THE SPAN TEAM
Doug Ota
SPAN Founder and Advisor to the Board of Trustees (on sabbatical in 2024)
Dr. Doug Ota is a child psychologist, researcher, and specialist in how transitions affect people. Doug has always had a passion for the theme of mobility and belonging. He is the author of Safe Passage: How mobility affects people & what international schools should do about it. Safe Passage led to Doug founding Safe Passage Across Networks (SPAN) in 2016 (www.spanschools.org), and then to becoming the lead researcher on the Safe Passage Attachment Study in International Schools (SPASIS), which the Council of International Schools helped facilitate. Doug studied Religion at Princeton University and Clinical Child Psychology at the University of Leiden (cum laude). His PhD work, which investigates the level of attachment security in international schools and which Doug plans to defend in May, has been done under the mentorship of Marinus van IJzendoorn, one of the world’s foremost leaders in attachment theory at Erasmus and Cambridge Universities. Doug has a private and online practice as a child, family, and couples therapist (www.safepassage.nl). He lives in the Netherlands with his wife, three kids, two dogs, two cats, and seventeen chickens. For fun, he runs marathons.
Mona Stuart
SPAN Advisor in Residence to the Board of Trustees for 2024
Mona Stuart is an international educator, board specialist, consultant and personal coach. She launched into education as a high school English teacher and dormitory head in Canada and Europe. As Communications Director at Jakarta International School, Mona and others helped build the school’s first school wide Transition Program Team. She then served as the Admissions Director at Singapore American School, where she and her team inducted and supported over 1100 new students and their families each year and brought transition care into the school’s strategic plan. Mona has served on six non-profit boards (including SPAN and Ronald McDonald House) and currently vice-chairs the Board of an international school in Germany. Mona is the co-author of Raising Children at Promise: How the Surprising Gifts of Relationship and Adversity Build Character in Kids (Jossey-Bass). Her development work includes founding a grant writing and consulting firm for educational non-profits and working as a grant coordinator on the Navajo Reservation. She also made deep local connections with NGO’s, individuals and community projects while living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Currently, Mona’s coaching practice focuses on a hopeful approach to life transitions. Creator of the Beautiful Life Summit, she’s a champion and community builder for leadership couples in international schools with a focus on partners of both new administrators and Heads of School. She can be found on the borderlands between Vancouver BC and Bellingham WA. She has four grown children and is married to Tim Stuart who now serves as a Regional Education Officer with the US Department of State’s Office of Overseas Schools.
SPAN BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Claudine Hakim
Chair
Claudine Hakim is Head of Transitions, Student Support and Advancement at the International School of London (ISL) and is the leader of the award winning ISL Crossroads Transitions programme. Claudine was previously a Head Teacher at an independent Special School and another International School. Claudine holds a Masters degree from the University College of London, Institute of Education in Educational Leadership and Management and a BA in Psychology and Counselling from Richmond International University. Claudine is a citizen of the United Kingdom, is originally from the Lebanon and born and raised in Ghana. She is married and has a daughter. Having lived in three continents, Claudine is passionate about fostering well-balanced and inclusive international communities. She is a public speaker who actively promotes the importance of transitions-care and attachment security. Claudine is also a member of the ECIS Admissions Special Interest Committee.
Ruth Van Reken
Vice-Chair
Dr. Ruth Van Reken is a US citizen who grew up in Nigeria as a second generation Third Culture Kid (TCK) and raised her three daughters in Liberia. In 1984, Ruth began journaling while seeking to better understand both the benefits received and challenges faced from a globally mobile childhood. That journaling ultimately became her first book, now Letters Never Sent. As others responded to her story, she realized she was not alone and for over thirty-five years, Ruth has traveled extensively speaking about issues related to global family lifestyles. Currently, she is seeking to understand how lessons learned from the traditional TCK experience can be part of a mutually beneficial conversation with others studying, working with, or living the experience of the larger cohort she calls Cross-Cultural Kids (CCKs)—those raised among many cultural worlds for various reasons. Ruth is also co-author of Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, 3rd edition, multiple other writings and co-founder and past chairperson of Families in Global Transition. In 2019 she received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree (Litt.D) from Wheaton College for her work in this field. Learn more at: www.crossculturalkid.org.
Michael Iannini
Treasurer
Michael Iannini is ACAMIS's Contracted Leadership Development Facilitator and an affiliated Council of International School’s consultant with the following areas of expertise: Appraisal and professional development, Leadership training, School governance and Strategic planning. He recently published a book on how to improve Middle Leadership in schools, Hidden in Plain Sight: Realising the Full Potential of Middle Leaders. His journey in education began 20 years ago as a research assistant at Arizona State University’s Child Development Laboratory, where he honed his talent for developmental education. Since moving to China in 1999, Michael has advised the Boards and Senior Leadership of a number of Not-for-Profit Organizations, International Schools, and Chinese Bilingual schools on how to develop curriculum, train teachers, create parent engagement strategies and devise staff capacity building strategies. His exhaustive efforts have helped nurture a long and mutually beneficial relationship with ACAMIS and Search Associates network of schools in China. Michael lives in Hong Kong with his wife Barbara and their two children, Helena and Marco.
Graham Ranger
Secretary
Dr. Graham Ranger has been Academic Director of The Aga Khan Academies since January 2017. Currently, he is (interim) Director of The Aga Khan Academies. He is an experienced leader of change and development in school systems in the public and private, not-for-profit, sectors. He was Director of School Support & Evaluation at The Council of International Schools (CIS) from 2012-2016, with global responsibility for all aspects of the quality assurance and development of international schools. Prior to this, Graham was Head (Director) of The British School, New Delhi, and Director of Education for the English Schools Foundation (ESF) in Hong Kong, a group of 20+ high-achieving schools, where he oversaw the introduction of the IB programmes and helped establish two new K-12 international schools. His doctorate, awarded by the University of Durham (England) in 2012, after fieldwork in India, focuses on the professional development needs of Heads of international schools.
Rami Madani
Board Member
Rami Madani is the Head of the International School of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Prior to that, he worked in schools in Yemen, UK, Zambia, and India, serving students and faculty at all school levels. He has taught subjects ranging from Mathematics to Music to Theory of Knowledge. He has served in various leadership capacities, including Director of Learning. Rami has designed a variety of professional development and training programs. He is passionate about aligning a school's systems with its mission, and ensuring that teaching and learning are the focus of what schools do. Rami presents at conferences and works with schools on areas related to strategic planning, leadership, growth & evaluation, curriculum, assessment, and instruction. His primary focus is on nurturing minds, empowering everyone, refining systems and tools to support student and adult holistic growth.
SPAN LEADERSHIP TEAM
Valérie Besanceney
Executive Director
Valérie Besanceney (MA, MEd) is an international education and transition consultant, passionate about helping families thrive through transitions. Author of two children’s books, B at Home: Emma Moves Again and My Moving Booklet and founder of Roots with Boots, she currently consults for families, schools, and organizations. She is Dutch by birth, Swiss by nationality, and well-versed in cross cultural awareness. Having moved often as a child, Valérie understands the challenges and impact of early transitions on your sense of identity and belonging as an adult. Valérie has been an international educator for the past 18 years in international schools and organizations across four continents. Valérie serves as the Executive Director of Safe Passage Across Networks (SPAN) and is the co-creator and co-facilitator of the SPAN certificate course on the Laws of Transitions. Together with her husband and their two daughters, she lives in Gryon, Switzerland.
Jane Barron
Director of Training & Consulting
Jane Barron (MEd) is an educational consultant specialising in student cross-cultural transitions. Her professional hats include educator, researcher and writer. Jane’s work is informed by a lifetime of mobility, parenting two CCKs and 29 years of teaching and consulting in both international and local schools. Committed to healthy transitions and attachment security, she has been a part of the SPAN leadership since 2016 and is currently serving as their Director of Training and Consulting. Founder of Globally Grounded, Jane consults to schools, families and students crossing cultures, developing their understanding of the impact of cross-cultural mobility, creating programs and implementing support mechanisms to enhance learning and life. She is the lead researcher of Surveying the Landscape: Common Practices, Challenges and Opportunities in International School Transitions-Care (2020). Jane’s writing has been published in numerous international education publications.
Catalina Gardescu
Director of Communications
With over 20 years of experience in school marketing and admissions, Catalina Gardescu led the Admissions, Communications and External Relations Department at the American International School of Bucharest for 9 years. In August 2023 she starts her journey as Director of Marketing, Admissions and Communications at Copenhagen International School. Catalina’s portfolio of work includes parent interviews, admissions projections, publications and communications, parent relations, fundraising, alumni relations and strategic marketing. As part of the leadership team, she helped create the school budget, marketing and communication strategies, conducted the school fundraising program, and sat on the tuition support committee and led the school’s scholarship committee. Catalina has been actively involved in co-creating the first ECIS Admissions Committee, Open Apply admissions workshops – she designed and led Admissions Certification Courses in Shanghai, Singapore and Sofia. She initiated the International Admissions Bulletin (currently published by Open Apply) and continues to support the professionals in international schools in any way she can. In her free time Catalina likes spending time with her family, reading and walking her dogs.
Julia Love
Director of Engagement
Julia Love served most recently as Director of Admissions at the International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) for 11 years. During her time at ISKL, she was instrumental in developing the Transitions Care Team. Before joining ISKL in 2012, Julia was Dean of Admissions at an international school in London and prior to that, Julia worked in admissions in independent schools in the United States. She is an active member in several global admissions networks and has established herself as a thought leader in the international school admissions community. With 25 years’ experience in Boarding, Primary, Secondary and International school admissions, Julia is passionate about and committed to ensuring that school placement meets the requirements for every child. Having spent much of her childhood overseas, attending German, British and international schools, Julia understands firsthand the complex transitional needs of children during international relocation. Julia holds a B.A. in Sociology and Education from St. Lawrence University and currently resides in Montreal with her husband and son.
Aleka Bilan
'The Nest' Host
Aleka Bilan worked with international high school students on four continents for 27 years, including a dozen years as the Head of High School Counseling Departments at two large international schools in Asia. She is now a professionally certified coach based in Phuket, Thailand. As a third-generation Adult Third Culture Kid (TCK), Aleka empathizes with her clients during their transition experiences. As a University Transitions Coach, Aleka supports cross-cultural students to arrive and thrive at university. She also consults with international schools and organizations on university transition programs. Additionally, Aleka is a coach trainer for Coach Training EDU. As part of the Safe Passage Across Networks (SPAN) Management Team, she hosts the award-winning global online gathering called "The Nest" and serves as Director of Events. Aleka is a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF), International ACAC, and is an Associate Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA).
SPAN SUPPORT TEAM
Amy Shuflin
Resources Lead
Amy Shuflin has served for 16 years with Oasis International Schools, first for ten years in Venezuela and now in Malaysia since 2018. Amy is passionate about schools intentionally caring for the needs of the entire community (students, staff, and parents) and has integrated positive transitions care into her work as a teacher, curriculum writer, social-emotional counselor, and chaplain. She is committed to sharing resources to be able to reach the growing population of CCKs and CCK caregivers around the world. She has a B.A. in Youth Ministry and Adolescent Studies, an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction and is a certified debriefer and Youth Mental Health First Aider. Amy found a community in The Nest and began volunteering for SPAN by co-authoring the Safe Passage Book Study. She enjoys meeting people, sharing coffee, making food, and spending time with her husband and two TCK children.
Morgana Angeli
Summer Intern
Morgana Angeli is a third-year international relations and international law student at the University of Edinburgh. Passionate in all things multidisciplinary and global she is keen on collaborating with the work of SPAN and especially contributing to the transition from school to university. She is Italian and grew up moving around Italy, Argentina and Belgium. Fluent in four languages, and having experienced transitions from an early age she is well aware of the effects it has, for those moving, and for those who stay. At the International School of Brussels, Morgana worked with administrators and peers to redesign and diversify the high school social science curriculum. In 2020 she and two others founded Reset Revolution, an online platform to connect young adults and give a voice to those that are overlooked. She is now part of her University's Italian society aimed to help international students integrate abroad and has an administrative role in the university's basketball club. After her undergraduate degree in Scotland, she looks to pursue further studies in international law in the Hague.