EDUCATION
May 2019
PhD in Social Studies and Global Education
Ohio State University
(Columbus, OH)
December 2004
Master of Arts, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Arabic
Ohio State University
(Columbus, OH)
June 1997
Bachelor of Arts, Visual and Communication Arts with honors
Franklin University, Switzerland
(Lugano, Switzerland)

SKILLS
Cross-Cultural Communication
Experiential Learning Design
Curriculum Development
Teaching Cross-Cultural Competency
Community Building (Online and Off)
Supervising and Mentoring
Grant Writing and Editing
Teamwork and Collaboration
Teaching and Public Speaking
EXPERIENCE
2003-Present Assistant Director of the Middle East Studies Center (MESC), The Ohio State University
I have been the Assistant Director of the Middle East Studies Center (MESC) at the Ohio State University (OSU) since 2003, responsible for fiscal and strategic management of the operating budget and up to $500,000 annual budget in grants and donations. I facilitate the Center’s teacher training programs and oversee its outreach programs. My strengths are in curriculum and pedagogy for raising cultural awareness, re-invigorating the liberal arts core of the curriculum, and connecting classroom learning to life and workplace skills. I have been teaching at the university level for the past 21 years, including courses for classroom teachers. I regularly present to teachers and to their students as a guest speaker. I teach courses, in-person and online, and develop instructional materials. I utilize a wide range of technological tools to handle the Center’s marketing and produce e-learning modules. I am invited by professors as a guest speaker in their classes on topics such as Gender in the Middle East, e-Portfolios for Cultural Learning, or Focusing on Creativity. My areas of expertise are team-building, facilitating cross-cultural conversation, pedagogy for raising cultural awareness, and cross-cultural experiential learning. My Intercultural Development Inventory score, 135 out of 145 (99th percentile), indicates I can engage and mentor individuals of any cultural background or level of cultural awareness. As a researcher in the fields of Global and Multicultural Education, I conduct fieldwork in schools and studies that evaluate intercultural learning outcomes. I am involved collaborative projects focused on leadership, intercultural learning, racial justice, sustainability, and theatre.

2020 Web Content Migration Contractor , Ohio Department of Aging
I facilitated the migration of the Department’s website content, working with stakeholders across several departments to bring the project to completion with the highest quality and on time.
2002-2003 Fellow: Foreign Language and Areas Studies (FLAS) for Arabic
The Middle East Studies Center
The Ohio State University
1999-2001 Bulletin Editor and Web Developer
Near Eastern Languages and Cultures (NELC)
The Ohio State University
Produced NELC’s academic periodical, "The Middle East and South Asia Folklore Bulletin", published by the Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Department at The Ohio State University. Developed previous NELC web site.
1998 Intern
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
Bangkok, Thailand
Created instructional materials on biodiversity and sustainable development for general audiences in the South East Asian and Pacific region. Copy edited other UN documents and publications.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

October 2021
Focusing on Creativity I conducted this workshop on creativity for students in an International Law seminar at MEF University taught by Professor Ayşegül Kibaroglu

May 2021
Implicit Bias in American Classrooms and the East/West Dichotomy. Presented with my colleague, Dr. Danielle Schoon, as part of the Innovate Conference hosted at Ohio State University. Powerpoint download.

April 9, 2021
Area Studies: Interdisciplinary Leadership or Form of Othering? Presented at the Winter/Spring 2021 Global Mediterranean Seminar for a Roundtable on "Global Mediterranean/Global Middle Ages: Eurocentric or Revisionist?"

April 2020
From Language and Culture to Intercultural Learning: Integrated Curricular Design Presented with colleagues Danielle Schoon, Cindy Jiang, and Janice Aski, for the Comparative and International Education Society Annual Conference.

September 2019
Academic Leadership in an Age of Identity Conflicts Presented as part of the Leadership for Academicians Programme of India, "LEAP," sponsored by the Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, and supported by the Ohio State University (OSU), and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

June 2019
Teaching Water: Resources and Approaches Presented as part of a week-long environmental issues seminar for teachers, offered the Office of International Affairs at Ohio State University.

January 2019
e-Portfolios for Cultural Learning: Maximizing the Online Environment for Cross-Cultural Learning A professional development, a presentation for faculty in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at Ohio State University

December 2018
She Can Do Something: Authentic Narratives of Muslim/Arab Women A presentation with Hanadi Shatara at the National Council on the Social Studies Conference, Chicago.

May 2018
Engaging Students in Global Online Learning, with Dr. Danielle Schoon, Ohio State University, and Mark Visco, CEO of Suitable, Innovate Conference at Ohio State University.

January 2018
Using ePortfolios to Engage Students and Improve Assessment of Global Learning: OSU, Istanbul U Collaborations, Association of American Colleges and Universities, e-Portfolio Forum, 2018

September 2017
Exploring Saudi Culture: The Visible and the Invisible, with Rasmiya Al-Bayani, Ohio Council for the Social Studies Conference, 2017

January and March 2015
Gender and Culture in the Middle East A presentation for about-to-deploy officers at Wright-Patterson Air Force, Base Central Command (Ohio), for the Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management

November 21, 2014
Citizenship and Identity: Lessons from World War One and Turkey (Boston, MA)
Featured Presentation at National Council on the Social Studies (NCSS) Conference
Co-presented, Joan Brodsky-Schur

August 20, 2014
Update on Afghan Women: Inside Afghanistan 24 Years After the Soviet Withdrawal
World Congress on Middle East Studies, (Ankara, Turkey)
Co-presented with Alam Payind

February 2013
Turkey in Economic Perspective: Middle East Conference
North Central Michigan College (Petoskey, MI)

May 2013
Decolonizing Study Abroad: My Reflections on a Study Tour in Turkey; American Educational
Research Association (AERA) Roundtable (San Francisco, CA)

February 2012
Teaching Other Cultures, Identities, (Mis)representation, and Empowerment
Co-presented with Gilbert Kaburu, Heejeong Kang, and David To
Miami University's Annual Graduate Student Educational Leadership Conference.

September 9-10, 2011
Strategies for Raising Cultural Awareness
Annual Middle East National Language Resource Center Arabic Teacher Training Workshop
Brigham Young University; (Provo, UT)

November 2011
Cross-Cultural Communication Pragmatics Training for Army Officers
Camp Mabry (Austin, TX)

July 2010
Intercultural Difference: Applications in Afghanistan for Military Personnel
Training for 3rd Battalion, 25th Lima Company, U.S. Marines.

November 21, 2009
Global Education, Human Rights and the Middle East Region
A Day-Long Workshop for Teachers, co-organized with the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University

November 2009
Pedagogy for Public Outreach
Roundtable at the Middle East Studies Association Meeting, Boston

November 2009
Using Primary Sources to Teach About the Middle East
Co-presented with Merry Merryfield and colleagues at the National Council on the Social Studies Conference.

PUBLICATIONS

2019
2018
e-Book: Windows into Turkish Culture, student-authored book co-edited with Dr. Danielle Schoon.
2017
e-Book: Keys to Understanding the Middle East, co-authored with Alam Payind.
2016
2014
2012
Peer-reviewed Article: "Bringing Social Justice into the Social Studies." Theory & Research in Social Education 40, no. 4 (461–466), co-authored with Binaya Subedi.
2012
Commissioned Study: Merryfield, M. M., Augustine, T., Choi, M., Harshman, J., & McClimans, M. (2012). Teacher thinking on developing informed and engaged students for a globally connected world: Report on the study. International Baccalaurate.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
  • 2000 – 2021: TA from 2000 to 2006 then a regular guest lecturer for the undergraduate course, IS 2200 "Introduction to the Middle East"
  • 2000 – 2021: TA from 2000 to 2006 then a regular guest lecturer for the undergraduate/graduate course, IS 5645 "Contemporary Issues in the Middle East"
  • 2015 Taught Edu T&L 6808 "Global and Multicultural Education," A graduate-level course in the College of Ed.
  • 2011, 2012, 2013: Designed, oversaw, and led the Center’s study tour in Turkey for teachers.
  • 2010 Co-taught online course for the Coll of Ed, Edu T&L 883 "World Cultures and Global Issues" with Dr. Merry Merryfield
  • 2010, 2011, 2012 Taught course for the College of Education "The Middle East in World Affairs"
  • 2008, Assisted Merry Merryfield, Professor of Global Education, "Intercultural Experiential Learning," a graduate Course in Ohio State University’s College of Education
  • 2007 Taught NELC 294 "Introduction to Egyptian Culture" and co-led the course’s study tour to Egypt

GRANTS & AWARDS

2020 Co-awarded $24,900 Seed Fund for Racial Justice Grant with Professor Joy, McCorriston, Department of Anthropology, courtesy of the Steering Committee for the Task Force on Racism and Racial Inequities at the Ohio State University.
2020 Co-awarded $2000 with Dr. Danielle Schoon, and Dr. Cindy Jiang, for evaluating student intercultural learning as a result of our modules (Global Learning e-Portfolio), courtesy of the University Institute for Teaching and Learning (UITL)
2020 Co-awarded $8,870 with Dr. Danielle Schoon, and Dr. Cindy Jiang, for implementing intercultural learning modules (Global Learning e-Portfolio), courtesy of the University Institute for Teaching and Learning (UITL)
2019 Co-awarded $20,000 Global Arts and Humanities Grant for the "On the Front Lines" Theatre project with Professor Lesley Ferris, Department of Theatre, Ohio State University.
2017 Co-awarded e-book publication support with Dr. Danielle Schoon, courtesy of the Affordable Learning Exchange (ALX) at the Ohio State University.
2014 Awarded $500, training and publication support for e-book publication, courtesy of the Affordable Learning Exchange (ALX) at the Ohio State University.
2010-2014 Co-awarded $1,878,369 in Title VI Grants from the Federal DOE with Dr. Alam Payind.
2006-2011 Co-awarded $2,077,962 in Title VI Grants from the Federal DOE with Dr. Alam Payind.
2003-2007 Managed $1,517,000 in Title VI Grants from the Federal Department of Education (DOE).


DISTINCTIONS
2014 Committee for Culture Change in the Office of International Affairs, Head of
Curriculum Group
2008-2013 Membership Chair of the Middle East Outreach Council
2007 Merit bonus and 7% raise
ASSOCIATIONS
2003-present Member: The Middle East Studies Association (MESA)
2003-present Member: The Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC)
2009-2013 Board member: The Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC)
2009-present Member: National Council on the Social Studies (NCSS)

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and Workshop Nov. 2019
I learned my Intercultural Awareness Score, a 135 out of 145, is in the 99th percentile from participating in this workshop and the IDI debrief. This means I can communicate effectively with individuals of diverse cultural backgrounds or levels of cultural awareness.
Meaningful Inquiry Workshop offered by the Ohio State University Libraries Aug 2019
I learned methods to engage learners in processes of inquiry and address obstacles to learning new subjects.

Innovate Annual Conference May 2019
Participated as a presenter in May of 2018, a peer reviewer in 2019, and as an attendee in other years.

Conference on Excellence in Teaching and Learning May 2019
Participated as a presenter in 2018 and as an attendee in other years.

Managing at OSU: Building Successful Relationships October 23, 2014
Manager Development Training

Effective Delegating March 2014
John Glenn School of Public Affairs Management Development Program, Ohio State University

Authentic Leadership in Action (ALIA) Institute June 2014
Courageous Leadership Institute (Tacoma, WA)

Intensive 2-Day Workshop on Art of Hosting Methodologies August 2013
The Women’s Place at Ohio State
SERVICE
Reviewer for Theory Into Practice
Reviewer for the Innovate Conference, hosted by Ohio State University
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

2011-2014, 2021 Turkey: Istanbul, Ankara, other cities in Turkey for the Center’s annual study tour to Turkey for teachers. 2014, presented at the World Congress on Middle East Studies in Ankara, conducted business at Istanbul University, Yeditepe University, and Erciyes University. 2021. Conducted business on behalf of Ohio State University in Istanbul September-November
1993 & 2007 Egypt: Cairo, Egypt, American University of Cairo – Arabic Study; Co-led Study Tour in 2007
1997-1998 Thailand: UN Internship, Freelance English and Cultural Competency Coaching
1994-1997 Switzerland: BA Degree work at Franklin University, Lugano
1993 Tunisia: Arabic Study, Bourguiba Institute
1993-1995 Saudi Arabia: Residence, Arabic Study
LANGUAGES
English – Native
Italian – Advanced Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing
French – Intermediate Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing
Arabic – Intermediate Reading, Listening, Novice Writing and Speaking