Betsy Bagley is passionate about harnessing the current work-life cultural shift and advocating for the talented pool of experienced professionals who seek flexibility to manage competing demands in their careers and personal lives. She has been integrally involved in the development and expansion of YourOnRamp.com. YourOnRamp is a vital resource for women (and increasingly more men) as they navigate career breaks, downscaling of their roles, and re-entering the workforce. With the benefit of her own OffRamp and OnRamp experiences along with four years as an expatriate, she is working with employers to design more flexible workplaces to accommodate non-traditional career paths.

Janet Bennett, Ph.D., is executive director of the Intercultural Communication Institute, sponsor of the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication, and director of the Master of Arts Degree in Intercultural Relations jointly sponsored by ICI and the University of the Pacific. She specializes in developing theory and training methods for individuals who teach, train or manage across cultures. As an educator and consultant, she designs and conducts intercultural training for colleges and universities, corporations, social service agencies, and professional associations. She teaches in the training and development program at Portland State University and publishes on intercultural training and adjustment.

Paulette Martinez Bethel, PhD (ABD), CMC, MA, LMFT is the founder of Brighter Pathway International, PLLC, a counseling, consultancy and global executive coaching agency. Most recently, Paulette has teamed up with TCKID co-founder Brice Royer to form the TCK Academy, an online learning and education community to support the needs of ATCKs and the expatriate community. Paulette's international transitions started as a Commissioned Officer in the US Air Force. As a doctoral candidate, she completed her international internship near Guangzhou, China. She is the mother of four multiracial TCKs born and raised in the Philippines, Thailand, and numerous other stateside assignments.

Mike Cannon is the Associate Director of YouthCompass International and has worked with youth, young adults and families for over 20 years. Mike spent 6 years directing YouthCompass’ community efforts in Budapest, Hungary before moving his wife and three third culture kids back to the U.S. a year ago.   Mike has extensive experience working with differing segments of the expatriate community and now works to support multiple community efforts though varied development, donor, and recruiting activities.

Dr. Nina Cole is Associate Professor of human resources management at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. She has recently completed two major field studies of expatriate spouses in Asia. Through extensive interviewing, she has new evidence for HR managers regarding the most critical needs of spouses. She has also completed the largest academic study reported to date of male spouses and the needs of this growing population.

Anne P. Copeland, Ph.D., is founder and director of The Interchange Institute, a non-profit organization whose mission is to study and support people in intercultural transition. She is a clinical psychologist, a researcher, and a cross-cultural trainer. Through The Interchange Institute, she offers train-the-trainer courses and publishes books on moving to new countries and a newsletter about moving to the US. She recently served on the Board of FIGT and as FIGT’s 2009 Program Director.

Dr. Ann Baker Cottrell is Sociology Professor Emerita, San Diego State University.  Her research has focused on people with transnational lives: cross-national marriages (South Asian- Western in India, U.K. and U.S.) and American adult TCKs.  The latter is a study of 600+ ATCKs exploring adult life choices, identity and world view. She has also done a comparative study of mature female university students in the U.S. and Italy.  She has lived as an adult in Scotland, England, India and Italy with summer work experiences in Ivory Coast and Switzerland.  Her teaching interests focused on race/ethnic/national identity, global systems, social change and research methods.  She has presented her research in articles and at conferences throughout the world.

Smitha Day’s expertise comes from two realms: her intense personal experience and her educational credentials.  Having lived the life of a Third Country Kid/Global Nomad on three continents, she has great empathy and compassion for those struggling to make sense of an increasingly globalized world.  Her studies and thesis in the area of Foreign Student Adjustment give her a clinical understanding of what actually happens and what needs to happen to provide foreign students with a beneficial and productive cross-cultural experience. It is exciting to bring clinical insights to progressive, humane institutions aiming to embrace a global community.

As a trailing spouse, Deniz Demirors has lived in four countries on three continents. Over these years, Deniz has held various positions in project management, consulting and private banking. She joined Dow in 2006 as an International Relocation Partner. In her current role, she provides HR services to corporate critical mega projects. With her international work and life experience, Deniz brings a unique, dual perspective to the expatriate program and assignee management. Deniz holds an MBA in executive management, a BA in Accounting and Economics, and she is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt Leader.

Carley Dodd, Ph.D. is experienced in dozens of international situations, having conducted research and/or conducted training/consultation for over 110 organizations. He is the author of 11 books and 125 articles/papers in various aspects of communication. As an Intercultural Professor, working with new research pertaining to TCKs and assessments for adults is a backdrop against which to view this new research for a children’s pre-departure assessment.

Diane Endo was 22 years old when she married her Japanese boyfriend.  Before she even knew herself as an adult, she had the opportunity and the obligation to reinvent herself as a member of a Japanese family.  She and her family have moved to and from Tokyo, Japan five times, and each stage of life: newlywed, young mother, superwoman (working, volunteering, mother of busy children), mellow forties, and empty nester, required a different way of being a foreigner and a partner in her marriage.  Diane is supplementing her personal experience with a master’s degree in International Relations.

Doug Fainelli is a 35+year educator having served in leadership roles including superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal and head of school.  Currently Head of the Whitby School, Greenwich, Connecticut, he previously was founding principal for the International School at Dundee. In addition to Doug’s extensive experience with the International Baccalaureate, he served on the Advisory Board for the College of William and Mary’s Center for the Gifted and as a consultant for the China Institute as well as for the British International School of New York during its start up phase.  Doug’s undergraduate and graduate work was completed at Western Connecticut State University.

Doris Fuellgrabe is an optimistic traveler, a change-agent, an expat coach and owner of Building the Life You Want LLC (www.buildingthelifeyouwant.com). She has lived, worked and studied in Germany, Scotland, England, Spain, and Mexico and currently resides in the USA. At the time of writing, Doris is researching opportunities to work with international companies in supporting their expatriate employees and families. She enjoys travelling, reading, learning new things, and staying in touch with friends and family from all over the world.

Apple Gidley is a writer who has experienced twenty-six relocations through twelve countries while raising a family, working and playing.  She is well able to discuss the various roles and challenges that arise in countries as diverse as Equatorial Guinea and Thailand and has a broad knowledge and understanding of cultural differences encountered. Apple firmly believes that with cultural awareness, a capacity to embrace change, a small dose of cynicism and large amounts of patience and humor, every new assignment can be a rich and rewarding experience for the entire family.

Dr. Neal Goodman is an internationally recognized authority in international human resource management and organizational development. Dr. Goodman is the co-founder and president of Global Dynamics Inc (GDI), an international consulting firm which designs, organizes and implements cross-cultural training programs. GDI specializes in training, expatriate, inpatriate, and repatriate relocation services, international human resource development, strategic planning, organizational development, benchmark research and counseling/coaching for organizations who wish to succeed in the culturally diverse global arena.  Neal has authored numerous books and articles in the field and is the recipient of the 1995 Senior Interculturalist Achievement Award from SIETAR for his lifetime contribution to the field.  He enjoys tennis, scuba diving, travel and his twin grandsons.

Karen Hamady received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in Psychology and French and holds a Master's degree in International Management from the University of Denver. Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, Karen has also lived in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, London, England, and the United States. She speaks both French and Arabic fluently, and is proficient is Spanish. Karen possesses over 18 years experience consulting in international relocation and expatriate administration. This experience, combined with her intercultural understanding, has contributed to her in-depth expertise in the global arena.

Jeanne A. Heinzer, President of Heinzer Consulting “The Art of Living Abroad Center,” is a European trainer and coach who has worked as a manager for some large multinationals. Jeanne has relocated six times within the past 18 years and truly developed the art of living abroad. It is her passion to enable individuals and couples to live their happiest and most successful life abroad. She will share her own insights and experiences from constantly striving for a satisfying career/relationship balance as well as from her work/experience with HR professionals, international managers and their accompanying partners.

Raquel Hoersting is currently working towards a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of North Texas. Her research interests are cultural identity, mental health and social processes of those who cross international and cultural borders. Currently, her research focuses on adult TCKs. She is originally from Brazil and is invested in understanding and helping the lives of international sojourners, immigrants and refugees.

A TCK herself, Dana Hooker has been naturally drawn toward TCK and intercultural research throughout her education.  After spending 11 years on the mission field with her parents and younger brother, she re-entered the United States to attend university.  Since then she has continued to travel nationally and internationally and hopes that her daughter Aiden (age 6) will also have the benefit of an international upbringing.  After achieving a doctorate in Communication, Dana plans to teach at the university level.

Ms. Laura Kantor-Chupp was born into an Air Force family.  She spent most of her childhood and adult life in the military environment. She received a Bachelor’s of Science in Social Work from San Jose State University and a Master’s in Social Work from Delaware State University. During her career Laura worked in program management in USAF Family Advocacy, Family Support Centers both stateside and overseas and with the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in St Louis, Missouri working as a social worker for patients with spinal cord injuries.  Currently, Laura is at Dover AFB where she is a Community Readiness Consultant.

Marta Kapusta, global nomad trailing spouse for 32 years, was born in Argentina. She holds a MSc in Computer Science (Buenos Aires) and MA in Museology (Amsterdam). Marta was head of the International Committee at the American School of The Hague and the International Service Specialist and International Students Advisor at Rice University. Marta coordinated International Education Week at Rice promoting the importance of international education. She moved back to The Netherlands in 2007 leaving her TCK children behind. Marta is presently board member of the Netherlands-Argentina Solidarity Foundation and active member in several international associations in The Hague.

Terry Kinnard is a U.S. citizen who spent time in the Navy on submarines and traveled the world. His exposure to other cultures through his first marriage to a Dutch citizen, his dedicated explorations of eastern spiritual traditions and his career as a corporate executive has given him a valuable perspective on what it means to live outside one’s home country as well as return to changes and the unfamiliar at home.  For the past 15 years, Terry has utilized both his extensive training as a Master Leader Coach at the Debbie Ford Institute and his passion, Voice Dialogue, as well as the consciousness work of The Monroe Institute to support awareness, growth and transformation for clients.

Andrew Kittell has over 20 years experience as an educator and school administrator.   He represents London’s ACS International Schools throughout North America.  For nearly 15 years he has progressed as an enrollment management and corporate relations professional representing American and international schools in Europe. Andrew has lived and worked abroad in London, England and the British Indian Ocean Territory. Andrew holds degrees in education and educational administration from Springfield College and the Johns Hopkins University, respectively. His additional postgraduate study was at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business and Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy.

Glenda Lewin is an Australian expatriate currently residing in The Hague, Netherlands. She has worked voluntarily for the past 15 years with expatriate organizations including Outpost (Shell) throughout Europe, FOCUS in London (board member) and for the past four years has chaired the Expatriate Archive Centre based in The Hague. She is passionate about recording all facets of expatriate life for future generations of researchers and historians to understand this unique global lifestyle.

Paula Lucas is Founder of the American Domestic Violence Crisis Line, 866-USWOMEN, a domestic violence and child abuse hotline accessible from 175 countries toll free for Americans abroad. Paula and her children suffered for 12 years with brutal abuse as American expats living in a foreign country. When she finally escaped and returned to the USA, she could not believe that her abuser, also American, could legally force her to take her American children back to the Middle East. Paula started the organization in response to help both Americans abused overseas and those who flee home for safety in the USA.

Andrea Martins is the Director and Co-Founder of ExpatWomen.com – a comprehensive, global website helping expatriate women of all nationalities living overseas.  Andrea is an Australian who has lived as an expat in Indonesia and Mexico.  Her professional background includes coordinating large national networks in two of Australia’s largest government departments plus working as an Executive Headhunter in an international consulting firm in Indonesia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland, Australia, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Electronic Commerce from La Trobe University, Australia.

Susan Musich is the managing director of an international job search support system for organizations to support spouses’ and partners’ career transitions as well as educational institutions to support students seeking global opportunities (www.PassportCareer.com). She is also a Global HR & Mobility Consultant. She has worked with Accenture, The World Bank, the UN, the U.S. State Dept, the Peace Corps, multinationals, and other international organizations. She co-developed the World Bank’s first Global Mobility program and advises organizations on dual career and mobility programs, with a specialization in family issues and spouse career support. Susan has written 13 books, including her most recent book Africa Job Search (2007).

Donna Musil founded the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Brats Without Borders in 1999 to help foster self-awareness and a sense of belonging amongst current and adult military “brats” and other TCKs.  Donna wrote and directed BWB’s award-winning film, “BRATS: Our Journey Home,” the first documentary about growing up military, narrated by Kris Kristofferson, featuring General Norman Schwarzkopf.  BRATS has screened in over 100 locations on three continents, including AFN-TV worldwide, and been featured on CNN’s “This Week at War,” NPR, Stars & Stripes, and many more.  A former labor lawyer, Donna was raised an Army brat in Germany, Korea, and the U.S.

Dr. Michèle Lewis O'Donnell is a consulting psychologist based in France who has lived in Europe for the last 20 years in four countries. As a military kid, she lived in both Europe and the USA. Her emphases in the member care field include individual and family adjustment and crisis management. She and her husband, Dr. Kelly O’Donnell, also a psychologist, work internationally in the mission/humanitarian sector. She co-edited Helping Missionaries Grow (1988) and has co-published articles on member care principles, worker adjustment, and ethics in member care. She enjoys parenting two lively daughters, 19 and 15 years old.

With Barbara Schaetti’s guidance a decade ago, Doug Ota co-founded the “Transitions Program Team” at The American School of The Hague, now re-dubbed the “Safe Harbour,” to address the challenges of relocation across cultures for students, parents, and staff across all phases of the mobility cycle.  “Safe Harbour” is now perhaps the most comprehensive program of its kind at international schools.  In addition to his work as a psychologist in a high school, Doug presents and trains internationally at ECIS, FIGT, the Counselor Training Center in London, and for major companies like Shell, working with people and organizations to transform the challenges of moving across cultures into opportunities for personal growth.

After 21 years abroad, Jo Parfitt has refused let regular international moves get in the way of her portable career. As a writer, she has written 25 books and hundreds of articles based on what she has learned along the way and spends her time inspiring others to do the same. Her writing, teaching, speaking, mentoring, consultancy and websites www.thebookcooks.com and www.expatrollercoaster.com help her to do what she loves best – to share what she knows to help others to grow. She is a regular at Families in Global Transition and was their closing keynote speaker in 2007.

Liz Perelstein, President of School Choice International, is a seasoned educator, former expatriate, and successful entrepreneur.  Before founding School Choice, Liz worked at all levels of education from nursery school through university.  Transferred with her family to London in 1997, she founded School Choice International while an expatriate. A decade later, School Choice now has over 90 educational consultants in 50 worldwide locations. In 2006, Liz founded the British International School of NY.  She speaks and writes frequently on topics related to education, relocation and women in business.  Liz earned Master’s Degrees in Educational Administration and Public Policy from the University of Chicago.

Kellie Poulin is a Canadian citizen living as a permanent resident in the U.S. She was raised in a domestically nomadic family as her bush-pilot father moved seasonally for his work. As an adult, her journeys have provided experience in moving from one culture to another.  Kellie lived briefly in Barbados, Florida, Northern Ontario and Toronto, Canada and for the past five years has resided in Denver, Colorado where she and Terry Kinnard own their business, The Emergent Coach.  Over the past 15 years, her experience and training in the process of Voice Dialogue has helped her navigate significant life changes and taught her how to cope. She earned a degree in Transpersonal Psychology and Canadian certification in Spiritual (mind-body-spirit) Psychotherapy in 2000 from Transformational Arts College where she was a teaching and counseling faculty member.

Dr. Becky Powell leads the TCK Research Network.  Her family has transformed a traumatic unplanned relocation for a new life. She has presented at two FIGT conferences.  After the 2007 FIGT, her family experienced an unplanned relocation/expatriation due to a terroristic threat.  FIGT’s support was a critical element of the support that sustained her family through this time.

Karen Powell’s first move as a mother was from the UK to Norway with one and four year old sons.  After struggling, largely alone, with behavioral problems her older son was finally diagnosed with ADD.  The next 11 years were spent in Norway, the UK, and Houston tying to balance the attention between her two sons while managing the ADD.  During this journey, Karen has had to deal with the pragmatism of the Norwegian health system, the bureaucracy of the UK system, and the intense commercialism of the US system, as well as the indifference of many schools.  Alternative medicine has proved to be the only true thread running through all these countries and systems.

Brian Proctor holds degrees from the University of Western Ontario and the University of Toronto. As a teacher, Brian chaired the Geography Department at Upper Canada College in Toronto, was a boarding Housemaster and coached the Varsity Hockey team.  Brian subsequently served as Director of Admissions at Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario.  He is the founder and president of Brian Proctor & Company, Education Links, which provides educational consulting services to families throughout Canada and the United States for independent, boarding and therapeutic boarding schools. He is also a member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA). 

Tina Quick, daughter of a military man and wife of an international public health physician, is an adult TCK who spent 19 years living in 6 different countries. She is the founder of International Family Transitions, a consultancy whose vision is to (1) empower families with the necessary tools and knowledge to navigate international moves with success, (2) work with Human Resource Departments in identifying the issues expatriate employees and their families face abroad and upon return in order to develop methods for retaining and sustaining international staff and (3) recognize and bring to the forefront the global issues facing Third Culture Kids.

As an education consultant, Mary Rabbitt has worked in all parts of the world as well as in U.S. companies in the energy, mining, finance, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical industries.  Her consulting work includes education site assessments, school planning and placement, and facility planning. Mary holds a BS from the University of Kentucky and a Masters degree in Public Administration from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner School for Public Service.  Beginning her international work as a TCK in Panama, she subsequently taught in Guinea, Israel, and The Netherlands.  She has served Bennett Educational Resources as Senior International Consultant since 2002.

Naomi Ritchie served with her husband and two children at our embassies in seven countries in Latin America and Europe.  She was the Embassy’s Community Liaison Officer in four countries. As Crisis Management and Support Officer during the past three years, she has provided guidance and referral services to employees and family members experiencing personal crises, and has supported contingency planning and evacuations.  At the State Department she serves on task forces, is an active member of various crisis-working groups, and presents on crisis management topics.  She has a B.A. in International Relations and a Masters in International Management.

As the daughter of a Foreign Service Office, Bridget Roddy is a TCK who has lived overseas for seventeen years.  Before coming to FLO in May 2006, she worked at the U.S. embassies in Vienna and Ottawa.  Her experience in FLO includes support in the areas of Education and Youth, Crisis Management and Support, and the Community Liaison Office (CLO) Program.  Twice Bridget has been on the “family” side of unaccompanied tours, first as a daughter of a FS Officer, and most recently when her fiancé served two one-year assignments at the U.S. embassies in Doha and then in Baghdad.  She has a B.A. in Anthropology and Design from the University of Notre Dame.

Brice Royer, a web-technology and social media expert, is also a multiracial French/Vietnamese and Ethiopian Army Brat/TCK; the founder of the TCKID.com, an online community forum; and the co-founder of the TCK Academy. He lived on 3 continents and in 7 countries before the age of 18, including France, Reunion, Mayotte, and Canada. Brice founded TCKID (tckid.com) in November 2007 to provide an online community for Adult Third Culture Kids (ATCKs) and Cross Cultural individuals to have a safe and open environment for interaction, information, and support on TCK/CCK-related issues. Brice also heads up the TCK Everywhere Facebook group and TCKWorld.

Codi Schale’s interests lie in researching the applicability of commonly used psychological theories in special populations. She has presented at regional, national, and international conferences with her research on refugee women; lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals; and international students. She became interested in expatriate issues after marrying her “military brat” husband.

Aaron L. Schmidtberger began his work with boarding schools, first as Residential Life Director at Thomas More Prep-Marian in Kansas and since 2005 as the North American Admissions Director at Leysin American School in Switzerland (LAS).  Each year he welcomes over 50 TCKs to LAS, a testament to the school’s 48-year relationship with international corporations and expatriate families.  In partnership with Swiss Learning, LAS has offered a biennial tour of Swiss schools for educational consultants and relocation specialists since 2000, which Aaron co-coordinates. Aaron holds a B.A. from the University of Kansas and will complete his M.Ed. from Endicott College-Madrid in July 2009.

Laura Sicola, Ph.D., is a language acquisition coach who provides American and international expatriates with the tools necessary to successfully learn additional languages. She guides people to identify their own unique learning style and helps them match best-practice strategies to maximize foreign language learning. She also trains language teachers at the University of Pennsylvania, where she got her Ph.D. in educational linguistics; independently provides accent training for professionals who want to learn a standard American accent; and develops training programs for corporations interested in helping employees improve their business English skills and/or acquire new languages to expand their global presence.

Anika Smit, a 17-year-old living in the Netherlands, has more than enough life experience to go around. Originally from South Africa, her family started moving around when she was 3. Her father leads a hectic life as a chemical engineer, while her mother paints their stories as they travel. Her brother, MC is 16 months younger and seriously into drumming. Living in China, Anika decided to start writing about her experiences as a third culture kid. Her writing eventually turned into her book “Taxi,” written at age 13. Anika plans to continue writing about her experiences, giving insight into life as an expat kid.

Cindy Smith, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and trainer who lived and worked overseas for seven years and continues to work extensively with the expatriate community. Utilizing backgrounds as a psychotherapist, educator, and MBTI trainer, Cindy conducts workshops and seminars on Culture Shock and Adjustment, Repatriation, and How MBTI Type Impacts How We Deal with Change.  Cindy continues to use the lessons learned during her expatriate experience and those of clients and fellow expats to enrich her life and teach others how to expand their horizons beyond the borders of a country.

Dave Snyder lived and worked as an administrator in Kenya, Africa for 15 years.  Dave will share his struggle and triumph over narcotics addiction.  “By the time we are all in Houston, I will be nearing 3 years of recovery.  As you can imagine, it was quite a shock both to my family and our international organization when it came to light that I had a serious drug problem.  I had used narcotics to manage migraine headaches for over 20 years, but the time came when I lost all control over my drug use.”  Learn from Dave what personal steps he took to regain his life and how his employer encouraged him every step of the way.

Suzanne Ross Snyder, MD, is certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. She was a Medical Missionary among the Maasai in Kenya, East Africa, from 1992 to 2006. Presently, she is a Medical Consultant for CMF International, overseeing medical and HIV/AIDS ministries in Africa, Central Asia and Ukraine. She is the wife of David, since Aug 13, 1982 and mother of Rebekah(18) and Lauren (15).

Thomas Speckhardt is the Executive Director of YouthCompass International. He has lived and worked in an expatriate environment for the last 16 years and is an adult TCK. Together with his wife he is raising four TCK’s, two of them teens. Thomas has worked with the corporate, diplomatic, and educational communities to raise the level of support for expatriate families on assignment. By creating opportunities for service for adults and youth in Eastern Europe, he has helped to expand the worldview of global nomads.

Heike Stengel, Ph.D., President of Stengel Consulting, is a cross-cultural trainer, consultant and lecturer with 20 years of international experience.  A German native, Heike was an expatriate in Asia for over 10 years and has worked with clients from 54 countries. She has conducted trainings in 14 countries throughout Asia, Europe and Africa for international corporations, the military, the educational sector and non-profit organizations.  During her stay in Asia, she served as coordinator and facilitator for the Singapore American Community Action Council’s “Settling in Singapore” program.  A mother of two children born abroad, Heike is passionate about supporting families on the move.

Chica Strauszer, a Chilean mother of three sons, has established a successful transition program at the international school her children attend in Santiago. During seven years living in The Hague as an expat family, Chica had the opportunity to be involved in numerous school programs assisting families through transition. She took her own and her children’s personal experiences of facing the challenges of an international move and combined them with the model for transition programming well established at the American School of The Hague to implement one from scratch in her own country. 

Martha Strickland, Ed.D., is Assistant Professor of Education at Penn State where she teaches teachers in the graduate school and researches the impact of culture on learning at both the regional and international level. She taught in Cote d’Ivoire. Subsequently, she served as the Director of Training and Education for an international agency which involved doing home visits and problem-solving with American families who were living overseas, as well as visiting national school systems in over 30 countries.

Pat Sumer is an adult TCK, global nomad, mother of TCKs, educator, trailing spouse and recent empty nester, not necessarily in that order.  After teaching in Islamabad, Pakistan, Pat completed her graduate studies at the University of Arizona where she taught at the Center for English as a Second Language.  She has also taught at Koc University in Istanbul, Turkey, The American School of The Hague in The Netherlands and at Lone Star State College in Cypress, Texas.  Pat took 2008 “off” to spend a year as a full time trailing spouse and empty nester in The Hague, Netherlands.

Dr. Rachel Timmons has lived 25 years in a host culture (10 years in the Philippines and 15 years in Thailand) where she was engaged in raising her family, teaching at the international schools, developing adoption and foster care programs, and working with relief and development services. Since returning, she has served as a Professor of Education at CBU and is involved with international students and third culture people in the areas of pre-field orientations and successful cross culture reentry. She has developed a research based assessment rubric to guide third culture people through the process of reentering/entering their home/host cultures in a successful manner.

Ruth Van Reken is co-founder and past chairperson of FIGT. She is an American citizen who was born and raised in Nigeria. Her father was born to American parents working in Iran. Ruth and her husband, David, raised their three daughters in Liberia and their first grandchild was born in Ghana. Ruth is the author of Letters Never Sent, one of the first books written to examine the impact of a cross-cultural childhood, and is co-author of Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds with David C. Pollock. For more than twenty years Ruth has traveled extensively both nationally and internationally working with students, parents, human resource people, educators, and other caregivers, about issues related to global family lifestyles.

After having her second daughter, Carolyn van Es-Vines decided to leave a promising career in academia at a small, international liberal arts college in Holland to work at home as a writer and translator. She is currently translating a novel by a renowned writer from Curacao as well as contributing regularly to The Local Expat, a newspaper with a circulation of 20,000 aimed at informing expatriate community in and around The Hague of interesting events and services. She is also in the beginning stages of writing a memoir about how living and traveling abroad have transformed her racial identity.

Abigail S. Visco is currently living in India and researching through the Graduate Study Fellowship for Parish Pulpit Ministry.  She is a candidate for ministry in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and has worked in Switzerland and the United States as a youth minister.  Her research examines the effects of mobility and re-location on the faith formation of TCKs, focusing primarily on Christian spiritual formation and adolescent development.  Her current research seeks to provide tools for families, individuals, organizations and ministries who are concerned about fostering healthy spiritual development for TCKS and their loved ones before, during and after cultural transition. 

Jennifer Wilson is a doctoral candidate at the University of North Texas Counseling Psychology Program.  Her primary interest is families and familial health, especially for families who are transitioning globally.  She has worked with families in a variety of capacities for the last 12 years and specifically enjoys working with children. 

Karen Wrobbel, Ed.D., is director of the School of Education at Trinity International University. She has been active in international education since 1981, serving as teacher, administrator, and board member at schools in Spain, Venezuela, and Russia, and has served as worldwide children’s education coordinator for an international agency.

Dr. Foojan Zeine is an International Speaker, Author, Psychotherapist, and a successful Life and Executive Coach. Foojan is the founder and CEO for Personal Growth Institute, a not for profit organization that offers psychotherapy services to the multi-cultural and multi-lingual population of Southern California. Foojan has been a guest speaker at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University in Cambridge, MA and an invited guest in the Dr. Phil show in 2005. Foojan is a leading expert in the field of Online Therapy and is the co-author of “Online Therapy: A Therapist's Guide to Expanding Your Practice.” Foojan is a co-founder and past President of Iranian-American Mental Health Association and the Vice President of the Iranian American Psychological Association.