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Ko elected vice president for nonprofit dedicated to international education

Shinn Ko serves as director of International Student and Scholar Services in Emory’s Office of Global Strategy and Initiatives.

Shinsaeng (Shinn) Ko, director of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) in Emory’s Office of Global Strategy and Initiatives , has been elected as the vice president for professional development and engagement for NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

NAFSA is the world’s largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange, and it includes more than 10,000 members from over 150 countries.

“Emory is home to more than 4,000 high achieving international students and scholars,” says Philip Wainwright, vice provost of the Office of Global Strategy and Initiatives. “Shinn has played a major part in positioning ISSS to meet the needs of Emory’s international population during challenging times, and her role in the NAFSA leadership only broadens Emory’s status as an academic community of choice for so many international students and scholars.”

As vice president for professional development and engagement for NAFSA, Ko will provide leadership for NAFSA’s program areas in education abroad, international enrollment management and international student and scholar services.

She will also support professional development and manage diversity and inclusion efforts by overseeing the leadership development committee, the membership engagement committee and the training coordination subcommittee. She will serve as a member of the board of directors and the board’s executive committee, contributing to the governance of the association.

“Shinn’s election as vice president of the NAFSA board of directors raises Emory’s profile in the international education community,” says Wainwright. “She is the first Emory representative to serve in a leadership role on the NAFSA board. In her four years at Emory, she has proven herself as an expert and a leader in her area and beyond, and I know that she will make a great impact at NAFSA.”

In a letter confirming Ko’s election, Sara Thurston, secretary of the NAFSA board of directors, wrote that Ko was elected to serve in the capacity of vice president because of her commitment to the organization’s belief that international education lies at the core of an interconnected world. “I know that (Ko) will push our thinking forward and play a major part in forging the future growth and impact of NAFSA,” wrote Thurston.

Ko’s leadership at NAFSA has already spanned many roles including the leadership development committee, the training coordination subcommittee and chair of the professional development subcommittee for the Knowledge Community for International Student and Scholar Services.

“International students and scholars contribute a rich perspective to our campus community that I see firsthand,” says Ko. “I am grateful for support from Provost McBride and Vice Provost Wainwright to represent our internationally vibrant university within the NAFSA leadership, and I look forward to the ways this role will deepen my contribution to Emory.” 

Shinn Ko’s three-year term will begin in January 2019.


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