Why are cross-cultural and language skills so important for success in international careers? Join us for a panel discussion on the importance of cross-cultural communication and language proficiency in the global business and development arena! The panel of experts will offer their perspectives and give examples from the real world! We will conclude with Q&A, and there will be an opportunity to network with the panelists at a reception immediately following the presentation.
Book signing by the author of Working World: Careers in International Education, Exchange, and Development will be held following the discussion!
Keynote Speaker:
Lobna Ismail
President, Connecting Cultures, LLC
Panelists Include:
Bobby Jefferson
Senior IT Advisor, HIV/AIDS, Futures Group International
Aleksey Kulikov
Business Manager, Enterprise R&D, Health Solutions Group, Microsoft Corporation
Nitu Gupta
Vice President, Food & Nutrition Product Development, Sodexo, Health Care
Sherry Mueller
Co-Author, Working World: Careers in International Education, Exchange, & Development
Lobna Ismail
President, Connecting Cultures, LLC
Lobna “Luby” Ismail, founder and president of Connecting Cultures, Inc., is a training specialist with over fifteen years of experience in the areas of cross-cultural communication, cultural competency, Arab and American cultures, Islamic awareness and religious diversity. She is the author of Doing Business in the Middle East and North Africa and Finding Diversity. She is frequently used as an expert by national media and major international news programs and recently received press in Associated Press, The Washington Post, BBC World News and PBS’ Religion and Ethics News Selected as a Peace Fellow for Seeds of Peace and a Malone Fellow in Middle East and Islamic Studies by the National Council for U.S. and Arab Relations, Luby participated in a study visit to Saudi Arabia. She has been selected to present at Iraqi Reconstruction conferences, the Arabian Society for Human Resource Management conference in Bahrain and the Society for Human Resources’ Workplace Diversity and annual conference as a professional on the cutting edge of emerging cultural and religious diversity issues and Islamic awareness. Luby has been providing training for hundreds of law enforcement and military officers on Arab and Muslim Americans and on Iraq and Iraqi cultural considerations. She holds a Master’s degree in Intercultural Relations from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a B.A. in International Service from The American University in Washington, DC. She has traveled throughout Europe, including Spain, Bosnia and Croatia, and the Middle East, including Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Jordan, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Israel.
Bobby Jefferson
Senior IT Advisor - HIV/AIDS, Futures Group International
Bobby Jefferson is Healthcare Management Information System (HMIS) Advisor at Futures Group, and working on the AIDS Relief project which is currently working in nine focus countries (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa, Rwanda, Haiti and Guyana). His role is technical strategy and informatics solutions for delivering patient management and monitoring (PMM) systems to rural healthcare clinics and hospitals, as part of Futures role under the PEPFAR program. Bobby has significant experience applying technologies in Geographic Information systems (GIS), Ajax, XML, SMS, Free and Open Source Solutions (FOSS), and Knowledge Management Portals across those nine countries and in multi-lingual environments, to support healthcare information systems in developing countries. He has previously presented at:
"High Leverage using Low Technology", Behavior Health Informatics Conference, 2008, Panelist
"Using Technology to Benefit the Community", Global Health Conference 2008, Panel Speaker
"Health Information Systems in Resource Poor Environments", Global Health Conference, 2006
"Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Developing Countries", Panel Speaker: Business, Culture, Language (BCL) Colloquium Series at University of Maryland
"Cornell Professional Development Conference", Cornell's School of International Public Affairs Business, Panel Speaker
Aleksey Kulikov
Business Manager, Enterprise R&D, Health Solutions Group, Microsoft Corporation
Business Manager, Enterprise R&D, Health Solutions Group, Microsoft Corporation
Aleksey Kulikov immigrated to the United States from Ukraine in 1996. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish Language and Literature with a citation (a.k.a. minor) in Business and Management from the University of Maryland College Park. He is fluent in Russian, English and Spanish. Soon after graduating from UMCP, Kulikov joined the Institute for Medical Informatics in Washington DC as a Marketing Specialist. He soon transitioned to managing a team of programmers and database administrators and to being responsible for the development of a series of front-end applications for doctors, nurses and hospital administrative and financial services. The system (Azyxxi) that Kulikov helped to develop and implement in seven hospitals in the DC/Baltimore areas was acquired by Microsoft Corporation in 2006, as Microsoft entered the vertical market of healthcare in a direct way. Kulikov was hired by Microsoft to continue to build the product (renamed Amalga) and the team. Today, Microsoft has several impressive customers around the world (Johns Hopkins, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, among others) and is leading the way in its mission of “improving health around the world through software.”
Kulikov is currently a Business Manager for the Enterprise Research and Development team with around two hundred developers and program managers spread across the globe (US, Netherlands, China, Thailand, and Australia). Yes, Kulikov has met Bill Gates. Kulikov has also built a career as a professional flamenco dancer and instructor. He has stopped dancing and teaching in 2006, but continues to be involved in the arts community and helps to grow awareness and quality of flamenco art in the US. He currently serves on the board of the American Flamenco Arts Corporation.
Kulikov lives in Silver Spring, MD, and in addition to working full-time he is pursuing an MBA degree in the Evening Program at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.
Nitu Gupta
Vice President, Food and Nutrition Product Development, Sodexo, Health Care
Nitu Gupta started with Sodexo over 20 years ago and is currently the Vice President, Food & Nutrition Product Development, for Sodexo Health Care Division. She leads growth strategy through product development. Gupta provides direction to division’s food program marketing, and culinary efforts. Gupta is a member of the NRA Nutrition Executive Study Group and the FDA/ Keystone Forum advisory group addressing obesity and foods purchased away from home. She serves as a board member on OCA National Business Advisory Council and as the Chair of Sodexo’s Pan Asian Network Group which in its five years has helped Sodexo receive much recognition, most recently as one of the Top Ten companies for Asians. Gupta has a B.S. in Dietetics and a Masters in Institution Administration from the University of Maryland. She is a registered dietitian and holds a Maryland State license as a certified dietitian-nutritionist.
Sherry Mueller
Co-Author of Working World: Careers in International Education, Exchange, and Development
Sherry L. Mueller had her first international experience as a student on an Experiment in International Living program in Germany. Several years later she led an Experiment group to the then-USSR. Her work abroad ranges from serving as a State Department speaker on NGO leadership in Saudi Arabia to teaching English in Brazil. Sherry has provided leadership for the National Council for International Visitors (representing 90 community organizations and 80,000 volunteers across the United States) since 1996, first as executive director, then as president. Before coming to NCIV, she worked eighteen years for the Institute of International Education (IIE), first as a program officer and then as director of the Professional Exchange Programs staff. During this time she was also an adjunct professor at The American University, pioneering the first course on public diplomacy at The American University’s School of International Service (SIS). Prior to joining IIE, Sherry served as an Experiment Leader to the former Soviet Union, an English Language Officer for the U.S. Department of State, and a lecturer at the University of Rhode Island. Sherry is an active volunteer and serves on the boards of various nonprofit organizations including: World Learning, Friendship Force International, the Coalition for American Leadership Abroad, the Public Diplomacy Council, the J. William and Harriet Fulbright Center, and the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy. She was the founding President of The American University School of International Service Alumni Chapter and is also a member of the SIS Dean’s Advisory Council. Sherry was instrumental in founding the Coalition for Citizen Diplomacy (CCD), an association of like-minded organizations that seeks to increase citizen diplomacy and expand resources and recognition for the international exchange field. Sherry also serves as a senior advisor to Business for Diplomatic Action and to Youth Leaders International. In 2007 The American University’s School of International Service presented Sherry with the Alumna of the Year Award at the German Embassy. She received the United States Information Agency's Award for Outstanding Service in 1996. Before in 1995, she received the Distinguished Alumna Award from the Lake Park High School Educational Foundation. In appreciation for her active role in alumni affairs at American University, Sherry received the Alumni Recognition Award in 1990. Sherry earned her MALD and Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She is coauthor with Mark Overmann of Working World: Careers in International Education, Exchange, and Development (Georgetown University Press, 2008).
