Education Abroad Professional Learning Community (EA-PLC)

Janine Knight-Grofe has 15 + years’ experience in international education practice and research. She is currently Director, International Education at Durham College where she is responsible for a spectrum of internationalization initiatives, including leadership for education abroad; developing and implementing programs and services related to international students; and implementing the Internationalization and Global Engagement Plan along with the international education team.

Janine is a PhD student, Higher Education, at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto and holds a Master of Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Colleen Packer has worked in the field of international education for over 20 years. She is currently the Director, Global Learning at University of Calgary International, where she provides leadership for the University’s education abroad and global learning at home programs, working with stakeholders across campus to support the institution’s global engagement plan. In addition to serving on various internal and external committees, Colleen is the co-chair of the CBIE’s Education Abroad Professional Learning Community and is a frequent presenter at both national and international conferences. Colleen has an M.Ed. in adult learning from the University of Calgary.

Zhi has a Ph.D in Administration of Post-secondary Education from the University of Alberta. She is passionate about international education and strongly believes that a critical outcome of the UAlberta experience is for the graduating students to develop interest and competencies in engaging professionally and socially with diverse communities in Canada and around the world.

As the Director of International Strategic Initiatives, Shabnam (Shay) designs and delivers University of Waterloo’s Co-operative and Experiential Education’s internationalization strategy that continues to place CEE as a global leader in the work-integrated learning arena via sustainable pathways for quality growth & innovation. Being an avid advocate of WIL, she has presented on program outcomes, student satisfaction, building co‐op legacies in organizations, risk management, WIL impact on UN’s SDGs, etc. at several global conferences. Shabnam loves working at university because she believes that in a well-rounded education lies the promise of our future.

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Rebecca Trautwein is the Manager, Education Abroad at University of Calgary International, where she provides leadership to her team, in pursuit of increasing global learning experiences for the campus community through strengthening global partnership and collaboration. Her expertise includes risk management, experiential programming, relationship building, intercultural development, and wraparound supports, with over ten years’ experience, at both polytechnic and university institutions. Rebecca holds an MA in International and Intercultural Communication from Royal Roads University, which guides her work and teaching, in helping people develop a deepened understanding of the complexities, nuances, and joys of intercultural communication, and ultimately the human experience.

Karima has over two decades of experience in work integrated learning, and currently serves as Associate Director. International, Indigenous and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Victoria’s Co-operative Education Programs and Career Services. A Certified Advanced Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Professional and an active researcher, she has co-published articles in the International Journal of Work Integrated Learning, and a chapter on UVic’s Intercultural Competency Development Curriculum, in the book Work-integrated Learning in the 21st Century: Global Perspectives on the Future. Karima just completed two years of service as Co-Chair of the ACE-WIL BC/Yukon’s Research Committee and is currently Chair of CEWIL Canada’s International Committee. She espouses values of pluralism and servant leadership in all she does.

Elissa earned a Master’s of Education degree in Higher Education leadership from the University of Calgary and worked to support students as a Manager, Residence Life before taking on leadership of the Safety Abroad portfolio at the University of Waterloo. Skilled in risk assessment and iterative process improvement related to international travel Elissa provides strategic and operational leadership associated with the health, safety and security of those travelling abroad on University of Waterloo sponsored travel and activities including the coordination of emergency responses for crisis situations abroad.

KK is an education abroad professional who’s been reflecting on global learning in higher education since her exchange in university. Her international journey continued as she worked in Japan for four years before starting her M.Sc. in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Colorado State University. Shortly thereafter, she joined George Brown College as Administrator, Inbound Mobility and began pulling the threads for her personal and professional experiences into projects that focused on wraparound services. That included improving her own credentials and becoming a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory. Now at Seneca College, KK is investigating the role of gamification and instructional design in wraparound services for education abroad opportunities.

Ada Lee is an international education professional with 8+ years in global mobility and partnerships, international recruitment & admissions, and student engagement. As a 1.5 generation settler hailing from Hong Kong, cross-cultural navigation and learning have been lifelong personal interests. She hopes to continue efforts in widening access to experiential global learning programs and leveraging technology to build inclusive and innovative programming. She lives alongside the great Douglas fir trees in coastal city of Vancouver.

Eunjung is an International education professional who is dedicated to helping students, staff, faculty and higher education institutions better understand and engage with global issues through international mobility, research and internship abroad programs. Leveraging over 10 years of experience in higher education in the field of international mobility programs, recruitment, partnership development & agreements, admissions (domestic/international), and assessment of transfer credits. Highly motivated and engaged in developing an internationalization strategic plan and direction in advancing the internationalization agenda and positive student experience in post-secondary institutions, she is a knowledgeable and trained facilitator and curriculum developer for cultural safety learning programs. In her current role, she oversees the international learning program at Western University. She is currently co-chair of the Virtual Education Abroad sub-group at CBIE’s Education Abroad PLC.