Di-Tu Dissassa, PhD (she/her/hers), is a scholar and educator specializing in occupational wellness, trauma among higher education employees, the development of professional identity, and healing in communities of color. Her research uses critical methodologies, including critical phenomenology, and centers on individuals in the African Diaspora.

She earned her doctorate from the University of Maryland, College Park, in Higher Education in 2024. As a U.S. 2024-2025 Fulbright Scholar, she recently completed a research project in South Africa examining the wellness of Black women at historically white universities. Dr. Dissassa is currently working on publications based on her dissertation and Fulbright research while teaching reading and mathematics intervention to middle school students in the Kansas City School District.

Ms. Wadad Youssef El Housseini started her career as in higher education as Instructor of Social Sciences at Balamand University in Lebanon where she taught for a decade. In 2001, she joined the American University of Beirut as Director of Student Activities. In 2009, she joined Qatar University as Consultant to VP of student affairs where she resumed the responsibility of Acting Director of Student Activities till May 2012. Her role entitled her to get involved in various strategic initiatives to ensure the success of Qatar University students. She is the chair of the Student Affairs Professional Development committee at Qatar University.

Founding member and former vice president for the IASAS (International Association of Student Affairs and Services). Member of the MENASA-NASPA board for 2020-2023. Recipient of the Wisdom Award of the Commission of Women’s Identities – ACPA in 2021. Interested in Leadership of Higher Education and Student Affairs, assessment and women role in higher education.

Well known for having her finger on the pulse of the region, Wadad continues to be an engaged advocate of professional development, and student affairs leadership in the Middle East.

Bharathi Naidu Kakilate is Director at GITAM University, where she is building one of India’s first experience centric departments focused on the overall journey of both students and employees. Her work brings together service design, operations, and human centered thinking to help the university move from process driven administration to experience driven support.

She brings more than a decade of experience across higher education & global technology organizations in the United States, Canada, Australia and India. Bharathi began her career at Northeastern University in student services, which shaped her interest in access, belonging, and clarity in institutional systems. She later held leadership roles at Dynatrace, Ready Education, and Instacart, where she built large-scale support operations, coached teams, and implemented systems that balanced efficiency with empathy.

At GITAM in India, she focuses on reducing student friction, improving cross departmental collaboration, and designing integrated service models that make navigating the university simpler and more human. Her work explores how operational experience impacts student confidence, retention, and wellbeing, and how staff experience directly influences student outcomes.

Bharathi also mentors individuals on career readiness & communication, and speaks about applying industry support practices to education. She believes every interaction within an institution shapes learning, and at the center of her work is a simple practice: listening deeply so people feel understood before solutions are designed. 

Dr. Kerrie Montgomery Orozco boasts a 25-year career in higher education, specializing in international education, student programming, strategic planning, leadership, and teaching. She's held progressively responsible roles in academic advising, study abroad, and campus life at various institutions. Kerrie is also an accomplished writer, with publications in the peer-reviewed Journal of International Students. 

Kerrie has been an active member of NASPA for more than 20 years. She has held a number of volunteer leadership roles and currently serves as Professional Development Chair for the Global Division, Membership & Engagement Chair for the Mid-Level Administrators Steering Committee, and NASPA-FL Conference Chair. She is a past Chair for the International Symposium, and remains active on the planning committee for the 2024 International Symposium.

Kerrie holds a BA in Classical Studies, dual Masters degrees from the University of Florida in Art History and Higher Education, and a PhD in Higher Education from the University of Denver.

Omneya Badr is an educator and student affairs professional who gained a culturally diverse higher education experience studying, teaching and working in Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt, UK and USA.

Badr serves on NASPA’s Board of Directors and is the director of NASPA’s Global Division (2024-2026), past director of MENASA NASPA area (2022-2024), and the 2021 and 2022 MENASA* Conference chair.  Badr held teaching and academic advising positions at New York Institute of Technology Bahrain, Bahrain Institute of Business and Finance, Qatar University and Trinity University USA. She is a frequent presenter at NASPA and NACADA conferences and her research interests are culturally based Academic Advising, supporting First generation students, FYE, and cross-cultural communication.

She holds an MBA from the University of Bath – UK, a Certificate of Entrepreneurial & Small Business Operations from the Academy of Arts, California - USA & a BA in Management from the American University in Cairo - Egypt.  She recently acquired a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from the University of South Florida - USA. 

As an educator, Omneya enjoys giving back to the profession and is interested in creating professional development opportunities for global Student Affairs professionals and encouraging research and sharing knowledge among counterparts around the world.