CEA Directory
academic affairs Leadership

Caroline Walsh
Caroline Walsh is responsible for the alignment and growth of CEA’s current product portfolio and expansion into new markets. She works closely with leadership within University Relations to identify university needs and trends and collaborates with Academic Affairs and CEA staff worldwide to design and deliver new programs and academic partnerships that are best suited to meet the needs of our U.S. university partners.
Prior to joining CEA, Caroline worked in the Public Information Office for the Santa Clara Water District, at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco, and at the Office of International Student Scholars at UW-Madison. She has a Master of Arts in Latin American studies from UW-Madison (Wisc.), a certificate of global leadership from the Thunderbird School of Management (Ariz.) and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Santa Clara University (Calif.).
While living for a year in Madrid, Spain, Caroline used her school breaks and weekends to travel throughout Spain and many other countries within Europe. She also lived in Bolivia and Brazil, and traveled throughout Peru, Chile, and the Amazon. Caroline thinks it's OK for students to be uncomfortable when traveling abroad: "It is in these moments we learn about ourselves and the new culture we are visiting. When you leave your comfort zone, you grow. You'll feel awkward and out of place many times, but that's OK. Don't shy away from difficult moments or stay where you are comfortable, you may be surprised at how strong you are."
ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
- Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA)
- NAFSA: Association of International Educators
PRESENTATIONS/PUBLICATIONS
- "Planning Quality Short-Term Study Abroad Programs," Co-Presented at NAFSA: Association of International Educators Region II and III, Bi-Regional Conference 2005, Colorado Springs
- "Crisis Management in Study Abroad," Co-Presented at Arizona International Educators Conference 2002, Tucson
HONORS/AWARDS
- Recipient of a University Fellowship as well as the Intensive Foreign Language HEA Title VI Fellowship from University of Wisconsin – Madison
- Recipient of an Intensive Foreign Language HEA Title VI Fellowship (Portuguese)
academic affairs Team

Alex Henderson, M.Ed.
Alex Henderson is CEA’s Associate Academic Coordinator. In addition to supporting the Academic Team in day-to-day operations, Alex is responsible for Curriculum Integrations and Educational Technology projects. Before moving to the Academic Team, Alex previously worked as a CEA Admissions Counselor.
Alex is an alumnus of the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC, where he earned a B.A. in History. He is also an alumnus of Northern Arizona University where he earned his Master’s in Educational Leadership.
Alex also lived in Japan, Italy, and the United Kingdom. For future travel destinations, Morocco and Argentina top of his list!

Alyssa Wolk
Alyssa Wolk, as an Assistant Academic Coordinator, supports the Academic Affairs team with day-to-day operations. She plays a crucial role to the coordination of CEA’s Student Success model as well as serves as a point person for Academic Affairs projects and process improvements. Before moving to the Academic Affairs team, Alyssa was both an intern to the CEA Enrollment department and a CEA Admissions Counselor.
Alyssa has always been inspired by culture, food, and traditions. This encouraged her to study Anthropology and Earth Science at University of California, Irvine (UCI). While at UCI, she studied abroad in two magnificent and very different destinations: Be'er Sheva, Israel and the Waikato region of Aotearoa New Zealand for a total of 15 months. While immersed in these two amazing and diverse cultural environments, she met many inspiring people from around the world that continue to teach and humble her to this day.
Alyssa is also grateful to have had the opportunity to travel to Italy, France, Germany, England, and Jordan, as well as many wonderful places in the States. However, her list of where she’d like to travel is much longer (isn’t everyone’s?!). Outside of CEA, Alyssa enjoys hiking, reading, painting, do-it-yourself (DIY) crafting, baking, playing with animals (especially cats), watching Netflix, going to museums, and, of course, travelling!
Did you know? Alyssa met her husband studying abroad!

Lauren Bates
In her role as a CEA Assistant Academic Coordinator, Lauren Bates assists the Academic Affairs Team by organizing all CEA transcripts and supporting day-to-day operations.
Lauren completed a B.A. in Religious Studies with a minor in History at Arizona State University. While earning her degree, she was fortunate enough to study abroad in the British Isles - traveling to London, Dublin, and Edinburgh during six amazing weeks. She also traveled to Japan with her high school language class.

Lenka Vystrčilová, Ph.D.
A native of Slovakia, Lenka spent a significant portion of her life living and studying in the U.S. Other travels have led her to explore much of Central and Western Europe, and she would love for her next personal adventure to take her to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
Lenka holds a doctorate in political science from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich, a master’s degree in Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies from Stanford University, and a bachelor’s degree in international relations and German studies from Lewis & Clark College. Lenka has worked as an assistant director and academic coordinator for a U.S. study abroad program in Munich, and as an academic director for international students in Prague.

Ana Martínez
Ana's role is to ensure the academic quality of all CEA Barcelona programs. She reviews the curriculum and coordinates the development of new courses, reviews and maintains consistency of academic policies and practices, oversees the resolution of all important student academic issues, and provides support to faculty to guarantee academic excellence.
Prior to joining CEA, Ana worked with another study abroad organization as a resident coordinator and faculty member. She's also held several university positions: Assistant Director of the Advanced Spanish Language Program at Georgetown University (Washington D.C.), Teaching Associate at Georgetown University and Universidad Antonio de Nebrija (Spain), and Teaching Assistant and Director of the Spanish House at Middlebury College (Vt.). Ana earned her Ph.D. in Spanish Applied Linguistics at Georgetown University, which also conferred to her a Master of Science in Linguistics. She also holds a Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish as a Second Language from Universidad Antonio de Nebrija and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Philology from Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain).
Ana first

Alexandra Massini

Monica Francioso
Academic Director Monica Francioso joined the CEA Florence team in
Monica obtained a BA in English and Russian from the Università
Monica lived abroad in the United Kingdom and Ireland for 13 years. Prior to joining the CEA Florence team, Monica held several teaching positions in Italian language, literature
Monica firmly believes in the importance of studying abroad as a means to broaden horizons and better oneself. Her experiences have shown her how enriching speaking/learning other languages and knowing other cultures can be. She believes she would be a different person today had she not experienced life abroad.

Christopher Edwards
Christopher oversees academic programs offered through CEA Paris. His responsibilities range from curriculum development to faculty training, as well as student advising and partner program oversight. He has developed an extensive working knowledge of academic approaches to topics ranging from world health care systems to global management information systems.
Christopher holds a Masters of Arts in French from New York University (N.Y.) and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and French from Auburn University (Ala.). Prior to joining CEA, Christopher was an Instructor of French at Clemson University (S.C.). In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he facilitated study abroad programs for Clemson's College of Art, Architecture
As a long-time U.S. citizen living overseas, Christopher thinks that "students should be increasingly aware of the monumental competition they will face in an increasingly globalized job market. Learning languages and developing an ethical and responsible contact with non-U.S. cultures through structured study abroad programming is one way in which to do so."
ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
* Phi Beta Kappa
*
PRESENTATIONS/PUBLICATIONS
* Facebook training for study abroad professionals, APUAF Annual Meeting of U.S. Program Directors in France, March 2010
* Student travel abroad: ensuring your student's safety, APUAF Annual Meeting of U.S. Program Directors in France, March 2013
* Digital Video Conference (DVC) Presentation, U.S. Department of State, Africa Regional Services, Paris, France (with US Embassy in Cotonou, Benin). Activism and the LGBT Community. June 2013.
Digital Video Conference (DVC) presentation, U.S. Department of State, Africa Regional Services, Paris, France (with US Embassy in Brazzaville, Congo). Study in the US. November 2013.

Mary Alice Soriero
As Academic Director, Mary Alice ensures that CEA Sevilla’s academic operations seamlessly develop and implement programs of academic excellence; reviews and maintains academic policies and practices; oversees the coordination and resolution of student academic issues
Originally from the U.S., Mary Alice brings over 25 years of international work and volunteer experience to her position at CEA. She’s lived in various cultures all over the world and uses her acquired knowledge to both inform her thinking and enable others to understand
Mary Alice earned a Master's of Science in Education, Culture and Society from the University of Pennsylvania. She earned an undergraduate degree in East Asian Studies from Pennsylvania State University.
Upon arriving in Spain in 1998, she worked as a cultural advisor for newly arrived U.S. military personnel and U.S. university students and spent more than 10 years with TCU coordinating their Sevilla program. These experiences allow Mary Alice to help students arriving in Sevilla quickly transform from excited traveler to awed and informed
Mary Alice's love of foreign cultures and her knowledge of English, Spanish, Japanese, and Thai have taken her all over the world, including Peru, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Spain, and the U.S. Her work as a Peace Corp volunteer, a language teacher, and a public speaker on cultural values, combined with her travel and language experiences, have provided Mary Alice with a knowledge of extreme cultural differences and supplied her with a series of personal anecdotes that help her empower students to analyze and investigate cultural values and differences.
ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Teaching English of Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Darragh O Briain
As Academic Director for CEA Dublin Center, Mr. Darragh O Briain manages faculty relationships and appointments, schedules courses, manages student and faculty grievances, assists in recommending curriculum updates, provides academic advising, and oversees the day-to-day academic activities of the CEA Dublin Center.
Mr. O Briain has vast lecturing experience in Market Research, Event Management, Marketing Communications, Sales Management and Entrepreneurship with the American College Dublin, Griffith College
Mr. O Briain holds an MA from Trinity College, where he focused his thesis studies on advertising, communication
ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
* HETAC (Irish Government Accreditation Agency) Expert Panel for Programme Validation
* Sat on Dublin Business School's Executive Committee
HONORS/AWARDS
* Diploma in Advanced Marketing Techniques - Dublin Institute of Technology
* Certificate in Applied Merchandising and Display - Dublin Institute of Technology
* London Chamber of Commerce Certificate in Advanced Business German
* 2007 Acknowledged for "Outstanding Contribution to Youth Work" by Dublin City Vocational Education Committee
* 2008 Honoured by the President for 10 years of quality adult service to Gaisce/The President's Award (The Presidents Citizenship scheme for young people)

Jose Balza
Jose has a BA in Communication from Arturo Michelena University in his home country Venezuela and is a TEFL certified instructor from the Hunter College of the City University of New York.
Before relocating to Buenos Aires, Jose spent eight years working as an English professor for private institutes and universities, gaining experience in teaching and supporting students from all ages and with different language needs. He also has a professional background as a cultural events producer, handling logistics and social media presence and in management assistance for a health-related organization.
Having travelled through the USA and visited different Latin American countries, Jose is passionate about working in an international environment and using his communication, teaching oriented and social skills to bring cultures together and provide a great academic experience and support for CEA students in Buenos Aires.