Andrew Jones is a Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch, located in Annapolis, Maryland. He began his career at Merrill in 2018 and focuses his practice on simplifying the complex financial lives of his clients through a comprehensive, planning-based approach to managing wealth. 

 Andrew graduated from Dickinson College with a Bachelor’s degree in Policy Management and Economics. He studied abroad at DIS in Copenhagen, Denmark. Andrew’s experience in Denmark opened his eyes to the benefits of education abroad.

 In his free time, Andrew enjoys spending time with family, travelling, playing golf, and coaching lacrosse throughout the Annapolis area.

Derek Luna is a water-resource civil engineer currently working with Kimley-Horn Engineering. Based in Chicago, Derek works on Hydraulic and Hydrologic Engineering projects around the country, primarily focusing his work on public infrastructure and solar energy plants in remote areas. Originally from El Paso, Texas and an alumni of Texas Tech University, Derek has travelled all over the country for professional and educational opportunities, and has worked to advocate for the rights of underrepresented minority students, financially challenged students, and international students, all-the-while advocating the impact and growth that studies abroad can have on personal development. During his fourth year of undergraduate studies, Derek took the opportunity to apply to study in Bhutan the summer of 2019. Despite the fact that he’d attended three different undergraduate schools in his undergraduate journey (University of New Mexico, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and Texas Tech University), Derek sought to continue pursuing the growth that comes with exposing yourself to new surroundings and opportunities, and became a 2018-2019 FEA Scholar. During his time abroad, Derek worked to understand the complicated issues that remote communities like Bhutan have to deal with in order to remain self-sufficient and stable, despite the negative impact outside investment and the changing climate was having on the region. He travelled throughout the western region of the country, met with federal and regional engineers, and directly tested and summarized the changing quality and quantity of water resources present in the western region of the nation. Through that work, he saw the profound impact that connecting with others in different cultures could have, and became an even stronger advocate for the rights of community stakeholders. That experience is what led Derek to further pursue work in water resource engineering and management in Chicago following graduation, as it is a truly great city with plenty of room for improvement and growth as it pertains to their public infrastructure.  

Through his work with the Fund for Education Abroad, Derek is hoping to help advocate further for students who have to overcome the same financial barriers he did in order to have transformative experiences abroad. His life is an example of the substantial impact that travel and connection with others can make on a person, and is proud to be able to work to bring that same growth to others, just like the Fund for Education Abroad seeks to do.

For over 20 years, Dr. Malaika Marable Serrano has championed Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), helping organizations create more inclusive environments. A Fulbright alumna, speaker, and author, Malaika is dedicated to breaking down barriers and making global education more accessible for students from historically marginalized communities. Her experiences studying and teaching in Australia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Italy, and Venezuela have inspired her commitment to equity.

As a leader in DEIB, Malaika has helped build organizations and teams across corporate, nonprofit, and academic sectors, using a thoughtful and data-driven approach to create positive, lasting change. She holds a BA from the University of Southern California, an MA from the University of Maryland, and a PhD from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy. In addition to the Fund for Education Abroad, Malaika serves on the boards of NAFSA: Association of International Educators and Fulbright Canada. An active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., she resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with her children, Joaquín (16) and Maya (11).

Dr. Tonija Hope brings over 19 years of experience in the international exchange, international education, and management fields to the Ralph Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University. After completing her BA in Latin American Studies & Latin American/Spanish Literature from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, Ms. Hope moved to South Africa where she worked with a professor at the University of Cape Town to develop mechanisms to encourage exchange among international and South African students. Ms. Hope returned to the US to earn her Master’s degree in Tourism Administration with a focus on International Education from George Washington University in Washington, DC. After completing her Master’s, Ms. Hope joined the DC-based international non-profit, Phelps Stokes Fund, where she worked on the US Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program and became involved with other initiatives of the organization, like the Ralph Bunche Societies, and the creation of the Collaborative for Diversity in Education Abroad. Ms. Hope was later promoted to Director of Programs for Latin America and the Caribbean, where she oversaw a variety of projects focusing on youth leadership development in Afro-descendant communities, primarily in Colombia, with thematic lenses such as comparative legal frameworks and workforce development in the health sector.

Ms. Hope has a keen interest in and passion for facilitating relationships between and among people of different cultures, and particularly for exposing young people from underserved communities, domestically and internationally, to opportunities for travel and education abroad. Prior to joining Howard University, Ms. Hope served as the founding Executive Director of the Baoba Fund for Racial Equity-North America, a Brazil-based non-profit, focused on supporting Afro-Brazilian civil society organizations through a $25 million challenge grant offered by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. She also serves as the Chair of the US Civil Society Committee of the US-Colombia Action Plan for Racial and Ethnic Equality (CAPREE), an initiative of the Colombian and US governments to address issues of racial discrimination and social inclusion in both countries. Ms. Hope was born and raised in Washington, DC, to a Liberian mother and an African-American father.

Erica N. Wright is an attorney and community builder.  Her primary areas of practice are higher education, government, business transactions, and corporate governance.  As assistant general counsel at the University of the District of Columbia, she handles a diverse range of legal matters specific to the day-to-day operations of institutions of higher education.  

Prior to her current position, Erica worked in South Florida, in public and private practice, and was appointed as a commissioner for Miami-Dade County’s Commission on Ethics and Public Trust.  She is a past president of the Gwen S. Cherry Black Women Lawyers Association, past president of the South Florida Chapter of the National Alumnae Association of Spelman College and served as vice president of regional programs for the University of Miami School of Law’s Law Alumni Association.  Since 2023, she has been an advisory board member for HBCU Honors, a nationally televised awards recognition show. She has been featured in Glamour and Jet magazines and other national, regional and local publications. 

Erica graduated cum laude from Spelman College, majoring in International Politics and Economics and minoring in Management and Organization.  She obtained her juris doctor from the University of Miami School of Law and fondly remembers her law school study abroad experience in Tokyo through Temple University Japan (TUJ). 

Erica is conversant in three languages and joined FEA’s Board of Trustees in 2026. 

Gretchen Cook-Anderson, inaugural executive director of Ignite, a budding nonprofit (of parent organization LabCentral), is an award-winning marketing executive with 25+ years of promoting biotechnology, global education, space and Earth science discoveries for NASA, Mars candy, entertainers in Hollywood, candidates for political office, and a host of household products (at Edelman PR).

In her new role at Ignite, she’s leading efforts to cultivate greater diversity, equity and inclusive culture across the global biotech industry – from labs to leadership, and from the STEM student pipeline to the entrepreneurs advancing life-changing innovations that heal, feed and fuel our world. 

Until recently, Gretchen served as Associate Vice President, Assistant to the President & Director for Diversity Recruiting & Advising at IES Abroad, one of the largest providers of academic study and internship programs abroad which educates about 9,000 US college/university students abroad each year across 35 international cities. Gretchen led diversity and inclusion-related marketing outreach, resulting in 151% growth in enrollment diversity during her 10+ years at IES Abroad. In 2014 and again in 2016, her efforts garnered Diversity Abroad’s EDIIE (Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion in International Education) Award, and an achievement award from IES Abroad in 2018.

In May 2021, Gretchen was awarded NAFSA’s (the Association for International Educators) inaugural Award for Impact in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in International Education — a distinction from the most prominent, global professional association in the field.

She is active as a board/advisory member for several organizations (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Facing History & Ourselves, North Hill Senior Community, Beacon Academy and the Japan-US Friendship Commission) and independent schools (Belmont Hill School & Dana Hall School), cares deeply about social justice, equity, and inclusion, and speaks publicly and consults on related themes dozens of times locally and globally each year.

Gretchen was honored in October 2020 among the inaugural 50 Most Influential Businesspersons of Color by the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce (MetroWest region). She was also recognized in February by the Massachusetts Legislature as a 2021 Black Excellence on The Hill honoree. 

Gretchen is an alumna of Spelman College (B.A. Political Science); The Johns Hopkins University’s Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (dual M.A. International Economics/Japanese Studies); and the IES Abroad program (undergrad junior year) at Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan. She is a former Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations; Charles E. Merrill, Jr. Scholar; Toyota Motor Sales Scholar; Thomas J. Watson Foundation Fellow; German Marshall Fund Transatlantic Leaders Fellow; and former adjunct faculty of Japanese language at Howard University. Gretchen is based in suburban Boston and is a wife and mother of three children.

Heather Jacobs, a seasoned hospitality executive with nearly 30 years of experience in the industry, is the senior vice president and chief human resources officer for Delaware North. Delaware North manages and provides food and beverage concessions, premium dining, entertainment, lodging, and retail at many large venues and special places. These include sports stadiums, entertainment complexes, national and state parks, airports, and casinos. 

Prior to arriving at Delaware North, Heather had an accomplished career of more than 25 years with Four Seasons  Hotels and Resorts, where she held a variety of leadership positions in operations and human resources that saw  her working across the globe in Europe, the Middle East and North America. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has  always distinguished itself by delivering the highest levels of personalized service to guests by investing in its  culture and being an employer of choice. 

For the past two years, Jacobs served as senior vice president of people and culture for Four Seasons and was  based in the company’s global headquarters in Toronto. She led the talent management strategy for 50,000  employees at 115 properties in 45 countries. 

Prior to that most recent enterprise role, Jacobs led international human resources for Four Seasons based out of  Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, with responsibility for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and the Asia  and Pacific region. Before that Jacobs spent 10 years in increasingly more senior roles in human resources for Four  Seasons in Europe and the Middle East while based in Geneva, Switzerland. 

Jacobs has been involved in a number of industrywide initiatives, including the Castell project, which aims to  advance diversity and inclusivity in the hospitality industry. 

She earned her degree in Hotel Administration at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and is currently a member of  the Dean’s Advisory Board for the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell and a past guest lecturer and faculty  mentor.

Hyacinth Henderson is Co-CEO of The Henderson Financial Group, a Miami-based wealth
management and financial planning firm with more than 30 years of experience serving
individuals, families, and business owners. She is a financial planner and speaker known
for helping clients strengthen both the strategy and the self-trust required to build and
sustain wealth. Her work is grounded in practical planning and a clear understanding that
money decisions are rarely just mathematical. They are personal.

Hyacinth specializes in guiding clients through wealth preservation, debt elimination, and
legacy-minded planning, with a strong emphasis on retirement planning. She helps clients
prepare for retirement with greater confidence by aligning financial decisions with real-life
priorities, risk comfort, and long-term sustainability. Her approach supports clients who
want more than a plan on paper. They want a plan they can actually live, maintain, and feel
good about.

Hyacinth has been instrumental in The Henderson Financial Group’s continued growth and
modernization through client-centered systems that improve clarity, engagement, and
follow-through. She is also an advocate for financial literacy and regularly teaches through
workshops and educational content designed to make wealth-building feel accessible,
empowering, and achievable.

Hyacinth holds the Series 66 license (Investment Adviser Representative) a 2-15 Life,
Health, and Variable Annuity license, and the Mortgage Loan Originator. Advisory services
are offered through SB Advisory, LLC and San Blas Advisory, LLC, registered investment
advisers with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Joan Elias Gore, President Emeritus of J. E. Gore International Consultants, engaging in consulting projects with undergraduate education abroad organizations, has had a long career in international education, most recently including positions as Senior Academic Consultant with the Foundation for International Education, London;  a faculty appointment at the University of Virginia as Director of Adult Education Travel Programs in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, with appointments to university-wide international education committees and projects and adjunct faculty member at UVa’s Curry School of Education.  

Joan earned her Ph.D. in Communication, Culture and Policy from the Institute of Education, University of London (University College), and holds both an M.A. in Modern European History and an M.A. in Rhetoric and Communications Studies from the University of Virginia, with a B.A. in History and Political Science earned at the University of Toledo.  Joan began her career as a faculty member at the Department of Rhetoric and Communication Studies and Assistant Dean and the in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia, where she created the first Study Abroad Office and built faculty support and study abroad participation at the institution. From 1987-2006 she worked with U.S., British, and Danish international education organizations (AIFS, CIEE, DIS) on education abroad program and enrollment development, holding a variety of senior positions in these organizations. Her research and publications in the field of international education include the books Dominant Beliefs and Alternative Voices: Discourse, Belief, and Gender in American Study Abroad and Cost-Effective Techniques for Internationalizing the Campus and Curriculum, with book chapters in international education publications including The Handbook of Practice and Research in Study Abroad: Higher Education and the Quest for Global Citizenship; NAFSA: Guide to Education Abroad and magazine and web publications. She has created and presented at numerous panels, workshops, and professional training programs for international education and academic associations, including NAFSA, where she has held leadership appointments, and at AIEA, CIEE, FORUM, EAIE, AASCU, NAFEO (National Association For Equal Opportunity in Higher Education) and many others, including most recent projects developing cost effective study opportunities for students at students attending AASCU (American Association of State Colleges and Universities) institutions and completing a video interview project for the AASCU-CCIEE (China Center for International Educational Exchange) pioneering China/U.S. programs.

Dr. Keshia Abraham, founder and president of The Abraham Consulting Agency, is an African Diaspora scholar and J.E.D.I (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) educator committed to facilitating personal and organizational development through intercultural growth. She is a bridge builder who firmly believes in the transformative power of international education and the long term impact it has, hence her unwavering commitment to global learning especially at HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). She has served as a tenured faculty member, department chair, academic Dean and program director at several MSIs and most recently as the inaugural Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion at CIEE.

Mark Albert is the founder and CEO of Media Advisory Experts, a Washington, DC-based consulting firm providing media training, crisis communications, earned media, storytelling and video production services to clients in the U.S. and around the globe.

Mark is a Peabody and EMMY awardwinning master storyteller with a 25-year journalism career distinguished by investigative and political reporting, innovative storytelling techniques, and creative communications. He’s traveled the world for CBS News and reported from the White House, Capitol Hill and the US Supreme Court; created and led a national investigative unit for Hearst Communications; taught journalists in newsrooms in the US, Vietnam, and Pakistan; and created a media database to drive countless earned media appearances. He is also the host of ‘Media Mastery Experts LIVE!’ – an in-person media training, public speaking and leadership communications bootcamp, as well as an online course.

Mark has won some of the biggest honors in journalism while landing high-profile, national interviews, including with philanthropist and tech pioneer Bill Gates, government and political leaders at history-making moments, and visionary creators.

Mark has been to 95 countries so far. His first exposure to study abroad began at age 11, when he was part of a delegation of 50 American students to go behind the Iron Curtain to what was then the Soviet Union, spending three weeks studying with 50 Soviet students near Leningrad, which is now St. Petersburg.

Ms. Short is a versatile and dynamic leader and speaker who specializes in coaching executives and senior leaders who are seeking to maximize their impact, effectiveness, and influence in regional, national and global organizations.

Mitzi is the CEO and Co-Founder of New Season Coaching & Consulting Group, a boutique coaching and consulting firm, and an Adjunct Executive Coach at the Center for Creative Leadership and for the University of Oregon’s Executive M.B.A. Program. As a former corporate executive, Mitzi held leadership positions in sales, marketing, operations, and general management during a span of 25+ years with Fortune 50 Companies–PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble.

Mitzi received her B.A. in Economics from Davidson College and M.B.A. from the University of Oregon. She is certified by the International Coaches Federation (ICF) and earned her team and executive coaching credentials from The Coaching & Positive Psychology (CaPP) Institute, The Center for Creative Leadership, and the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.

Ms. Short is a member of The Executive Leadership Council, recently served on the Board of Trustees for Davidson College as Chair of the Public Relations Committee and member of the Executive Committee, and as former Marketing Chair for GOFLTEC’s Advisory Board. Mitzi resides in Oak Park, IL and is a big sports fan who loves traveling, playing golf, and spending time with family and friends.