Dr. Maritheresa Frain is the Vice President for Academic Programs at the Institute for Study Abroad (IFSA) where she manages a portfolio of over 200 programs located in 17 countries. She has over 25 years’ experience in international educational exchanges. Most recently, she served as the Director of Study Abroad at the George Washington University. Throughout her career, Dr. Frain has developed innovative programming designed to break down barriers of cost, curriculum and culture to ensure all students have access to international learning experiences.
Dr. Frain returned to the US in 2014 after having lived and worked abroad for 25 years in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Russia and Switzerland. Maritheresa has taught at St. Louis, George Washington and Syracuse Universities in Madrid, Universidad Lusíada in Lisbon (Portugal), Moscow State University (Russian Federation) and Universidad Pablo de Olavide (Seville, Spain). Dr. Frain served as the Consular Agent of the United States Embassy in Seville, Spain.
Originally from Philadelphia, Maritheresa completed her undergraduate work in International Politics at The Pennsylvania State University and received her M.A. and Ph.D. in International Relations at Georgetown University. Maritheresa has published on political parties, transitions to democracy, NATO defense strategies in the Mediterranean, and the history/trends in international educational exchanges. She is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese with proficiency in French and Russian. Dr. Frain worked for the International Monetary Fund in DC and was a visiting professor at Georgetown University.