Case Studies

How Columbia SIPA is closing the gap in international student support

Stella is an international higher education professional with a specialization in career and executive coaching, and a solid 18 years’ experience gained fr om the UK, Middle East, Asia, EU and US markets. She has coached countless diverse candidates on their professional development goals from undergraduate to executive level and has helped many with international career transitions. After setting up and growing successfully for the past 5 years the Executive Career Development office at INSEAD, across France, Abu Dhabi and Singapore, she founded “Inspiration Ride”, an education and career consulting partner for individuals and corporations. In the past she also supported the career journey of INSEAD’s MBA students in the Middle East and in Singapore, from wh ere she gained local market knowledge. She has continually brought her knowledge from global markets and employer recruitment practices into developing future leaders who achieve successful personal transitions. Stella advises also ed-tech founders, due to her renowned knowledge of the global higher education sector and her passion for disrupting education. She serves at the advisory board of GeniusMesh, Aluminary Network, Streeme.io, to name a few exciting education startups. She also currently serves as the Director of Communications at the executive board of the MBA Career Services for Working Professionals Alliance, in the USA. Stella was the initiator and curator of a regional “think tank” in 2012, the Middle East Career Development Conference, that run for 4 consecutive years and she was among the 50 top career thought leaders that were invited to the Career Summit organized by Google in 2013. In 2020 she won the INSEAD Innovator Award for launching a community of global experts at an INSEAD-wide peer to peer network and today she continues coaching the school’s alumni and executive MBA participants.

Ravi Shankar is the Assistant Vice Provost and Director of the International Services Office at the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, directing a team of sixteen professionals in providing comprehensive support to over four thousand international students and scholars. He has been in the international education field for over twenty-five years having worked in variety of institutions-ranging from small professional institutions to a major research institution. Before coming to the University of Rochester, he served as the Director of the Office of International Student and Scholar Services for 18 years at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. He has served in many leadership positions with NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the largest and the most comprehensive association of professionals committed to advancing international higher education, and most completed his tenuer as the President and Chair of the Board of NAFSA in December, 2020. Ravi spent his formative years in the UK; moved to India to complete his undergraduate degree and graduate degrees in English Literature-specializing in Literature, with particular emphasis on 19th and 20th century British and African literature. He also lived in Kenya for a couple of years before moving to the United States.

Brandon Wong has over 15 years of experience in marketing, sales and product strategy in both the consumer and enterprise technology and SaaS space.  Brandon’s experience has spanned leading marketing strategies at ed tech start-ups such as Edmodo and BrightBytes, to global companies such as Adobe where he is currently the Principal Product Marketing Manager on the Adobe Education Team.  Brandon has a Master’s in Education Policy from Harvard University and a BA in Economics & Communications from Boston College.

Laleh Rongere has more than 15 years of experience as an international student advisor. She started advising at Mission College in Santa Clara, CA and later advised students at Stanford University (DSO & ARO). She has a Master’s Degree in Computer Sciences and a postgraduate in database design and management from the University of Paris. Until recently, Laleh was an Associate Director of International Student Career Programs and Advising at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she helped MBA and MSx (Sloan) international students strategize their job searches and navigate their US careers. She created the premier internship program for MSx International Students. Laleh was a recipient of several awards at Stanford University, where she also worked at the Postdoc office and the Office of Graduate Education to advance diversity and minority representation among Biosciences Ph.D. students. Laleh enjoys every minute of this challenging work and always looks for better solutions to help international students. The joy in her work comes from interacting with people from different countries and cultures. She has participated in numerous NAFSA conferences as a district co-chair, a regional workshop leader, and a presenter.

Greg Victory is the Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and Fannie Mitchell Executive Director at Duke University's Career Center.  Prior to Duke, Greg served as the Executive Director of the Career Center at Tufts University. Greg has experience developing innovative and enduring partnerships between the career team and other campus partners, including Alumni Affairs, the First-Generation Center, International Center, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, and Athletics. In his 25-year career, Greg served as Executive Director of Continuing Education at Rhode Island School of Design, where he was previously Associate Vice President of Student Affairs and Director of the RISD Career Center. During nearly a decade at Syracuse University, Greg taught in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, led the highly regarded First-Year and Transfer Programs office, and served as a leader with employer engagement in the Syracuse Career Center. Greg has also held positions at Colgate University and Ithaca College and taught junior high school social studies. He serves on the Board of Regents at his alma mater, Le Moyne College.

Aaron Blumberg is a Partner at Fragomen’s Miami office, where he provides U.S. immigration guidance to a diverse client base of investors and entrepreneurs, colleges and universities, and multinational companies.

Aaron has deep experience advising on the distinctive immigration requirements of colleges and universities. He works on behalf of professors and researchers to secure EB-1 Outstanding Professor/Researcher Visas and, when appropriate, National Interest Waivers. He also assists large state universities seeking to become designated as J-1 sponsor schools, and he works with colleges and universities that have established J-1 programs to ensure that they remain compliant. Aaron also advises international students on their visa options upon graduation. Additionally, Aaron represents and assists a growing number of small businesses, start-ups, investors and entrepreneurs working to expand their business footprint in the United States. In this capacity, he prepares and submits E-2 and EB-5 visa applications on behalf of clients.