My educational background is an accidental combination of skills needed for credential evaluation, library science and cultural anthropology. My undergraduate thesis was on environmental movements in Zimbabwe and my graduate research was on how research libraries build collections for research on Africa. I am grateful to still be doing research on Africa, even if it is focused on education now. But I was raised doing field research with my parents. That colors my approach to my job too. It means I get excited about doctoral programs on sea slugs or how Brazil seems to be exporting their oceanography curriculum to Lusophone Africa. It also means I try to get outside as much as possible when I travel for work.
Education:
Master of Library and Information Science with concentration in Archival Studies
- University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, 2010
Master of Science in Anthropology
- University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, 2010
Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Anthropology
- University of Chicago, 2000
Related Work Experience:
Senior Evaluator
- Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE), 2011-present
Library and Information Resources Advisor
- Educational Credential Evaluators, 2009-2015
Evaluator
- Educational Credential Evaluators, 2006-2011
Filing Assistant/Filing Coordinator
- Educational Credential Evaluators, 2005-2008
I started in this field as a filing clerk, putting away our report copies and sample documents. I learned so much in that first year working with the documents.
Volunteer Experience:
- TAICEP Certificate Committee/Subcommittee, Member/Chair
- TAICEP Professional Development Committee, Member
- TAICEP Trivia, Host
- NAFSA Region II International Book Club
- NAFSA National Conference Session Reviewer
Research Experience:
- AACRAO Cuba Project – TAICEP Representative
- Madrean Archipelago Biological Assessment “Bioblitz” expeditions
Professional Development:
Attended/Presented at TAICEP Annual Conferences, TAICEP at Your Desk Webinars, TAICEP Spring Webinar Series, AACRAO Annual Meetings, NAFSA National Conferences, NAFSA Regional Conferences (Regions I, II, III, IV, and VII), ECE 30 Minute Snapshots, ECE E-LearningsEducationUSA Regional Forums, Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC) Conferences, Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) National Conference, Ontario University Registrars Association (OURA) Conference, Arizona International Educators (AIE) State Meetings, Utah Board of International Educators (UBIE) Annual Conferences, Wisconsin Association of International Educators (WAIE) Annual Conference, Tennessee Association of International Educators (TAIE) Annual Conference, Council of International Schools – Association of International Schools in Africa Institute
Led training for ECE institutional partners and ECE evaluators on basic principles of credential evaluation, fraud and online authentication, and the educational systems of countries such as India, China, Kenya, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, Japan, Cuba, Colombia, Peru, and Iran
Key Publications:
- The AACRAO Cuba Project White Paper and all of the associated presentations on Cuban education – https://www.aacrao.org/resources/AACRAO-International/resources/research/cuba/the-cuba-project-whitepaper
- NAFSA Online Guides to Educational Systems Around the World – Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Uganda
- I have written lots of blogs for ECE over the years. I am most proud of this one. “Acknowledging indigenous language in higher education: New Zealand’s noteworthy example” from September 2024
- https://theconnection.ece.org/NewsArticle/33488 with additional resource
- https://theconnection.ece.org/ResourceDetail/33490
- “Report on the Terrestrial Mollusks of the Sierra de la Madera (Oposura), Sonora, Mexico – The Caracoleros” American Malacological Bulletin 30 (2): 315-322 (2012) https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/partpdf/411964
Awards:
- 2020 Sepmeyer Award, with LesLee Clauson Eicher, for our March/April 2019 AACRAO presentation “Recognition of Private HEIs: Selected Cases in Anglophone African and Latin America”
Key Conference Sessions:
- First Presentation:
- “British-based Educational Systems in Africa: A Comparison of Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania” TAIE Annual Conference, March 2008
- Farthest Distance Traveled for a Presentation:
- “Diversity in Africa: A Multitude of Secondary Credentials” Council of International Schools – Association of International Schools in Africa Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa, March 2017
- First TAICEP Presentation:
- Largest Audience:
- “Changing Tides in India: Educational Landscape under the New Government” with the EducationUSA Adviser from Mumbai, NAFSA National Conference 2016
Top Botanical Gardens I Visited During Work Travel:
- Lokrum Botanical Gardens, Dubrovnik, Croatia
- Dunedin Botanic Garden, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, Roodepoort (outside of Johannesburg), South Africa
- Jevremovac Botanical Garden, Belgrade, Serbia
And countless museums, parks, historical and archaeological sites, and beautiful vistas.
Photos:
 Visiting Massachusetts with fellow TAICEPer |
 In my work groove at home |
 Final day of TAICEP in Croatia – ready to rock! |
 Giant snail from the conference hotel (Croatia) |
 Ready to present at a NAFSA bi-regional |
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 The botanical garden at Lokrum in Dubrovnik |