Mount Royal University (Faculty of Communication). Throughout her career Andrea has been active in the international education realm sitting on various committees and currently sits on the steering committee for the Canadian Bureau for International Education’s international relations professional learning community.

Ms. Janine Denis Gonzalez

Steering Committee Member, International Relations Professional Learning Community, Canadian Bureau for International Education and Partnership Development Specialist, University of Ottawa, Canada

Janine Denis Gonzalez is the Partnership Development Specialist at the University of Ottawa. She is responsible for managing international partnerships that support institutional internationalization objectives. She also advises faculties on their international engagement initiatives and manages programs in strategic spheres. Janine has diverse experience in the field of international education, having held roles in international relations, student mobility, recruitment and marketing. She holds an MA in Multilingual Communication from the Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium and a BSocSc (Hons) in International Studies and Modern Languages from the University of Ottawa, Canada. She currently serves as a steering committee member of CBIE’s International Relations Professional Learning Committee.

Ms. Carol Zachs

Co-Chair, International Relations Professional Learning Community, Canadian Bureau for International Education and Director, Global Engagement, Simon Fraser University, Canada

Carol Zachs serves as Director of Global Engagement at Simon Fraser University and has worked in the field of international education for 20 years. At SFU, she is responsible for promoting and enhancing SFU’s global engagement through the strategic management of partnerships and initiatives. Prior to joining SFU, Carol oversaw the study and research abroad program at UBC. She has worked abroad in Denmark and volunteered for WUSC/Uniterra in Ghana. She is also co-founder and co-chair of the International Relations PLC hosted by CBIE. Carol holds a Masters of Education from UBC with a focus on global change and adult learning.