American Educational Research Association
International Studies SIG #54 | Leadership Team
(2025-2028)
Executive Committee
SIG Chair: Dr. Delois L. Maxwell, American College of Education
Co-SIG Chair: Dr. Madhu Narayanan, Florida International University, Miami
Program Chair: Dr. Victoria Showunmi, University College London
Co-Program Chair: Dr. Lilian Chimuma, University of Colorado, Denver
Secretary/Treasurer: Dr. Keanen McKinley, William & Mary
Co-Secretary/Treasurer: Dr. Andrew Herridge, The University of Southern Mississippi
Awards Committee
Chair: Dr. Madhu Narayanan
Co-Chair: Rana Bassaj
Communications Committee
Chair: Dr. Lilian Chimuma
Co-Chair: Member needed
Webmaster: Wanda Debrewer
Co-Webmaster: Liana Hall
Newsletter Editor: Hanna Kim
Newsletter Co-Editor: Wanda Debrewer
Graduate Student Council
Chair: Liana Hall
Co-Chair: Dr. Andrew Herridge
Members
Member Engagement Committee
Chair: Dr. Mary Cunneen
Co-Chair: YoungHoon Koh
Events Committee
Chair: Dr. Delois L. Maxwell
Co-Chair: Dr. Mary Cunneen
Research Committee
Chair: Dr. Victoria Showunmi
Co-Chair: Hanna Kim
How to Reach Us
SIG Chair--Delois L. Maxwell, Ed.D
Delois Maxwell believes it is important to "keep looking forward with hope for global respect and peace." She is an Adjunct Faculty member in the Doctoral Research Program at American College of Education, a Social Science Researcher, and a Consultant. Since joining AERA as a graduate student over two decades ago, Dr. Maxwell has been a member of Divisions A and G, the Committee on Scholars of Color, and the Research Focus on Black Education and International Studies SIGs.
Dr. Maxwell leads a collaborative team approach to support the purpose of the SIG, with a vision framed by the AERA mission. She is committed to member engagement, supporting the professional development of graduate students and early career scholars, and engaging in activities that promote knowledge and enhance research skills among members of the SIG.
Dr. Maxwell's topical research interests and publications include culturally responsive leadership, school educators' perceptions of school leader behaviors, transformative, transactional, and servant leadership, educator professional development, school climate/culture, and partnership development.
SIG Co-Chair--Madhu Narayanan, Ph.D.
Madhu Narayanan is an Assistant Professor in Educational Policy Studies at Florida International University, Miami. He is interested in how culture, in all its varieties and across multiple geographies, can organize people through power, values, norms, and institutions. Institutions of education, and modern schooling in particular, are unique cultural sites. One area of his recent research explores how humans who work to uphold such institutions—such as teachers, leaders, and other bureaucrats—are impacted by their experiences. A second area of research is the historical and discursive roots of present-day schooling, especially in how schooling was created and rationalized to manage the growing rule of imperial and settler colonies. He teaches courses in principal preparation, educational foundations, and pedagogy. He has been a middle school and high school science teacher, principal, and leadership coach in New York City.
Program Chair--Victoria Showunmi, Ph.D.
Victoria Showunmi is Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies in Gender, Race and Identity at UCL IOE and the Vice Dean and Chair of Athena Swan for faculty. Previously, she has held several governance roles at AERA. Her interests lie in gender, identity, and race through the lens of Intersectionality, with a focus on leadership and the lived experiences of Black women and girls. She develops fresh conceptual frameworks that focus on equity and social justice, particularly the interplay between individuals and the complexity of behaviors that lead to disengagement from promoting equality. Her work demonstrates how culture and cultural background can have the potential to disrupt power structures and lead to transformative change.
Co-Program Chair--Lilian Chimuma, Ph.D.
Lilian Chimuma is a mixed methods evaluator, researcher, and educator with a passion for applying culturally sensitive and socially just practices in interdisciplinary contexts. Her research interests encompass the application of critical methodologies, including culturally sensitive, indigenous, and equitable research and evaluation methods. She is particularly interested in indigenous research and evaluation methods in the global south.
As an active member of the AERA since 2016, Dr. Chimuma is excited to support and engage in discussions aimed at expanding the International Studies SIG's impact and growth, particularly in reaching more international counterparts within and beyond AERA. Besides the International Studies SIG, Dr. Chimuma is an active member of the mixed methods SIG and Division D: Measurement and Research Methodologies. She has in the past engaged with the regional affiliate for AERA, the Northern Rocky Mountain Educational Research Association.
Secretary Treasurer--Keanen McKinley, Ph.D.
Keanen McKinley is the Assistant Director for Assessment and Reporting in the Dean's Office of the College of Arts & Sciences at William & Mary. As a scholar-practitioner and applied research methodologist, he strives to bridge the gap between research and practice. His research brings together his interests in research methodologies and the internationalization of higher education to advance research practices.
Co-Secretary Treasurer--Andrew S. Herridge, Ph.D.
Andrew S. Herridge is an Assistant Professor of Education at The University of Southern Mississippi. He obtained his B.A. in Psychology and English from Florida State University and his M.Ed. in College Student Affairs Administration from the University of West Florida. He completed his Ph.D. in Higher Education Research and a minor in Women's and Gender Studies at Texas Tech University. His research interests encompass four broad areas: diversity in higher education, international higher education, institutional leadership and policy, and access and equity in higher education. Dr. Herridge has led multi-year studies examining the perceived experiences of campus engagement among LGBTIQA international students and the experiences of queer Latinx men at Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Findings from these studies have been presented both nationally and internationally. Additionally, he serves on the Executive Board of the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals.
Member Engagement Committee Chair--Mary Cunneen, Ph.D.
Mary Cunneen is Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership with the School of Education at University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland. Mary, having been a mathematics teacher at the post-primary level for many years, returned to her Alma Mater, UCD, as a teacher educator in the School of Education in 2008. Her subsequent engagement in further study culminated in the completion of an MA in Education, followed by a PhD. Both programmes of study focused on leadership preparation and gender in educational leadership. Mary joined the School of Mathematics and Statistics in 2017, working with colleagues as a lecturer and Assistant Professor on the initial BSc in Mathematics, Science, and Education teacher education programme. Her current role offers ample scope to pursue her research in leadership, particularly in the areas of women in educational leadership and women in STEMM.
Member Engagement Committee Co-Chair-YoungHoon Koh
YoungHoon Koh is a Ph.D. candidate in the Higher Education program at the University of Arizona, USA. With a vast range of academic interests in the internationalization of higher education, he has also accumulated practical experience serving as a graduate associate for international education programs at the University of Arizona. His primary academic interests cover the influence of internationalization on the organizational structures of higher education. YoungHoon is excited to serve the International Studies SIG, given his comparative perspective on higher education, which he has garnered from his international academic background. After earning his master's degree in the UK and his bachelor's degree in South Korea, YoungHoon is now pursuing a Ph.D. in the US.
Graduate Student Council Chair-Liana Hall
Liana Hall is currently a doctoral student at the University of Colorado, Denver, and serves as an adjunct instructor at the University of Denver. She is interested in intercultural studies, including how different cultures learn, communicate, and approach education. She has lived in five countries and five states. Past experiences include work with the United Nations, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the federal government, NGOs, and the private sector. She regularly volunteers in her community and enjoys learning about others and hearing about their lived experiences.
Newsletter Editor--Hanna Kim
Hanna Kim is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership with concentrations in Global Studies in Education and Higher Education. Her research examines the impact of education policy on college access and success for marginalized student populations in US higher education, particularly international students and those from racially and socioeconomically underrepresented backgrounds. Her dissertation, titled "Institutional perspectives on a sense of belonging and the experiences of East Asian international graduate students (EAIGSs) in U.S. universities," explores belonging as an institutional strategy and aims to uncover discrepancies between institutional practices of belonging and the lived experiences of EAIGSs. Hanna's broader research interests include civic engagement among marginalized students through a community-university partnership.
She currently serves as a research assistant at the Office of Community College Research and Leadership at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, as well as the Martin Luther King: Statistics (MLK: STAT) Program, which aims to build a Humanism-Statistical model, and the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (TEAACH) project. She joined the International Studies SIG to become an active researcher in the academic community of international studies. Before pursuing her Ph.D. program, she earned her master's degree in Applied Linguistics and TESOL at the University of Mississippi.
Webmaster--Wanda Debrewer
Wanda Debrewer is a doctoral candidate in the Urban Educational Leadership program at Morgan State University, where she also serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and Project Manager for the Maryland Initiative for Literacy and Equity (MILE). A veteran K–12 educator, she brings over 31 years of experience in classroom teaching and leadership from the Prince George's County and Baltimore County Public School Systems. Her research explores the lived experiences of young Black girls in urban outdoor learning environments through an ethnographic case study.
A member of AERA's International Studies SIG #54 since 2023, Wanda serves as the curriculum coordinator for graduate and undergraduate study abroad tours to Ghana, sponsored by Morgan State's Department of Teacher Education and Professional Development. She collaborates with international partners, including the University of Cape Coast, University of Ghana, FranPhil International School, and the Fafli Organization, to support global curriculum development. Wanda recently co-presented at the 2025 TQR Conference on an HBCU's pursuit of Carnegie R1 status.
Awards Committee Co-Chair-Rana Bassaj
Rana Bassaj is pursuing a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Leadership for Educational Equity at the University of Colorado Denver, with a specialization in Executive Leadership. Her research focuses on crisis management, organizational change, systems thinking, multilingualism, and leadership development to foster meaningful and sustainable change. She is a research assistant and program coordinator at Edubridges, and she serves as the co-chair of the awards committee at the International SIG at the American Educational Research Association (AERA).