Sherry L. Mueller joined the National Council for International Visitors (NCIV) staff as Executive Director in January 1996 and has served as President of NCIV since 2001. Before coming to NCIV, Sherry worked eighteen years at the Institute of International Education in positions of increasing responsibility, the last as Director, Professional Exchange Programs. She has taught as at the School of International Service, American University from 1981-1989, pioneering the first course on U.S. Public Diplomacy. Sherry has served as an Experiment Leader to the former Soviet Union, an English Language Officer for the U.S. Department of State, a lecturer at the University of Rhode Island, and a consultant to a variety of organizations. She earned her Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy and her Ph.D. at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
Sherry is an active volunteer. She is currently a member, Board of Trustees Executive Committee of World Learning. In addition, she serves on the board of Friendship Force International, Business for Diplomatic Action, the J. William and Harriet Fulbright Center, the Public Diplomacy Council, and the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy. Sherry also serves on the SIS Dean’s Advisory Council. For fourteen years she served as an usher captain at Foundry United Methodist Church.
In 2007, American University’s School of International Service presented Sherry with the Alumna of the Year Award at the German Embassy. She received the United States Information Agency's Award for Outstanding Service in 1996. In 1995, she received the Distinguished Alumna Award from the Lake Park High School Educational Foundation. In appreciation for her active role in alumni affairs at American University, Sherry received the Alumni Recognition Award in 1990. She is also listed in Who's Who in America. Sherry lived in Brazil, where she taught English, and has traveled extensively throughout East and West Europe and Southeast Asia. Sherry is often called upon to speak about the evaluation of international exchange programs, international careers, trends in international education and exchange, and building NGO leadership. In May 2001 she served as a speaker for the U.S. Department of State in Saudi Arabia giving lectures and conducting workshops on leadership development for nonprofit organizations.
Sherry has authored various publications, research reports and op ed pieces. On January 5, 2009, The Christian Science Monitor published her op ed entitled, “Public diplomacy begins with you.” She coauthored (with Mark Overmann) a book entitled Working World: Careers in International Education, Exchange, and Development published by Georgetown University Press in October 2008. Also in 2008, in the Routledge Handbook of Public Diplomacy, Sherry contributed a chapter entitled, “The Nexus of U.S. Public Diplomacy and Citizen Diplomacy. She wrote a chapter entitled: “Professional Exchanges, Citizen Diplomacy, and Credibility” in the book America’s Dialogue with the World published by the Public Diplomacy Council in 2006. Sherry is a native of northern Illinois.
Mark W. Rebstock -Vice President
Mark Rebstock joined the National Council for International Visitors (NCIV) in August 2005.His responsibilities include directing NCIV National and Regional Meetings and other training programs and membership services.
Prior to joining NCIV, Mr. Rebstock worked for five and a half years for the International Visitors Council of Greater Cincinnati, first as Assistant Executive Director and as Executive Director beginning in 2001.In that role, he was heavily involved in strategic planning, fundraising, new program development, marketing and in the strengthening of significant organizational alliances.
Before joining the IVC in Cincinnati, Mr. Rebstock served as Director of Education and Programming for the World Affairs Council of Greater Cincinnati, developing programs for high school students, college faculty, and the community.In that role, he developed and co-directed professional development programs for college and university faculty in Central America, Cuba, Turkey, Ireland, and Central Europe.He has also strengthened international programs for college and university students in work with the Associated Colleges of the Midwest based in Chicago, Illinois and for Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana.
He holds a Masters degree in International and Intercultural Management from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont and a BA in English Literature from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana.He is also a graduate of the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Regional Leadership Forum and the United Way of Greater Cincinnati’s Volunteer Leadership Development Program.Mr. Rebstock has served on the boards of the Center for Peace Education and Volunteer Cincinnati.
Stafford Kay - Director of ePrograms and Management
Stafford Kay joined the National Council for International Visitors (NCIV) as the Director of the Information Exchange and Management System (IEMS) in August 2002. He brings nearly three decades of experience in management, international exchanges, and teaching to the exciting work of integrating all of NCIV's partners into a Web-based information system for the International Visitor Leadership Program.
During the previous 21 years, Stafford Kay worked for the Phelps-Stokes Fund (PSF), one of the nation's oldest nonprofit organizations dedicated to minority education issues. For 16 of those years with PSF he was Director of the Washington Office and Director of International Exchange Programs. He was actively involved in administering numerous International Visitor Programs on topics ranging from foreign policy and education to the media and law. At PSF, he managed a staff of nine and an annual program budget of $2.5 million. He was also in charge of the Washington Office Staff Recruitment and Training for 14 years. Stafford received a Bachelor of Arts in history from Bowdoin College. At the University of Wisconsin, he earned a Masters of Science in History and Education and a Ph.D. with specialization in comparative education and African Studies.
Prior to joining PSF, Stafford lived in Africa and Australia as a university lecturer in African affairs and educational issues. He directed three training programs in Cameroon for African health workers. He spent seven years in Kenya and Australia training secondary school teachers and managing a residential college with 173 students and tutors. He also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer secondary school teacher in Kenya.
Leah Tomlins - Program Officer,
Finance and Project Management
Leah Tomlins has more than 18 years of experience in office administration. Prior to joining NCIV in June of 2003, she worked as Assistant to the Deputy Director for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) from 1996 to 2001. While with AZA, Ms. Tomlins was responsible for office administration, some special events planning, managing development and marketing activities during a period of staff transition, and assisting the Deputy Director with activities related to government affairs and management of the Giant Panda Conservation Foundation. Among her achievements during the five years with AZA are management of the Conservation Endowment Fund, AZA’s annual appeal, during the summer of 2000; managing several large scale marketing promotions with nationally known companies such as Kraft Foods and Nickelodeon in 2000; and planning and coordinating a legislative conference in May 2001. Also in May 2001, she planned and coordinated a reception on Capitol Hill, featuring Jack Hanna, to promote awareness of the conservation and education roles of zoos and aquariums.
Ms. Tomlins worked as Coordinator for the Office of the Chancellor of the University System of Maryland from 1993 to 1995. There she was responsible for organizing Chancellor’s Council meetings, preparing all materials for meetings of the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland, and coordinating all correspondence relating to Chancellor, the Board of Regents, and members of the Maryland General Assembly.
Ms. Tomlins has had a keen interest in science and conservation since pre-school, and has formally and informally studied many fields of science throughout her life. She is currently a volunteer environmental educator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, teaching environmental concepts and wildlife conservation to both children and adults. Ms. Tomlins’ passions are wildlife and habitat conservation and many fields of science ranging from basic biology to physics. Her hobbies include cooking, traveling the lesser known wilderness areas and back roads of the American Southwest, and reading mystery novels. She shares her home with her two children—a Manx named Chico and a domestic longhair named Addie.
Frank Kaszar - Program Associate, Membership and Training
Beginning as a summer intern, Frank Kaszar joined the NCIV staff in June of 2008. At the conclusion of his internship, he stepped into his current position, Program Associate for Membership and Training. He graduated from Saint Norbert College in 2006 with a degree in philosophy. In his years at college, Mr. Kaszar volunteered with several organizations, including the Zambia Project, an organization dedicated to raising awareness and funds for disadvantaged children in Zambia. In cooperation with a friend, he also founded a campus organization called The Society: Amantes Arboreus, which is focused on promoting general goodwill and cheer through appreciation of the natural environment, particularly by means of climbing trees.
After graduating, Mr. Kaszar spent one year teaching English in Jiujiang, China. Over the course of this year he had the opportunity to travel extensively within China, as well as through parts of the Philippines. His experiences in China opened his eyes to the many ways that citizen diplomacy can advance mutual understanding between people, cultures, and ultimately nations.
Originally from Ohio, Mr. Kaszar enjoys spending his free time getting to know Washington, DC, playing the mandolin, and pursuing his eclectic set of interests ranging from ethics, to Sinology, to gastronomy, to children’s literature.
Chris Bassett - Program Associate, External Relations
Chris Bassett joined NCIV as a Program Assistant in Summer 2007 and returns to NCIV after a graduation, an engagement and seven months in Afghanistan. Raised in Port Republic, Virginia, Chris attended James Madison University and the College of William and Mary, where he majored in Government and History. At William and Mary, Chris sang with the Gentlemen of the College and the Botetourt Chamber Singers, and served as campus President of Americans for Informed Democracy, Production Editor for the Monitor: Journal of International Studies, and Service Co-chair for Mortar Board honor society. He also lived, studied and taught for a summer in Chengdu, China. In Afghanistan, Chris worked as an editor for the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit and volunteered with ASCHIANA: Afghanistan’s Children — A New Approach. Chris currently lives in Hyattsville, Maryland, with his fiancée, Amaya, and their two (feline) daughters, Wesa and Yona. When he finds spare time, Chris enjoys singing, dancing, gardening, guitar-ing, playing Frisbee, learning Farsi, cooking, hiking, sharing time with friends and family, and exploring the world we live in.
Maria Cicci - Program Assistant
In October of 2008, Maria Cicci joined the NCIV staff as a Program Assistant. Maria received her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Spanish in June 2003 from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Immediately after graduation, she moved to Ashikaga, Japan for a position teaching English as a Second Language. While in Japan, Maria traveled extensively within Japan and to Cambodia and Thailand. Upon her return to the U.S., she attended graduate school at DePaul University’s School of Public Service in Chicago, Illinois. During her studies, she participated in a service trip to New Orleans and studied in Dublin, Ireland. Maria moved to Washington, DC in December 2007 and worked as an intern at the Institute of International Education, where she first learned about NCIV. In her free time, she volunteers at a neighborhood center in DC, likes to ride her bike, and she is learning photography and yoga.
2009 Midwestern Regional Meeting-- 
