Meet the Global Team

Our Mission

The mission of the Center for Global Engagement (CGE) is to serve Marymount University faculty and students by providing thought leadership, administrative support, and academically-based international programming that foster the development of the skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to be active, informed, and culturally sensitive citizens in the global community.

Our Primary Functions

• To identify and develop quality and accessible international programs which promote global perspective, creativity, discovery and excellence in higher education.
• To advance Marymount’s internationalization efforts through identifying international professional development opportunities for faculty, promoting opportunities for global programming collaboration between academic departments and non-academic offices, and by expanding global programs and partnerships.

 

CGE Staff Members

Ana-Sofia Alcaraz

Coordinator for Global Engagement
aalcaraz@marymount.edu
(703) 247-8058
Click here to schedule an appointment with Ana-Sofia

 

Ana-Sofia is the primary contact for the Center for Global Education’s on-campus global engagement events and activities.

Ana-Sofia has worked in international higher education for four years and been a part of an international community since birth. She lived in Buenos Aires and Bruxelles while returning often to her homeland of Mexico. At Marymount, she has used her experience to develop programs that foster a sense of community and engage students on campus. She has also assisted in preparing and assisting various short-term study abroad programs. She helped create the Study Abroad Blog and has served as the advisor for the Latino Student Association (LSA) for 3 years. Ana-Sofia is passionate about social justice and knows that by encouraging and assisting students to expand their horizons through education abroad, she will help create a community that helps each other to succeed.

She holds a BA in English from Loyola Marymount University and a Masters Degree in Latin American Studies with an emphasis on Human Rights from Georgetown University. She speaks Spanish, French, and very basic Japanese, and has traveled and lived around the world.

Ana-Sofia’s Global Bucket List:

• Swim in Bioluminescent Bay, Puerto Rico
• Learn Greek
• Visit Cape Town, Pretoria, and Kruger National Park in South Africa
• See the Northern Lights in Iceland
• Visit Angkor Wat
• Do a road trip through Trinidad and India

 

Victor Betancourt

Executive Director
vbetanco@marymount.edu
(703) 284-1677
Click here to schedule an appointment with Victor

Victor is the primary contact for international program development, short-term programs (Global Classroom Series and summer faculty-led), and global student teaching.

Victor possesses 20 years of experience as a leader in developing and implementing programs in international higher education and has cultivated and managed Marymount University’s international programs and activities as MU’s Chief International Officer (CIO) since he joined the university in 2005. Over the years, he has significantly increased the number of students studying abroad and expanded the study destinations of Marymount students from four countries to over 40. Victor has also led the development of short-term faculty-led programs in community nursing, forensic psychology, marine biology, education, fashion design, and other subjects in countries such as Belize, England, India, France, Italy, Greece, and others. Victor established MU’s Global Education Committee and facilitates international studies and exchanges worldwide.

He holds a BA in Russian Studies from the University of Iowa, and an MBA in International Trade from Texas A & M International University. He also did a summer program at the Business School of the Fachhochschule in Luneberg, Germany, and a year of undergraduate studies at the University of Puerto Rico. He speaks Spanish, Russian, and Portuguese, and has traveled extensively around the globe.

Victor’s Global Bucket List:

• Learn Arabic
• Travel to and around Japan
• Take a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

jcrystle@marymount.edu
(703) 284-5763
Click here to schedule an appointment with Jennifer

Jen is the primary contact for students studying on fall, spring, and summer semester programs, as well as international internship programs.

Jen has worked in international and higher education for over six years and has devoted her professional and academic career to helping students have meaningful intercultural experiences. Throughout her career, Jen has advised hundreds of students and helped them discover a world beyond the walls of the classroom. One of her favorite parts of her work has been seeing students return with newfound passions and a new worldview. Jen believes that meaningful international exchange today can create a better and more peaceful world for tomorrow.

Jen holds a BA in Spanish and English from the University of Mary Washington and a Master’s degree in International Educational Development from Columbia University. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Education Policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is proficient in Spanish,  has traveled extensively, and is constantly thinking about her next travel adventure.
Jen’s Global Bucket List:

• Hike Machu Picchu
• Go skydiving in New Zealand
• Learn how to dance the Flamenco
• Visit the floating markets in Thailand
• Take a walk along the trails of the Cinque Terre

Prakriti Deuja

Graduate Assistant
pdeuja@marymount.edu

Prakriti is the primary contact for special projects at the CGE.

Prakriti is a recent graduate of Marymount University, having been a part of student leadership positions in the following departments: New Student Orientation, the Peer Mentor Program, Student Government, and the Center for Teaching and Learning. With three years of experience in student affairs from the undergraduate perspective, Prakriti is looking forward to serving her alma mater with a broader lens and deeper understanding in the field of higher education itself. She believes one of Marymount’s best attributes is its ability to foster individuality in students both personably and innovatively, and she looks forward to contributing to those same, purposeful actions through the Center of Global Education.

Prakriti holds a BS in Mathematics, and is currently pursuing her MA in Higher Education Administration with a concentration in Student Affairs from the George Washington University. She is conversational in Nepalese, and has been to a handful of countries, but hopes to venture out and travel once things have settled down.

Prakriti’s Global Bucket List:

• Scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef
• Bungee Jump at Bhote Kosi River
• See the Eiffel Tower (and buy a French Baguette afterwards)
• Try fresh injera in Ethiopia  
• Be happy (and maybe see a Saimaa ringed seal) in Finland ☺

dlindsey@marymount.edu

 

Dr. Delario Lindsey joined the Global Scholars Program and the Department of Sociology in the fall of 2017.  Before coming to Marymount, Dr. Lindsey served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Bethune-Cookman University.  He was also an Assistant Professor and the social science point-person in the interdisciplinary Africana-World-Studies Program at William Paterson University.  Dr. Lindsey has presented at several international conferences and has undertaken research trips to the Federal Republic of Brazil and the Republic of South Africa to study local forms of urban inequality and community engagement.
Dr. Lindsey’s commitment to Global Education and the Global Scholars program is rooted in an understanding of the profound impact meaningful engagement, with the people and the cultures of our extended global community, can have on an individual’s sense of self and their sense of purpose.
“As an academic, my life naturally revolves around the consumption of coffee.  Accordingly, my global bucket-list describes the world greatest quest for caffeine!”

Delario’s Global Bucket List:

• Türk Kahvesi (Turkish coffee) while ‘hanging-out’ in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul
• Café Cubano while watching the classic cars roll by in Havana, Cuba
• Café de Olla before exploring the wonders of Mexico City, Mexico
• Kahwa ceremony while luxuriating in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Vietnamese style while taking in the history and culture of Saigon, Vietnam.
• Buna ceremony while he ponders the origins of his obsession in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

 

CGE Student Workers