CEA Enrollment Services Leadership Directory
Enrollment Services Leadership Team
Gina Mahfood
As the Director of Enrollment, Gina delivers continuous support and guidance across the entire enrollment team. Knowing that our CEA students and staff come first, Gina brings talent and drive to provide superior assistance and leadership within this organization. Gina has been working in education for over 15 years, with experience in admissions and enrollment, learning and educational development, and industrial and organizational improvements. Gina also took her passion for education a step further by co-authoring and designing a college textbook, which is used at colleges across the United States.
Gina earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Washington and Jefferson College in 2003 and began her admissions and enrollment career in 2006 back in Pittsburgh, PA. Since then, Gina relocated to Phoenix, AZ, earned a Master of Science degree in Psychology with an emphasis on Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Grand Canyon University. She remains a member of the Psi Chi International Honor Society.
Gina recognizes the value of higher education and encourages all potential students she meets to pursue their educational goals and dreams!
Tristin Collins
Tristin Collins was born and raised in a small town in Ohio. Staying close to home, she went to college 45 minutes away at Ohio University in Athens. Go Bobcats! This is where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Organizational Communication and a minor in Psychology. After graduation, Tristin had an unshakeable urge to see more than small town Ohio. So, she packed up her bags, drove what fit in her car across the country, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona.
Tristin started as an intern at CEA helping the Enrollment Department make various types of contact to incoming students. Two short weeks later, she interviewed and was hired as a full-time employee as an admissions counselor. In this role, she had the pleasure of advising students through the study abroad process and matching them with a program that is best for their personal and academic goals. As a natural born leader, she was ecstatic to move up to the Admissions Counselor Team Lead position a couple years later. In that leadership role, Tristin took on additional responsibilities to help CEA grow including helping train new staff members and cross-departmental projects. Fast forward to Fall ‘22 at five years tenure with CEA, and she has advanced to the admissions manager position – calling it a dream come true.
When Tristin isn’t working, she loves to go outside. She enjoys hiking with friends and her Boston Terrier, Penelope. New breweries, camping spots, and states to visit are always on her exploration list. As you can assume, international travel has become one of her leading passions in life. Next on her bucket list is Iceland!
Did you know? Tristin’s first plane ride and trip out of the country was to Costa Rica in 2016 to visit her two girlfriends who were interning abroad!
Kayla McGuire
It has been years and I’m still just as in love with Sevilla as the day I stood across the river overlooking the city on my first day. My yearlong experience as a student through CEA transformed my life—now, working for the Enrollment department, I come to work each day prepared and excited to aid my students in making their experience abroad the best it can be.
I grew up close to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and earned my bachelor’s degree in Languages and Cultures with a Spanish concentration from West Chester University. While in college, I got the opportunity to study at the Universidad de Sevilla in Seville, Spain through CEA’s program! I was incredibly lucky to get to visit most of Spain while abroad, as well as Italy, France, Portugal, Africa, and Greece. Travel has remained a constant passion of mine—I’ve been back to Sevilla every year since I’ve left, and I hope to explore South America very soon!
Being an international student was, and remains, both the hardest and best thing I’ve ever done for myself. I learned to be self-sufficient, learned how capable I truly was. I became spontaneous. I fell in love with a city and its people—along the way, I fell in love with myself.
I think that the ability to see so much light, so much good, in a place that originally seems foreign is such a beautiful thing. What a lesson—both personally and professionally, study abroad pushes a person to be the best possible version of themselves. I look forward to helping future students discover this and so much more!
Outside of work, I like to sing and listen to live music! I read every day, and spend time with my friends and family as much as I can.
Cierra Wilson
Born and raised in Huntington Beach, CA, I craved a change of scenery and decided to head to the desert to attend Arizona State University. While I enjoyed every minute of life as a Sun Devil, I felt an urge to see more of the world and set my sights on studying abroad my senior year. I made my way to Galway, Ireland, and it was the best semester (and time) of my life. I was able to visit Scotland and England during my semester, but my fondest memories are certainly the time in Ireland.
I knew I would want to continue to be a part of international education in some way, and a few months after returning to the states, I had the opportunity to intern with CEA twice. A few years later, I have found my way back as a full-time employee and now support our Enrollment Department. As an Enrollment Operations Specialist, I accept students into our programs, serve on the Scholarship Committee, and assist with our student visa process. I enjoy nothing more than being a part of the process to assist students in embarking on one of the most unforgettable experiences of their lives. One day, I hope to live in Europe full-time, but for now, I am enjoying Arizona’s sunshine.
In my free time, I enjoy playing Pokemon Go and disc golf, going to Indie & Alternative rock shows, spending time with family, and, of course, traveling!
