Lisa Bevill is a visionary leader shaping the future of business and education from a human-centered and holistic perspective of well-being. Lisa Bevill is a champion for well-being, performance & growth, and positive leadership, demonstrated by her 20+ year career dedicated to human development. She is the Academic Director of the Center for Health & Well-being at IE University, which was founded in 2019 with the mission to develop the human skills for flourishing & human sustainability and to support the core IE University values in creating a community dedicated to making a positive impact.

Francisco Estupiñá holds a PhD in Psychology, and is also a certified General Health Psychologist and EuroPsy Specialist in Psychotherapy. He is currently an Associate Professor at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) and has coordinated PsiCall UCM, the immediate psychological care service for UCM students, since its inception. From there, he coordinated the “Guide for the non-face-to-face approach to the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak in the general population”. In addition, he is the author of multiple articles and book chapters, and a recent Manual of Telepsychology. In his nearly 20 years of experience, he has carried out psychological interventions of various types in the fields of Psychotherapy and Health Psychology, with adults and adolescents.

Brenda Padilla Ericksen has prepared thousands of J-1 and F-1 students for high school programs in the USA.  She is the founder of GAP Academy, serving teens around the world. Originally from Seattle, Washington, she graduated from Western Washington University with a Spanish degree. She has lived in Spain for nearly 30 years working as a journalist and cross-cultural trainer. Brenda has experienced study abroad and cultural exchange as an international student (Spain/Norway), an agent (Training/Student Supervision/Family & International Liaison), a host mother (USA/Thailand/France/Austria) and as the sending mother of her four daughters (France, Canada, USA, South Korea, Nepal). Visit her on LinkedIn.

Mark Howard is the Director for the Office of Private Sector Exchange Program Administration in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.  The mission of the Bureau is to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives through educational and cultural programs that enhance mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people of other nations.  He leads an office responsible for the monitoring of Exchange Visitor Program sponsors to ensure full compliance with established Department policy and statutory and regulatory requirements, with the paramount goal of ensuring exchange visitor health, safety, and welfare.  Prior to his current position, Mr. Howard oversaw exchanges through the Fulbright Program, the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government, and concurrently directed two Department-designated exchange visitor programs including an international training program for environmental leaders and an academic exchange program for university research scholars and professors.  He has traveled, lived and/or worked in over 30 countries including two years of service as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines.  Mr. Howard speaks Filipino (Tagalog).

Kyle Harrigan joined the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in 2016 and is currently a Program Analyst with the Office of Private Sector Exchange Program Administration focusing on the Secondary School Student, Teacher, and Physician categories of the BridgeUSA/Exchange Visitor Program. Originally from Maine, Kyle has an educational background in International Affairs and participated in a few exchange programs.

Linda is a clinical psychologist and practicing psychotherapist in the greater area of Freiburg, Germany. She is trained in cognitive behavioral therapy for adults, adolescents and children and received her B. Sc. and M. Sc. in Psychology from Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf. She has 10 years of work experience in mental health and has predominantly held positions in inpatient and outpatient clinical settings, where she focused on the treatment of depression, addictive disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, she held research assistant positions at the University of Konstanz and at the University of Freiburg, where she was involved in randomized controlled trials regarding innovative psychotherapeutic interventions. As a teenager, she was an exchange student in the United States. Since then, she has lived, studied and worked in The Netherlands, the UK, France and in Nairobi, Kenya. Linda also volunteers for and collaborates with non-profits fostering intercultural understanding and educational migration from Africa to Europe. Through Partnership International e.V., she has been involved in the selection and orientation phase of the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange grants program.

Ian Loumos currently works for AFS-USA in the role of Director of Participant Support & Learning. Ian has been with AFS USA for over 10 years. His current role focuses largely on providing proactive support to inbound and outbound international youth participants, and those who supervise them locally, and responding to their needs as they navigate the intercultural learning experiences. As we continue to forge ahead post pandemic, we have noted a marked increase in the level of mental health related considerations impacting our target audiences. Ian and his team seek to collaborate and work on developing strategies for proportionately and appropriately responding to mental health related considerations. Ian received his B.A. from The University of Utrecht, in The Netherlands with a major in Human Geography and obtained his M.A. in NYC at The New School’s Graduate Program in International Affairs.

With a professional experience focused, at its first stage, on Marketing, Communications and PR within the Telecommunications industry, Elisa experienced a career change by getting involved in the Education sector, firstly, in the Corporate Diversity area.  Since 2016, she is the Head of Global Markets for Undergraduate programs at IE University managing a team of more than 30 international professionals based both in Madrid and at our international offices around the world. Elisa holds a Master’s in Marketing Management and a PS in Lobby & Advocacy from IE University, Master’s in Prevention of risk at Work, Specialization in Security from the Centro Tecnológico Castilla y León, a Certificate in Crisis Management by IMD and a BA in Translation & Interpreting from the Universidad de Valladolid.

Christopher Page is Executive Director for the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel. After 21 years as a Spanish teacher and a six-year tenure with the CSIET Board of Directors (2003-2009) Chris began his professional journey with CSIET in 2011.  Facing new J-1 high school regulations, a rise in use of the F-1 visa, and an increasingly complex industry landscape, Chris has positioned CSIET and its Standards to serve the needs of a diverse membership of J-1, F-1 and Outbound practitioners from the field of international student exchange.  He has spearheaded a variety of new initiatives, including the evaluation of F-1 programs and schools, leading to a 52% growth in program membership and a markedly increased awareness of the value of the CSIET seal of approval. Outside his professional life, Chris is an author of a Spanish textbook, a writer of occasional poems, and an aspiring guitarist.  He lives in Alexandria, Va. with his wife and two children..

Chris holds a Master’s in Spanish Language and Culture from Middlebury College and a Global MBA from IE Business School (Madrid, Spain).

Óscar Porras is the director of Midleton School. 20 years ago he had an idea and today that idea has become one of the most specialized organizations in language immersion abroad in Spain, now part of the Educatius Group. He has a degree in English Literature and Applied Linguistics. He also holds a Master’s degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language.

For 8 years, he was also the president of ASEPROCE (the Spanish Association of Promoters of Language Courses Abroad). Promoting and improving the sector, as well as the professionalism of its associated businesses.

He is a born communicator and in his day-to-day work he combines the improvement of the company’s internal processes with the development of Midleton School and Grupo Educatius in new fields.

Fraser is a counselling psychologist and Clinical Director at MAPP Psychology in Glasgow, Scotland. Fraser finished his doctorate in counselling psychology in 2020 and launched Psychology Scotland in 2021. Currently, MAPP Psychology has a growing team of psychologists as part of the team, all working in one to one, couple’s therapy and autism and ADHD assessment. Additionally, MAPP Scotland also works with a number of organizations in Scotland supporting the mental and emotional health of staff and
employees. Fraser has also done extensive work on his previous online platform called GetPsyched and specializes in men's mental health. In 2019 he conducted a TEDx talk in Glasgow on the men's mental health crisis and has spoken internationally at numerous conferences about the issues surrounding men's mental health.

Laura is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Consultant based in Boulder, Colorado. Since 1994, she has worked with the emerging adult population within university settings, both nationally and internationally. Laura is the Founder of the Mental Health Team and a Co- Founder of P3 Mental Health Advisors. As a mental health consultant, she conducts trainings for a wide range of programs and organizations including study abroad, secondary and higher education, outdoor and experiential education, gap year, volunteer and service learning, and camps. Laura also teaches graduate courses in counseling for New York University.

In her role as a counselor, Laura is passionate about supporting individuals as they navigate a wide range of mental health challenges and life transitions. As an educator and consultant, she loves sharing her knowledge and experience with others so that they can strengthen their abilities in both identifying and responding to the mental health challenges of the individuals and program participants with whom they work.

Laura holds a Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education from Syracuse University. At Syracuse, she also earned a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Addiction Studies. Additionally, she holds a M.A. in Counseling and Educational Psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Laura considers herself to be a global citizen. As a student, she participated in study programs in both Mexico and Spain. She also worked in Europe for 7 ½ years. She has served as a staff member on three Semester at Sea voyages (most recently as a Counselor on the Spring 2019 voyage) and has visited over 50 countries in the world.