Speaker Biographies
2026 Plenary Keynote:
From Going Abroad to Growing Abroad: Shaping Future-Ready Global Graduates
Paula Caligiuri, PhD, DMSB Distinguished Professor of International Business, Northeastern University and Co-Founder/President of Skiilify
Paula Caligiuri is a leading voice on the future of work, helping professionals at all career stages thrive in a world defined by complexity, change, and cultural diversity. She is the Co-Founder and CEO of Skiilify, a public benefit corporation advancing soft skills development at scale through myGiide, a free online platform used by universities and companies worldwide. Paula is also a DMSB Distinguished Professor of International Business at Northeastern University and co-host of the International Business Today podcast.
Her work focuses on contextual agility, the ability to adapt and lead effectively across shifting cultural, organizational, and technological contexts. With AI, globalization, and demographic change reshaping careers, Paula shows why durable soft skills, including resilience, humility, curiosity, tolerance of ambiguity, perspective-taking, and relationship-building, are the real differentiators for future-ready professionals.
Paula has authored several award-winning books, including Build Your Cultural Agility and Live for a Living. She also teaches two widely viewed LinkedIn Learning courses: Managing Globally and Six Skills to Build Cultural Agility.
Her research has appeared in top journals such as Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, and Personnel Psychology. She is a Fellow of both the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Academy of International Business.
A frequent expert guest on CNN and CNN International, Paula is recognized globally for her insights on careers, leadership, and workforce trends.
2026 Pre-Conference Workshop Facilitators:
A) Intentional by Design: Pedagogical Strategies for Meaningful Intercultural Learning
Melanie Robbins, PhD, Coordinator of Global Understanding, East Carolina University
Melanie supports virtual exchange and intercultural learning initiatives at ECU and through Global Partners in Education (GPE). Her work focuses on providing pedagogical support and training for instructors involved in virtual exchange and GPE programming. Her professional development sessions cover topics such as intercultural competence, intercultural communication, and cross-cultural facilitation. She also teaches a Global Understanding course in ECU’s Honors College on the intersections of culture with language or global citizenship. Melanie earned her Ph.D. in International Education Policy from the University of Maryland (2025) and an MA in TESOL from Seattle Pacific University (2009). Before joining ECU she spent 14 years teaching English to international students, immigrants, and refugees in community college and university settings. She has also served as an English Language Fellow and English Language Specialist through the U.S. Department of State, supporting cultural exchange and English language teaching capacity in Georgia and Pakistan.
Jami Liebowitz, PhD, Associate Director of Global Affairs/Director of Global Academic Initiatives, East Carolina University
In Jami’s current position, she leads ECU’s award-winning Virtual Exchange efforts. Her primary responsibilities include working with faculty and staff to promote, help develop and support virtual exchange activities at ECU as well as lead and manage Global Partners in Education (GPE), a consortium of more than 50 international partner institutions in over 30 countries that actively participate in GAI activities each semester. She and her team also work on professional development activities designed to help faculty and staff at ECU and GPE partner institutions around the world develop intercultural skills and implement global learning strategies. Jami also serves as the Vice President of the International Virtual Exchange Consortium. She received her PhD in Anthropology from the University of Connecticut in 2003 and was faculty in the Department of Anthropology at East Carolina University from 2002 until 2013 when she left the department to take on a full-time administrative position within Global Academic Initiatives. She recently completed a Fulbright Global Scholar Award for which she worked on a project to promote virtual exchange and global learning in Namibia, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan.
B) Universal Access to Study Abroad: Practical Approaches to Supporting Students with Disabilities
Shane Sanders, Assistant Director of Global Opportunities, Susquehanna University
Shane has a particular interest in courses and international programming that focus on intercultural development. With experience creating courses and study away programs with that emphasis, she has been able to work with faculty, staff, and students to further that goal. She has managed the development of a myriad of long & short-term traveling programs for Susquehanna University, where their cross-cultural immersion requirement has every student work towards the advancement of their intercultural skills and understanding before graduating. Without the option of a waiver, the office of Global Opportunities works consistently with students with disabilities, teaming up with students and their supporters to curate experiences that facilitate their successful immersion into another culture.
Anna Ogunnaike, Virtual Study Abroad Facilitator, Susquehanna University
Anna began her work with virtual study abroad in 2021, toward the end of the pandemic, to help students at Susquehanna University meet their intercultural development graduation requirement despite the ban on international travel. Since then, her virtual program has enabled students who have been unable to travel to develop intercultural competence while engaging in a rich, engaging virtual experience. Anna also has previous experience leading in-person programs for the University of Delaware.