Partners, Colleagues, Leaders
Great ideas need a sounding board, and CET’s National Advisory Council (NAC) brings together some of our closest colleagues and respected leaders within the field of study abroad to be just that. We established the NAC in 2017 to formalize the advisory relationships that have long provided us with big picture insight, strategic direction, and invaluable input on new initiatives. The NAC meets annually with CET leadership for a robust discussion with thoughtful—often quite different—perspectives on a complex and ever-changing field.
Roles & Responsibilities

Council members serve in non-governing, advisory roles with rotating terms of three years. The NAC strives to:
- Offer CET leadership guidance on strategic priorities
- Help us engage with trends and issues in the fields
- Contribute to program and organizational assessment efforts
- Provide input as needed throughout the year on target questions
Council Members
Bill Burress
Elon University
Alisha Cardwell
Brandeis University
Katie DeGuzman
Dickinson College
Dan Gold
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Cara Hardy
Syracuse University
Mark Hayes
American University
Tonija Hope
Howard University
Helena Kaufman
Carleton College
Jason A. Kinnear
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Kelly McLaughlin
Yale University
Zach Mohs
University of Minnesota
Arik Ohnstad
Vanderbilt University
Naomi Otterness
Davidson College
Craig Rinker
Georgetown University
Amy Suelzer
Washington University in St. Louis
Jasmine Watson
Claremont McKenna College

Spotlight On Resilience
At our inaugural meeting in 2017, NAC members identified a need to tackle the issue of student resilience, and how study abroad can be uniquely suited to foster it. Three institutions from the NAC—Yale University, Kalamazoo College, and University of Minnesota, coordinated by our Director of Academic Affairs—are coming together to pursue research related to student resilience. This research will be turned into conference presentations and publications that we hope will drive and inform the field’s engagement with this important topic.
— Tonija Navas | Howard University