CEA Directory

As the Senior International Officer for Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Dr. Vanderkar serves as a strategic partner in leading university global initiatives. She is engaged with faculty and the campus community on enhancing international partnerships and with initiatives involving international student retention and success, curriculum internationalization, and diversity and inclusivity. Dr. Vanderkar has extensive experience managing study abroad, exchange, and faculty-led programming; health, safety, and risk management; program development and administration; and consortium leadership.

Dr. Vanderkar earned her Ph.D. in cultural anthropology at the University of Oregon, where she researched post-socialist transition in Eastern Europe and conducted an ethnography on Moravian village life in the Czech Republic. She has been in the international education field for over 20 years and has managed study abroad efforts for thirteen years.

As Dean of Global Education, Christian provides leadership for the Center for Global Education at Providence College (PC) by working with the administration, faculty, staff, students in all aspects of PC’s global education programs.  Since joining PC in 2020, Christian has launched virtual global learning initiatives such as COIL courses and remote international internships.  Prior to PC, Christian held positions at SUNY New Paltz and the University of Lynchburg.  On a professional level, Christian is actively engaged in NAFSA, Forum on Education Abroad, and Diversity Abroad.

Christian earned his doctorate in international education from the University of Minnesota with a dissertation on the internationalization of teacher education, and received his M.A. in African Studies at the University of London.  As an undergraduate at McDaniel College, Christian studied abroad in Geneva, Switzerland to focus on his majors in French and international studies.  In addition, Christian has taught English in France and Japan.

Dr. Cindy Price is the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at Seattle Pacific University and has served in this role since 2014. Under Cindy’s leadership, the Vice Provost of Academic Affairs oversees General Education, Institutional Accreditation, Institutional Research, Global Engagement, Student Academic Services, and Study Abroad Initiatives. She is also involved in areas of academic planning, academic policies, strategic planning, parent programs, and faculty development.

Dr. Price earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from Washington State University. Prior to her role at Seattle Pacific University, Cindy was an Assistant Professor in Sociology at the University of Washington.

Daniel J. May was named Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of New Haven in 2013. As the chief academic officer, he oversees the academic colleges and programs, library and information technology services, and staff members supporting high impact experiential education opportunities, including study abroad.  He also oversees academic affiliation and articulation agreements, including the School-of-Record agreement with CEA.

Provost May has overseen the establishment of satellite locations at the Orange, CT and Prato, Italy campuses; the acquisition of the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts; and the development of the joint master’s degree program in data science with Galvanize, Inc. in San Francisco. He has guided the campus-wide review and prioritization process of its academic programs and administrative units, and fostered the use of information technology in instruction, evaluation, and assessment.

Provost May earned his bachelor’s degree in geology at Stanford University and a Ph.D. in geology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He served on the faculty at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand from 1986 to 1989, at Bowling Green State University in 1990-91, and at the University of Findlay in Ohio from 1991-2003. Dr. May chaired programs in environmental, safety, and occupational health management prior to becoming dean of Findlay’s College of Sciences in 2003. He served there as vice president for academic affairs from 2004-2013, overseeing the addition of innovative undergraduate majors, online offerings, professional graduate programs, and a variety of continuing education and consulting services.

Emelee Volden is the Director of the Office of International Education at the University of Denver (DU) where she provides strategy and advocacy for study abroad and global learning.

Prior to DU, Emelee was the Senior International Officer at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse where she was responsible for all campus internationalization efforts, education abroad, international student and scholar services and ESL. She has also worked at Northwest College (WY) where she led international student recruitment, admissions and retention efforts and the University of Minnesota where she advised on and assisted with the development of education abroad programs.

Emelee is a first-generation college student, earning a B.A. in Fine Arts from the University of Sioux Falls. Her international education experience began as an undergraduate student studying abroad in Florence, Italy. After graduation, she then taught in Wajima, Ishikawa, Japan on the JET Program, returning to the U.S., eager to begin her professional career in international education. She earned an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.

Dr. John Peters is the Dean of International Programs at Marist College. In this role, he supports Marist students studying abroad over six continents and divides most of his time between the Marist Poughkeepsie and Florence Campuses. Some of his interests and experience include curriculum development, community outreach, intercultural communication, and program development. John is passionate about developing and helping to connect students with innovative, empowering international and intercultural experiences.

Dean Peters received his bachelor’s in Economics and Japanese from California State University, Sacramento. He also holds a M.A. in International Studies from Ohio University and a Ph.D. in Political Economy from the University of Southern California.

Kelli Smith has over 25 years of experience in higher education, mostly within the area of career services. She was promoted to Assistant Vice President of Student Success after serving as the Director of University Career Services for 3 years at Binghamton University (SUNY) in upstate New York. There she provides overall vision and leadership for the Center for Civic Engagement, Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development, Student Employment, Public Speaking Lab, First Year Experience, Emerging Leaders, the Student Affairs Assessment and Strategic Initiatives office, Transfers, the peer academic support Discovery program, and general student success initiatives. Kelli is also an adjunct faculty member for leadership within Binghamton University's School of Management and teaches leadership courses to both undergraduate and graduate students.

Prior institutions where Kelli worked include University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), Nebraska Wesleyan, Georgetown University, Doane College, and Indiana University.

She has served on the Directorate for an ACPA commission on career development and on the NACE First Destination Survey Task Force, the NACE Leadership Advancement Program, and the 2016-17 NACE awards committee where she proposed the “Career Champion” award. She co-chaired the 2017 Global Career Services Summit in Leicester, England and co-chaired the most recent NACE Standards Task Force.

While serving as the Director of University Career Services at Binghamton, the comprehensive center she led grew from 14 to 21 staff lines, and within that timeframe, the center received 6 regional awards and the international “Exemplary Career Center” award given by the National Career Development Association for 2017.

Kelli’s relevant publications include the Jossey-Bass/Wiley sourcebook Strategic Directions for Career Services Within the University Setting (2014), the chapter, “Preparing Students for After-college Life: The Context,” in Stepping Up to Stepping Out: Helping Students Prepare for Life after College (2012), and the Jossey-Bass/Wiley sourcebook co-sponsored by NACE, Leadership Development for Career Readiness in University Setting (February, 2018).

Dr. Martha McGivern is the Director of Study Abroad at DePaul University and is responsible for directing the strategy and implementation of study abroad programs across DePaul’s 10 colleges and schools. She oversees crisis and emergency responses for 80 annual programs. Her current priorities are program assessment, term-long program development strategies, and team leadership.

Prior to DePaul University, Dr. McGivern managed faculty-led study abroad programs at New York University and center- and hybrid-based programs at IES Abroad. She earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in International Education from New York University, with research focusing on issues of gender and cultural learning in study abroad, particularly as it plays out in cross-national relationships among peers. She regularly teaches a course on international partnership, project management, and proposal writing in the Master’s of Global Health program at Northwestern University.

Dr. McGivern’s international experience is strongest in Latin America, including doctoral research in Mexico, volunteer teaching in Ecuador, and undergraduate study abroad in Argentina.

Meredith Blumthal has been in the field of international education for 12 years. As the Director for International Programs in Engineering (IPENG) at the University of Illinois, she leads the study abroad initiatives and programming for the college. Ms. Blumthal’s team includes three study abroad advisors, a receptionist, and peer advisors. Together the IPENG office provides study abroad advising, expertise, international exchanges, and cultural experiences in over 60 programs throughout 20 countries, with the goal of providing transformative learning experiences that empower students to develop global competency skills. Through partnerships with universities abroad, alumni, faculty, staff, and student groups, Ms. Blumthal leads the IPENG team to provide study abroad advising, informational events, and class presentations. She works with the 12 engineering departments to develop and grow studying abroad programming with overseas partners to grow connections with universities, and facilitates the study abroad fair. Meredith is responsible for developing faculty-led programing and engagement within the College of Engineering.

Her areas of expertise include ideation, program development, partner collaboration, faculty training and development, comprehensive program management, marketing and promotion, co-curricular development, study abroad advising, and student development.

Ms. Blumthal received her bachelor’s degree in Horticultures and her master’s degree in Horticulture and Agriculture Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As a student, Ms. Blumthal studied abroad at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and was a Foreign Language Areas Fellow (FLAS) in Ecuador, where she studied Quechua and conducted field research during her graduate program.

Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Dr. Miguel Ayllon is the Director of Study Abroad at the University of Missouri (MU). In this role, Miguel provides vision, leadership, and management to design transformative global experiential learning opportunities for students. Miguel has recently led the MU study abroad office to change from a regional to an academic based model of study abroad advising. Miguel holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis from MU. Miguel formerly served as MU’s Director of International Engineering programs where he led the program to achieve record study abroad enrollment and first academic collaborations with Latin American partners. Miguel has also taught graduate level seminars in International Higher Education for the MU Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis. Miguel is a NAFSA Academy alumnus, and he has also contributed to the field through his past service as country coordinator for the World at Large NAFSA Consular Affairs Liaison sub-committee.

Patrick provides guidance to all U-M units concerning travel abroad health insurance, the International Travel Policy, and unit-specific policies. As the chair of the International Travel Oversight Committee, Patrick stewards the Travel Warning and Restriction destination list and is the point-person for Safety Plan inquiries. Patrick is available to facilitate unit-specific program leader workshops; consult on health, safety, and security for individual travel and managed education abroad programs; and create common travel resources for M-Compass and Global Michigan. He serves as the primary international emergency responder for all U-M travelers overseas, actively monitors international events, and coordinates communications with U-M travelers and their U-M units in times of crisis.