Biography: Jean-Paul Sewavi came to MSU from the University of Dayton where he worked as the Programs Manager for Education Abroad for several years. Prior to joining the University of Dayton, he served as a study abroad advisor at the State University of New York at New Paltz (SUNY –New Paltz) for over four years where he developed expertise in planning and managing study abroad and exchange programs. Jean-Paul’s primary responsibility at MSU is the administration of education abroad programs offered through the College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, as well as serving as liaison with the Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement and initiatives related to community engagement abroad.

With over 14 years of experience in education abroad program management, Jean-Paul brings invaluable experience and expertise in managing faculty-directed study abroad and global service-learning programs. Jean-Paul holds a Master’s degree in Multicultural and International Management from the School for International Training and he has extensive experience working and living in Africa.

Biography: Jennifer joined the Office for Education Abroad in February 2016 as the Business Manager. Her background includes various administrative roles in academic and non-academic units on campus. Her career at MSU began in January 2006 in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. After three years, she received a promotion to office manager of the department of Accounting and Information Systems in the Broad Business College. In July 2012, she joined Founding Director, Michael Rush in the opening of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum where she was the Finance and Human Resources Coordinator for 3.5 years.

Prior to Michigan State University, Jennifer held various positions with increasing responsibility at the Story Automotive Group in Lansing. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from Michigan State University.

Biography: As associate director, Inge provides leadership and direction for all functions related to program development and management, student advising, college/unit liaisons, and portfolio development and maintenance. She oversees program evaluations and works with the executive director and a team of program coordinators on ensuring a well-balanced program portfolio. In addition, she directs faculty engagement and development and is responsible for academic outreach, faculty seminars, and other faculty development initiatives, such as site visits, the Faculty Learning Community on Teaching & Learning Abroad, and an annual workshop series offered in conjunction with MSU’s Academic Advancement Network.

Inge has contributed scholarly articles to several books on topics ranging from orientation programming, culture learning/teaching and faculty development to assessing intercultural competencies. She is the co-editor of the forthcoming third edition of NAFSA’s Learning Across Cultures book. A member of and regular conference contributor to NAFSA: Association of International Educators since the mid-1980s, Inge has held various national leadership positions in the organization, mostly recently as chair of the 2016 national NAFSA conference.

A native of Heidelberg, Germany, Inge first came to the U.S. on a Fulbright and has now spent more than half of her life there. She earned her PhD in intercultural communication from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus, where she also worked in the Office of International Education and taught in the department of communication. Her dissertation research focused on conceptualizing and developing a model to assess the impact of education abroad on students' cognitive development and she continues to be interested in defining and assessing education abroad learning outcomes. She considers herself fortunate to have a professional career that is also a vocation.

Biography: Christine Trinidad provides leadership and direction for all functions related to enrollment management and student services. She is responsible for ongoing quality improvement of enrollment management systems, processes, policies and procedures; for ensuring that communication, promotion and outreach messaging is comprehensive, consistent and accurate; and for providing training for and oversight of all aspects of student advising.

Christine is a strong proponent of education abroad with over ten years of experience in higher education and the profession of international education. She has served in multiple capacities on the student services side of education abroad, including her current role, as well as an education abroad advisor at her previous position at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego in Political Science and Ethnic Studies and received her Master’s degree in Education with a focus on Postsecondary Leadership from San Diego State University. She spent a year at the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies in the United Kingdom that inspired her to enter the profession of international education.

Since 2006, Christine has made it her professional goal to improve the student experience (from first point of contact to return) and has made it her personal mission to reach out diverse and underrepresented populations.