| Meet the Flagship Team |
Dr. Michael NugentDr. Michael Nugent is director of the National Security Education Program (NSEP). Before coming to NSEP, Dr. Nugent worked on a number of international grant programs at the U.S. Department of Education. These include developing and directing the U.S.-Brazil Higher Education Consortia Program and the North America Mobility in Higher Education Program at the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). He also served as Chief of Section, overseeing the Title VI funding of National Resource Centers, Foreign Language and Areas Studies grants, and the Language Resource Centers. Dr. Nugent has served in policy positions as Vice President for Administration and Research at the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in Washington DC, and Deputy to the Chancellor for Systems Relations for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Author of “The Transformation of the Student Career: University study in Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands” (Routledge, 2004), he remains active in the field of international higher education policy. Dr. Nugent has a Ph.D. in higher education from Pennsylvania State University. He has been both a student of language and literature at universities in Germany, France, and Spain. Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Dr. Sam EisenDr. Sam Eisen is The Language Flagship Director and Director of Programs at the National Security Education Program (NSEP). Before coming to NSEP, Dr. Eisen served as the Director of the Advanced Training and Research Group in International and Foreign Language Education at the U.S. Department of Education, where he provided oversight for Title VI and Fulbright Hays programming designed to develop and maintain national capacity in foreign language and international and area studies. These programs included the Title VI National Resource Centers, Language Resource Centers, Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships, and the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad program. Before joining the Department of Education, Dr. Eisen served at the U.S. Department of State (1999-2007) in the Office of the Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia. At the State Department Dr. Eisen coordinated FREEDOM Support Act which funded academic and professional exchange programs with the former Soviet Union for over 5000 participants per year and managed specialized institutional development projects. Dr. Eisen also served in the Coordinator’s Office as the Democracy Programs Officer for U.S. Government assistance to Eastern Europe and Eurasia to promote civil society, independent media and rule of law in the region. At the U.S. Information Agency (1998-1999), he managed university partnership programs for Russia and Central Asia, including major development grants for the American University – Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Before joining the federal government, Dr. Eisen taught Russian language, literature, and culture as Assistant Professor of Russian Studies at American University in Washington DC (1995-1998). Dr. Eisen holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Russian Language and Literature from Stanford University, and a B.A in Russian from Amherst College. T: 703-696-1991 Mr. Ed McDermottEd McDermott joined The Language Flagship in August 2008 as the Senior Program Manager. Before coming to NSEP, he was Senior Program Officer for several Title VI programs at the U.S. Department of Education. He managed and oversaw the International Research and Studies, the Language Resource Centers, as well as the National Resource Centers and Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships grant programs. Mr. McDermott previously served as Senior Program Coordinator at the National Foreign Language Center overseeing federal grants. He has worked within or on behalf of the higher education community for fifteen years. Mr. McDermott currently serves on the Inter-Agency Language Roundtable Steering Committee and as a Senior Advisory Board Member for the Office of Director of National Intelligence Centers for Academic Excellence program. He has served on the Center for Advanced Study of Language/University Affiliated Research Center Advisory Committee and its Less Commonly Taught Language, Second Language Acquisition, and National Language Conference Committee working groups. In the past, he contributed to the Defense Language Transformation Team Planning Committee, the Foreign Language Executive Committee, and the Partnership for Public Service. Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Ms. Kaveri AdvaniMs. Kaveri Advani joined The Language Flagship in 2009 and is currently the program analyst for Flagship. She conducts research and analysis on Flagship programs and policy. Ms. Advani received her BA in political science and minor in Russian language from Loyola University, New Orleans in 2003. In 2002, Kaveri received a Tcherpennine scholarship to study Russian in St. Petersburg, Russia. After graduation Kaveri spent a year travelling throughout Asia, Australia and New Zealand and worked as an intern for the United Nations Information Center in New Delhi, India. In 2007, she received a Boren Fellowship to improve her Arabic language skills and to conduct research on strategies being developed that address water as a depleting resource in the Middle East. Her research sites were Sana’a, Yemen, and Damascus, Syria. In 2009, Kaveri received her master’s degree from New York University in comparative politics with a focus on the political economy of the Middle East and North Africa. Her research focused mainly on resource politics on local, regional, and global scales. Kaveri is interested in cross-cultural interconnectivity and believes that language acquisition is the first step in bridging cultural divides. T: 703-696-5670 Ms. Allison TrepodMs. Allison Trepod joined the National Security Education Program (NSEP) in 2011 as the Communications Strategist. She supports NSEP and The Language Flagship in marketing, public relations, and strategic communications. Before joining NSEP, Ms. Trepod served as the Communications Manager and Business Development Specialist at Sevatec, Inc. Ms. Trepod has also worked at SRI International (a non-profit research firm) from 2005-2010 supporting marketing and research in the areas of clean energy technologies, educational policy, drug discovery, and cyber security, and has also worked at Image Builders Unlimited, supporting client relations, marketing, and graphic design efforts. Ms. Trepod received dual degrees in Business and Communications from Michigan State University, with minors in Marketing and Public Relations. Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Ms. Sharon NishizakiMs. Sharon Nishizaki is program director for The Language Flagship at the Institute of International Education (IIE), the administrative agent for The Language Flagship Grants, and has served in this role since 2006. Ms. Nishizaki began her affiliation with NSEP in 1997 when she joined the Academy for Educational Development (AED) to manage the David L. Boren Graduate Fellowships. Prior to this, she was employed for 10 years in the Smithsonian Institution’s Office of Fellowships and Grants as a program specialist responsible for the Smithsonian Graduate, Predoctoral, and Postdoctoral Fellowship Programs. She has also worked as a program analyst for Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean at the Inter-American Foundation, an independent agency of the United States government that provides grants to nongovernmental and community-based organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean. Ms. Nishizaki received a BS in Spanish and French from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia. She has lived extensively in Latin America, having completed much of her primary and secondary education in Mexico and Argentina. Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Ms. Meaghan DolanMs. Meaghan Dolan is the program officer for The Language Flagship at the Institute of International Education (IIE). Prior to joining IIE in the fall of 2008, Meaghan was the project coordinator for a congressionally mandated study on public diplomacy. She previously worked for the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. Meaghan received her master’s in International Affairs from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University in 2006. There she focused on conflict resolution and the Middle East. She earned her BA in International Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004. Meaghan studied abroad in Spain and Cyprus and has traveled extensively. Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Ms. Colleen WileMs. Colleen Wile is the grants officer for The Language Flagship at the Institute of International Education (IIE). She is the primary point of contact for administrative aspects of Flagship institutional grants. Ms. Wile returned to IIE in 2011 after working at American Councils for International Education for over five years, managing the administration of field based grants and agreements. Prior to that, she was a program coordinator for a USAID-sponsored exchange program at IIE. Ms. Wile received her master’s in International Affairs from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University in 2005, where she focused on conflict resolution. She received her BA from the University of Notre Dame in 2001, majoring in Government and International Relations. Ms. Wile studied abroad in England and South Africa. Ms. Emily MattsMs. Emily Matts acts as the program manager on the administration of The Language Flagship Grants at the Institute of International Education (IIE). Ms. Matts provides support in the administration of Flagship institutional grants. Before joining IIE in 2006, Ms. Matts worked on the administration of Boren Fellowships and Flagship Fellowships at the Academy for Educational Development. Ms. Matts earned her MA in International Education from The George Washington University in 2009. Her research interests included internationalization of higher education, education in transitional and post-conflict regions, and international education’s role in public diplomacy. She received her BA from Xavier University (OH) in Political Science and International Affairs, with a concentration on the developing world. During her studies, Ms. Matts participated in academic programs in France, El Salvador, and Turkey. Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Ms. Lisa MayorgaMs. Lisa Mayorga is the program associate for The Language Flagship at the Institute of International Education (IIE). Lisa serves as the general administrative contact for The Language Flagship institutional grants. Before joining the IIE in 2011, she worked at the Smithsonian Institute Office of Policy and Analysis as well as the Smithsonian Latino Center (formerly the Center for Latino Initiatives). In 2006, she was employed with the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program where she taught English to junior and senior public high school students for two years in Tokushima, Japan. She later joined the JET Program Office at the Embassy of Japan in Washington DC. Lisa has also worked at John Snow, Inc., the Meridian International Center and the Intercultural Management Institute. Lisa received her MA in International Communication from the School of International Service at American University with a focus on education and intercultural relations. She earned her BA in International Relations from the University of California, Davis with two minors in Spanish and French. Lisa has traveled extensively in Western Europe and Asia. Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Dr. Susan DugganDr. Susan Duggan is an independent consultant to the Institute for International Education (IIE) and servers as a senior strategist for The Language Flagship. She has bridged educational, governmental and business sectors over the past 30years as a researcher, program designer, and strategist. From 1993 to 1998 Dr. Duggan served as the senior policy consultant to NSEP. Prior to that, she co-founded and managed an international education agency opening study abroad and teacher education programs throughout Eastern Europe and Latin America. Dr. Duggan served as Curriculum Director for the Stanford Program on International and Cross-cultural Education; and earlier shaped the "Bay Area and the World Project" for the World Affairs Council in San Francisco, a formative business-education-government project in 1982. In 1996, Dr. Duggan co-founded the Silicon Valley World Internet Center, an internationally recognized think tank and showcase for the advancement of Internet-related products. During the past decade of work with this center she has designed a methodology for conducting effective "think tank sessions," which she has deployed in nine countries. Dr. Duggan has a PhD and master's degree in education, and a BA in anthropology from Stanford University; and a master's degree in political science from Université Laval. Conversant in several languages, she is professionally proficient in German. Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
|