About the Diversity Abroad Conference

Dr. Penelope Pynes is Senior International Officer (SIO) at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), leading internationalization efforts and promoting student/faculty exchange. She has served as President of AIEA, Chair of NAFSA’s International Education Leadership Knowledge Community (IEL-KC) and is currently a Senior Associate for Internationalization at the ACE. A regular presenter on comprehensive internationalization and co-designer of several SIO training programs, she has a doctorate in Germanic linguistics from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Nell has over 25 years of experience in international higher education at UNCG. Prior to her current position she served as Director of Study Abroad and Exchanges and before that she taught German. Most recently she directed the University’s Global Engagement Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) a five-year initiative tied to UNCG’s regional accreditation. Through this university-wide initiative UNCG was able to implement and assess activities related to four Global Student Learning outcomes and design faculty development programming to promote these initiatives. As a long-term outcome of these efforts UNCG’s general education program includes two competencies related to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Global and Intercultural Awareness.

Neal McKinney (he/him/his) joined the education abroad field in 2015 and serves as the Associate Director of Off-Campus Programs at DePauw University. During his time at DePauw, Neal has become a passionate social justice advocate, and has focused his energy on increasing outreach and access for underrepresented students to study abroad. As a result of his efforts, DePauw has seen increased participation in first generation students, students of color, and Pell-grant eligible students by 11%, 25%, and 35% respectively over the past four years.

Neal’s most rewarding accomplishment includes successfully securing a $1-million commitment in endowed funds from DePauw’s Alumni Development office specifically for inclusive excellence funding to support underrepresented student participation in experiential learning programs including study abroad and international internships. Through this accomplishment, Neal developed the Global Access Initiative Challenge scholarship program (which he pitched at Diversity Abroad’s first Innovation Competition, and earned him an honorable mention), and this effort has provided $10,000 in scholarship funds to ten underrepresented student scholars.

Lastly, within the larger international education field, Neal has taken to every opportunity to center his professional development on diversity and inclusion. He is very active within Diversity Abroad, having attended/presented at the past three conferences, served on the Race/Ethnicity Task Force, participated/twice co-chaired the Global Student Leadership summit, and as well as submitting a paper for the Global Impact Exchange publication. He has also been able to share his expertise at the NAFSA national convention, the IFSA Conference, and to the national ACPA student affairs conference.

Xavier University of Louisiana, located in New Orleans, was founded in 1925 by Mother Katharine Drexel (canonized in 2000 by Pope John Paul II). It is America’s only Historically Black and Catholic University, which is just the first of the distinctions that have set Xavier University of Louisiana apart for more than eight decades. Despite its relatively small size
(3,300 students), Xavier is a nationally recognized leader in the STEM and the health sciences, producing more African American students who graduate from medical schools each year than any other university in the United States. Its College of Pharmacy is among the top producers of African American pharmacists.

Both Xavier’s core and each discipline’s specific curriculum are guided intimately by the University’s mission such that students are developed to be life-long learners and global leaders that actively contribute to a more just and humane society for all. The study abroad program, through the Center for Intercultural and International Programs, has been an integral part of Xavier’s diverse learning and teaching approach in fulfilling this mission. Xavier has also consistently provided significant scholarships and training opportunities for students to participate in many study abroad and academic programs.

Its liberal arts-based programs in areas such as art, business, education, psychology, and political science – as well as such recent additions as bioinformatics, data science, neuroscience, crime and social justice, and jazz studies – offer students an unbeatable combination of traditional classroom study, hands-on research, service-learning opportunities, and life experiences.

Jazzlyn is a senior majoring in International Studies with a concentration in Asian Studies and a Business minor at the University of South Alabama. To promote her interests in Asia she co-founded, and is the current President for the campus organization USA Hallyu, which seeks to educate about and encourage interest in Korean culture both traditional and modern. She chose to participate in a year long study abroad program in Seoul, South Korea, and was inspired during her time abroad. After returning from her program she became a study abroad ambassador at the Office of International Education at her university. She uses this platform to encourage other students to study abroad by hosting info sessions, seminars, and one-to-one study abroad advising, as well as assisting current international students on campus. She hopes that by sharing her personal experiences abroad, she can attest to the importance of studying abroad, and help her peers to overcome obstacles preventing them from studying.

CAPA: The Global Education Network is committed to academic excellence, integrity, and innovation in learning abroad. Our mission is to provide meaningful experiences that challenge and inspire students to analyze and explore complex political, cultural, and social landscapes within urban environments. Through our commitment to personalized learning, global connections via technology, and collaborative learning communities, we prepare students to live and work in a globally interdependent and diverse world. This approach has made CAPA a trusted global leader in study abroad since 1972. Learn more at capa.org.

CAPA’s commitment to diversity is academic, experiential, and personal, including outreach to, and engagement with, the diverse communities that make up our Global Cities Program locations and participants. Diversity is a characteristic of our locations, a subject we teach, an educational principle, and an ethical imperative. Because we understand that diversity and identity can have different definitions for different people, CAPA gives students the tools they need—regardless of age, race and ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and abilities—to fully experience our programs. In addition, CAPA views its commitment to diversity as a form of social justice, in that international education should be an opportunity that is available and realistically achievable for all.

Lee D. Lambert has been Chancellor of Pima Community College since July 2013.

Under Chancellor Lambert, Pima is focusing on student success, partnering with employers to foster relevant careers and regional economic development, and building a multicultural world that honors our differences as well as the values that unify us.

Chancellor Lambert’s leadership has resulted in Pima twice being named one of the Aspen Institute’s top 150 schools eligible for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.

Chancellor Lambert is a founding member of the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3), and serves on its Board of Directors. In October 2019, Chancellor Lambert was named chair of the UNMUDL Community College Founders’ Council, which assists adult working learners.

Additionally, Chancellor Lambert has long championed community colleges as instruments in the fight for equity and social justice, and as key players in global education.

Chancellor Lambert is CEO of the National Asian Pacific Islanders Council, and has received the League of United Latin American Citizens’ National Convention Humanitarian Award. Pima Community College is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution.

In 2018, he presented on “How Industry 4.0 & Global Education will Shape the Future of Work: A Case Study from Arizona” and participated on a panel, “Tertiary Education International Policy Forum,” at the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics global conference.

He received a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts from The Evergreen State College and a Juris Doctor degree from Seattle University School of Law.

Chancellor Lambert is a U.S. Army veteran. He was born in Seoul, South Korea, and grew up on three continents.

He likes for people to call him Lee.

Grand Valley State University (GVSU) strives to make sure their outreach, marketing and recruitment efforts reflect the widest possible range of student experiences and to involve underrepresented students in the process of developing their outreach strategy. Notable projects include outreach videos for the new TRiO and Student-Athlete study abroad programs, outreach events such as ‘Being Black & Brown Abroad’ and ‘LGBTQIA+ Abroad’, Passport Scholarships and the ‘First Around the World’ book collaboration with TRiO Student Support Services.

Omar Nedzelsky Jr. is a current Master of Science in Health Science student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). Being a first-generation Hispanic student in his family made him feel proud of accomplishing this milestone in his academic career and allowed him to prove to his family that the world is bigger than what we think. He considers his culture to be very reserved, and having the support from his family to venture out and gain experiences that lead to him becoming a global citizen was the most rewarding opportunity he could ever ask for. During his academic career at UTRGV, he was fortunate enough to have studied abroad more than once and got to visit countries such as United Kingdom, France, and the most recent Japan as a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship recipient. This allowed him to open and become himself within the world. He got to make global connections with different walks of life, their cultures, and their languages. These opportunities were just enough to allow him to experience the diversity of a culture, get a better understanding of the world, and encouraged him to break out of his comfort zone.

Pre-Conference Only Pricing

Member: $374

Non-member: $424

Graduate Student: $324

Chancellor Lee D. Lambert