NAFSA: Association of International Educators Blog

Rachel Banks has spent nearly 10 years at NAFSA, and currently serves as director for public policy, focusing on international student and scholar issues, specifically visa issuance, international student recruitment, the Exchange Visitor Program, as well as state-level initiatives on behalf of international education and exchange. A native Michiganian, she holds an MA in international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a BA in history and political science from the University of Michigan. She considers herself and her siblings positive proof that international education makes a difference, for her father met her mother while pursuing his graduate degree in the United Kingdom.

Marlene M. Johnson has served as executive director and chief executive officer of NAFSA: Association of International Educators since 1998. From 1983 to 1991, she served as lieutenant governor of Minnesota, during which time she was a particularly outspoken advocate of international educational exchange at the secondary and post-secondary level. Marlene also served as associate administrator for management services and human resources in the U.S. General Services Administration during the Clinton Administration. She currently serves on the boards of the Communications Consortium Media Center and the Kakenya Center for Excellence, and on the advisory councils of the U.S. China Education Trust.

Vic Johnson is NAFSA’s senior adviser for public policy. He spent 20 years in senior foreign affairs positions in Washington, DC, including a long stint as staff director of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs. Vic served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia and later served as director of the Peace Corps programs in Latin America and the Caribbean during the Clinton Administration. He is also chairman of the board of directors of the Washington Office on Latin America.

Kari Lantos has served as NAFSA’s manager of grassroots outreach since August 2005. In her role, she manages all grassroots advocacy programs, from coordinating letter-writing and telephone campaigns to members of Congress on issues affecting international education to planning NAFSA’s annual Advocacy Day and advocacy training programs. Prior to joining NAFSA she served as the assistant director for government relations at the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. Kari was exposed to international education at a young age as her family hosted Rotary exchange students from Portugal, Germany, Philippines, Mexico, and Spain. She now enjoys traveling with her husband, who is a former international student from Hungary.

Ursula Oaks has directed NAFSA’s media relations efforts since 2000. Prior to coming to NAFSA, she spent time as a newspaper reporter, copyeditor, and page designer, and in public programs and public affairs positions in both Washingtons – the state and DC. Ursula was born in Hungary and immigrated to the United States with her parents and younger brother when she was 5 years old. She grew up immersed in a heritage of dissident activism, which probably explains her unfailing belief in the important role of the news media in shaping policy and changing lives. She loves working with reporters and considers writing a competitive sport.

Katie O’Connell has been a member of the NAFSA staff since September 2008. As NAFSA’s media relations associate, she promotes NAFSA’s public policy agenda through news media outreach and social media engagement. She first came to DC to work in the Senate as a staff assistant and then as a legislative correspondent, focusing on foreign policy. Katie is a graduate of the University of Connecticut. While at UConn, she studied abroad in Costa Rica and the Czech Republic and also did a semester internship at the U.S. State Department. While Katie is a fierce American patriot, she loves learning more about the world, and has a particular passion for anything Irish.

Lisa Schock is senior editor with NAFSA’s Communications and Engagement Services team and has been at NAFSA since July 2005. She manages NAFSA.news, the association’s weekly e-newsletter, writes for International Educator magazine, is responsible for editing a range of communications materials, and serves as a communications liaison to NAFSA’s member communities. A longtime resident of Washington, DC, Lisa grew up in Baltimore, MD. She has a BA in American government from the University of Virginia and an MA in journalism from Indiana University

Heather Stewart is NAFSA’s counsel and director of immigration policy in the public policy department. Prior to joining NAFSA’s staff in October 2003, she was the government relations counsel at the American Council on International Personnel and liaison associate with the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Heather received a JD from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and a BA from Mercer University. She is a member of the DC Bar and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Rebecca Tollefson is an associate director, government relations and has been at NAFSA since May 2010. Before coming to NAFSA, she worked on the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program at World Learning. Previously, she held internships at the State Department and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). She graduated from Centre College with a degree in international relations and a minor in French, a language she honed while studying abroad in Strasbourg her sophomore year. Rebecca enjoys running in road races and talking politics while out and about in DC.

Jordan Wait is the manager of Web content and social media and has worked at NAFSA since March 2007. Jordan is responsible for managing all of NAFSA’s social media properties as well as working with the NAFSA team to keep the Web site updated with fresh content. Prior to working at NAFSA, he worked at Care2, the largest online community of people passionate about making a difference. Jordan is a graduate of the University of Kansas and is an avid Jayhawks fan. Rock Chalk!

Eric White has been a key part of NAFSA’s Web Services team since 2006. As the associate director of Web design and user experience he considers the NAFSA Web site his home and is always striving to make it more inviting and engaging. He alone realizes that the secret to advancing international education and exchange lies in well-formed HTML and cutting edge CSS. Eric is occasionally bearded, sometimes mustachioed, but always in disguise.

Alan Williams is NAFSA’s senior director for organizational advancement, responsible for identifying and securing innovative organizational partnerships. Alan manages NAFSA Global Partnership Program, which includes more than 100 companies, university country consortia and other non-profit organizations as well as NAFSA’s member fundraising efforts. Prior to joining NAFSA, Alan spent 10 years in global development managing the Youth Leadership & Engagement Center at the International Youth Foundation. Before that, Alan managed international communications for 10 years at AFS Intercultural Programs. Alan was born and spent most of his youth in South Africa, where he was engaged in the anti-Apartheid movement as a student activist. He was also an AFS exchange student from Cape Town to Schenectady, New York.