I played saxophone and piano nearly 10 years, long enough to know I didn’t have the talent for a career on stage. I grew up attending Broadway plays and performances at New York City’s Metropolitan opera. Sugar Hill records and hip hop filled my high school years, along with classic R&B (1950s-60s), and European classical music. One very cold January, I drove from Amherst, MA, to Duke University (in a 1968 VW Beetle) to hear André Watts perform. Musicians such as Djavan, Caetano Veloso, Jorge Ben Jor, Milton Nascimento, Japanese children’s songs, Oum Kalthoum, Rai music, Dance Hall, Soca, Salsa, Merengue, and so much more opened whole new worlds for me. I remember first listening to John Coltrane’s, A Love Supreme and was overcome by what I can only describe as transcendence. I knew then I’d be searching for that feeling my entire life.

In a graduate seminar in English literature at Columbia University, Professor Bob O’Meally played Louis Armstong’s “What Did I Do? (to be so Black and Blue)” as we read Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man and my whole life made sense. I’ve spent 30+ years as a higher-ed faculty member, senior administrator, and Alumni Board member (Columbia University). I’ve lived and worked all over the world, most recently in Asia. My PhD in American studies was a preliminary step for the ongoing work of building bridges between people and nations, championing national and international exchange, and breaking down barriers – real and perceived – to open new worlds of possibility for the curious and courageous. Global-Ed Immersion LLC (GEI) codifies this work, enjoys substantive relationships with likeminded people and institutions on six continents, and is a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

I am committed to building bridges between learners in the world’s disparate regions. GEI’s work is in building community, mutuality, and trust — globally. Join us in making a world of difference.