Global Initiatives

Biography Michael C. Johanek, EdD, is Senior Fellow, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education; Director, Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership and Penn Educational Leadership Simulations Program; co-director, Red Interamericana de Liderazgo Educacional; and Profesor Invitado Internacional, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.  Formerly VP of Professional Services forTeachscape, he served as Executive Director, K-12 Professional Development forThe…

Biography Michael Levy, PhD, leads a joint venture between the University of Pennsylvania and the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia to combat Chagas disease transmission in Arequipa, Peru. His research team in Peru conducts epidemiological studies on Chagas disease as well as entomological and ecological research on disease vectors and reservoirs. In addition his team uses quantitative…

Biography Angela Pachon is the Research Director of  the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at Penn. Her research focuses on energy policy in Canada, Pennsylvania and Latin America. Prior to joining the Kleinman Center, she  was a policy advisor to the Ontario Energy Board where she participated in the development of regulatory initiatives for gas and…

Biography Dr. Katya Rascovsky is a Research Assistant Professor at the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center and Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.  She was awarded her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, San Diego and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Neuropsychology at the Memory and Aging Center, University of…

Biography Mércia Santana Flannery, PhD, is the Director of the Portuguese Language Program at the University of Pennsylvania. She has a PhD in Linguistics, with a specialization in Sociolinguistics (Narrative Analysis, Discourse Analysis), from Georgetown University. She also has a degree in Letras (Literature, Portuguese and English), and a Master’s in Linguistics, from Universidade Federal…

Biography Jorge Santiago-Avilés conducts his research at the interface between electrical engineering and materials science, focusing on materials and devices for energy storage, nano-scale composites by electro-spinning and electronic sensing/actuating. He is currently exploring the synthesis, characterization and utilization of nano-structured carbon based materials for super-capacitor electrodes and design/fabrication of coupling super-capacitors. His group is working on…

Biography Azahara Palomeque, PhD, is the Associate Director of the MS in Social Policy at the School of Social Policy & Practice. Her research engages Spanish, Latin American and Brazilian politics and cultures, focusing on postcoloniality, politics of modernity and underdevelopment, sovereignty and governmentality, social movements, identity and memory – topics on which she has…

Biography Antonia M. Villarruel, Ph.D., RN, FAAN is the Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and Director of the School’s WHO Collaborating Center for Nursing and Midwifery Leadership. As a bilingual and bicultural researcher, Dr. Villarruel has extensive research and practice experience with Latino populations, health promotion and…

Biography Catherine Bartch, PhD, is the Associate Director of Latin American and Latinx Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania.  Her research interests include Latin American politics, democratic theory, civic education and participation, international development and identity politics.  She has taught an array of courses on these topics and others, including Latin American Politics and Culture,…

Contact Biography Olivia D’Angelo is the Communications Manager in the Office of Global Initiatives, where she leads Penn Global’s digital communications strategy, branding and marketing initiatives, and impact reporting. She has played a key role in major initiatives such as Penn Global’s 10th-anniversary campaign and Benjamin Franklin’s 300th-anniversary celebration and continues to be a strategic…