International Educators of Illinois
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  • Home
  • Explore IEI
    • Our Team
  • 2023 Conference
    • Information
    • Registration
    • Hotel Information
    • Workshops
    • Sessions
    • Presenters
    • Past Conferences >
      • 2022 Conference
      • 2021 Conference
      • 2020 Conference
      • 2019 Conference
      • 2018 Conference
      • 2017 Conference
  • Mentorship Program
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Advocacy
    • Articles & Webinars
    • COVID-19
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Grants & Scholarships
  • Contact Us

PRESENTERS

Lily Andrules is a Chicago based professional with 10 years of international higher education experience. Her current role is University Relations Manager for the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. Prior to joining her current organization she worked as a regional director and program manager for students traveling to programs in Asia Pacific. Much of her personal work in international higher education has been focused in diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice including building out informational resources for both educators and students.

Sherene Awong is a Customized Program Manager at IES Abroad. She comes from a background in education and was a high school Spanish teacher and accessibility specialist at Loyola University Chicago. She is a recent graduate of the International Higher Education program at Loyola. Sherene works on programs to Spain and England. She lived in Spain for several years, including getting a Masters in Madrid from St. Louis University and studying at Universidad Complutense de Madrid in undergrad.

Karin Christoph Brown is an enthusiastic world traveler, meticulous researcher and devoted international educator. She founded One Earth International Credential Evaluations in 2010. With 20 of experience in international student recruitment, university admission and credential evaluation, Karin is expertly qualified to guide students, faculty, staff and employers through the evaluation process.

Melissa Comiskey has worked in higher education for nearly 15 years and has been practicing yoga for almost a decade. She completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in 2019 and holds certifications in prenatal and children’s yoga. She is the Executive Director of Internship Programming at IES Abroad, and previously worked at DePaul University and the University of Chicago. She earned her Bachelor’s in Psychology from UIC; Master of Education in Counseling (concentration in College Student Development) from DePaul University; and Leadership Certificate from Northwestern University.

Catherine Eccher is Director of Evaluations at Educational Perspectives. She has 14 years of experience evaluating credentials from all regions of the world.

Susan Falatko is a career Foreign Service Officer with 24 years of experience with the U.S. Department of State. She is currently the Diplomat in Residence responsible for recruiting talented individuals from across IL, WI, and MN. Prior to her current assignment, she was Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) at the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana. She has also served in Mauritius, Rwanda, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cuba, and Mali. She is originally from the Chicago area.


Brock Goldflies has been a credential evaluator at Scholaro, Inc. since 2019. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in 2016. In the past, he was a university writing center tutor and volunteered for the UIC In-Touch Crisis Hotline. His current aspirations as a credential evaluator are to become even more familiar with international education systems and to better understand obscure credentials from around the world.

Katherine Haan identifies as a deaf woman and has traveled abroad in Education Abroad programs while in college.

Jim Hacking has practiced law for 25 years. He launched Hacking Immigration Law in 2007 to fight for immigrants. The firm has grown to include offices in San Diego, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. and over 50 team members. The firm has made the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies for the last 2 years. Jim's YouTube channel contains hundreds of immigration videos. Jim lives in St. Louis with his wife (and law partner) and four kids.

Nykki Hutchinson is a Senior Global Enrollment Management Specialist with IES Abroad. She has been working in this position since May 2021. She studied abroad in Sweden and South Korea. She graduated with a degree in Korean Studies in 2018 from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Andie Ingram is delighted to serve as one of the Mentorship Program Coordinators for IEI. In her full-time, she is the Associate Director of Credential Programs at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. Her higher education experience extends to marketing and recruitment strategy, enrollment and matriculation, academic and student affairs, data administration, and program design, management and evaluation.

Michaela Kendall is the Senior Academic Database Specialist at IES Abroad. Michaela also serves as the chair for International Educators of Illinois (IEI) and Illinois State Representative for NAFSA Region V. Michaela earned her B.A. from University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign in International Studies and Anthropology, and her M.A. from SIT Graduate Institute in International Education. She previously studied in Singapore, France, Spain, and Peru.

Chelsea Kuchik (she/her) is the Marketing Specialist at IES Abroad and has worked at IES Abroad for more than five years where she started as an advisor for IES Abroad programs in China, Italy, and Ireland. Chelsea manages the IES Abroad Correspondent program, leads strategy for email marketing campaigns for prospect students, and works with partners including GoAbroad and GoOverseas.

Macy Miller is a Global Enrollment Management Specialist with IES Abroad. She has been working in this position since April 2022. She studied abroad with IES Abroad when she was in college on the Vienna program, and she also studied abroad in Martinique. She graduated with a degree in Global Studies in 2020 from University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Amy Nusser is a Lead Immigration Specialist at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She has worked with international students as an immigration advisor, student services coordinator, and ESL instructor, and holds a Master of Arts in TESOL/Applied Linguistics from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Amy is also a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, and a proud member of the International Educators of Illinois (IEI) leadership team.

Ashley Orihara joined North Central College in September 2022 as the Associate Director of International Student Services and Outreach. She has been in the field of international education for 15 years.

Kevin Reyes (he/him) joined IES Abroad as the social media assistant in March 2022. Prior to IES Abroad, he worked as a First-Generation Study Away Marketing Intern at the University of Redlands to support and empower student participation and improve the offerings to the first-generation community. Kevin earned his bachelor's degree in Marketing and Visual Media at the University of Redlands and studied abroad with IES Abroad Paris. Kevin also presented at the 2022 IES Abroad Annual Conference.

Josselin Rodriguez is currently a graduate assistant for the International Student Services and Engagement department at North Central College. She is pursuing her MA in Higher Education Leadership.

Jason Schroeder (he/him) is a Graphic Designer who has been with IES Abroad in a variety of roles since February 2019 across marketing and global enrollment management. Jason is also the co-chair of NAFSA's Rainbow SIG. He joined the field of international education after global experiences living in South Korea and studying in Chile and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Kate Simmons is a Program Manager at DePaul University, where she partners with faculty to create and implement short-term study abroad programs. As a student, she studied in Spain (twice!) and traveled to Costa Rica on a faculty-led program. Afterwards, Kate lived in Madrid for 4 years, teaching English to K-12 students and earning a master’s degree. Upon returning to the US, she learned study abroad was a professional field, began her career at IES Abroad, and hasn’t looked back since!

Jadon Sokoll-Ward is a Global Enrollment Management Specialist with IES Abroad. He has been working in this position since October 2021. He studied abroad with IES Abroad when he was in college on the Amsterdam program. He graduated with a degree in Sociology in 2019 from Skidmore College.

Talargie Tafesse is tenured faculty at the City College of Chicago teaching primarily Mental Health in the nursing department.