Forum Storytellers

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Mike Woolf's fascinating life as an urban, cosmopolitan person started paradoxically in the narrow cultural environment of London's Jewish East End in the post Holocaust years. His early commitment to literature and left politics was evident in his university studies in politics and history. His PhD in Literature at the University of Hull led him to teaching at the Universities of Padova, Venice, Hull and Middlesex. He entered international education after a laconic interview by former senator William Fulbright himself!

The field has benefited for decades from Mike’s many talents; he is a tireless author and editor, a man with vast leadership experience, superb humor, and a charming ability for self-deprecating sarcasm.

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Alexis Phylactopoulos’s commitment to cosmopolitan and internationalist ideals, and his empathy with the dispossessed, derives, at least in part, through knowledge of his parents’ displacement from the Greek Diaspora.

After studying in Athens, he earned post-graduate degrees at Princeton and at the University of Cambridge. His early career was as a diplomat in Washington, D.C. (1976–1981) and Mexico City (1981–1984). In 1987, Alexis took over the leadership of CYA.

Popularly known by generations of students as Mr. Phyl, he has devoted his distinguished career to impart “Greece's ancient and contemporary civilization and culture to American university students.”

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Mary-Elizabeth Debicki is a true education abroad pioneer, who chose to build her career in education abroad long before it was a recognized field. Listen as she describes her experience studying abroad in France in the 1950s—which began with a voyage on a transatlantic ocean liner—and how it shaped the rest of her life. Interviewed by her longtime friend and colleague, Mary Anne Grant, Mary-Elizabeth traces her path from undergraduate to Director of Study Abroad at the University of Kansas.

Mary-Elizabeth’s 1985 doctoral dissertation, Study Abroad Advising: Information Delivery and Quality Assessment in Computer Assisted Advising on Study Abroad Opportunities, is available in the AIFS/AIFS Foundation Education Abroad Special Collection.

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The founder of Northwestern’s Study Abroad office, Bill Anthony, is known in the education abroad field for his quick wit and creativity. Listen as Bill, interviewed by Annmarie Whalen shortly before his retirement in 2016, describes his career, his role in the development of the Standards of Good Practice and Code of Ethics for Education Abroad, his approach to managing an office, and the importance of storytelling.

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Mickey Slind became an “accidental” study abroad professional when after raising a family she took a job in the Registrar’s Office at Hamline University in 1981. Prior to this she had never studied abroad and did not even own a passport.

Her long and productive career helping and mentoring study abroad advisers is something she is most proud of. Mickey was always on the cutting edge of the field—one of the first to champion short term programming and a pioneer in the quest for women’s equality in what was then a field dominated by males in campus leadership positions (“it is changing for the better now,” she said). Mickey also had a leadership role in creating workshops for underrepresented students including introducing programming for the LGBT community and, in 1992, served on the original NAFSA committee to integrate health and safety into study abroad professional development.

While Mickey officially retired twelve years ago she remains active as a consultant and leader imparting her wisdom, experience and expertise to a new generation of students, advisers and field representatives.

She is truly a dream merchant and a shining star in our field.

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A long summer's adventure traveling in Europe after college led Bill Gertz to a career in education abroad. He has brought his passions for travel and writing together over the years to promote the value of education abroad beginning with his work at CIEE in 1976 and continuing to the present at AIFS where he is President and CEO. He points out that over the years, most of the issues in our field remain the same, but the people and approaches change. He challenges the listener to remain true to our ultimate goal of achieving world peace through international travel and education abroad, and reminds us all that we must continue the journey together to expand opportunities for all students. Bill is interviewed by his friend and former colleague, Mickey Slind, at The Forum's 12th Annual Conference in Atlanta.

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Jim Citron, like few others, combines the experience and talents of educator, researcher, and on-site director with first-hand knowledge of the students’ lived experience abroad. At a time when study abroad conferences focused heavily on administrative concerns, Jim Citron brought into play the refreshing and revelatory voice of study abroad students themselves. Since his conference paper delivered at NAFSA in 1996, “Short-term study abroad: Integration, third culture formation, and re-entry,” the study abroad profession has been challenged to put the ambitions and shortcomings of the students’ lived experience abroad at the center of our discourse.

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Founding member of the Forum Council and plenary speaker at The Forum’s 2013 Annual Conference, Lilli Engle is a leading advocate for high-quality education abroad who has emerged as one of the most influential voices in the field today. In this thought-inspiring interview, she discusses how her own early experiences abroad helped shape her understanding of the potential value of cross-cultural education, and the changes she has witnessed in U.S. higher education and education abroad during her career as a committed, principled educator.

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During her early days at Spelman College, Margery Ganz was known as “the go-away lady,” because she would encourage students to “go away” (i.e., to study abroad). In her 35 years in the field, Margie has made education abroad a “Spelman thing” and tirelessly advocated for students of color studying abroad, all while teaching and maintaining a research agenda as an Italian Renaissance historian. She was interviewed by Tom Howard at The Forum’s 12th Annual Conference in her home city of Atlanta.

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In August of 2015, the education abroad field lost one of its greatest advocates.

Joe Brockington, recipient of The Forum’s 2016 Peter A. Wollitzer Advocacy Award, served the field of education abroad for over 20 years.

In March of 2015, Joe was interviewed by Margaret Wiedenhoeft, his friend and colleague at Kalamazoo College.

Joe and Margaret generously agreed to donate this video interview to The Forum. We are pleased to share it with you today as part of The Forum Storytellers project.

Forum Storytellers: Recent Episodes

The Forum on Education Abroad