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Lee Frankel
Director of Programs
Lee@academicstudies.com
Lee Frankel is the Director of Programs for ASA and oversees both
the Boston office and all sites that ASA offers. Lee grew up in New York City and Amherst,
Massachusetts and has long been exposed to study abroad. At the age of 6 he spent the summer in Mexico with
his mother, who was finishing her PhD and wanted to learn Spanish. Since then he has spent time living,
traveling, and learning about the cultures in over 20 countries. While at Ithaca College as an undergraduate, Lee
spent a semester in Salamanca, Spain where he decided that studying abroad was the single most important part
of his college experience. When he returned, he began recruiting other students to go abroad and managed to turn
it into a career. Lee's favorite part of his job is watching each student grow and mature in such a short
time while abroad. In between his constant travel to Europe, Lee plays drums in a band in Boston and
boogie boards wherever there are waves. Lee and his wife Jessica are also the proud parents of
Zachary, who was born on December 23, 2004. |
Lee and his wife
Jessica |
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Chelsea Kaloupek
Programs Manager
Chelsea@academicstudies.com Chelsea
is the Programs Manager for ASA and works in our Boston
office. She grew up in Nebraska but moved to the East Coast to
attend college. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College,
where she majored in Spanish. Chelsea spent her junior year
abroad, living and studying in Madrid at the Universidad
Complutense, where she learned Spanish language and culture
first-hand. While living in Spain, she traveled the country
extensively and took full advantage of the cultural offerings
in Madrid, such as the art museums, theatre productions, film
festivals, and live music. While studying at Mount Holyoke,
Chelsea was involved in two Spanish play productions, for
which she served as the Assistant Director and as an actor.
She especially enjoyed playing Doña Inés in a cutting of the
famous Don Juan Tenorio. Chelsea is the main point of contact
for ASA students, as she guides them through the application
and pre-departure processes. She feels that it is extremely
rewarding to get to know the students and to be a part of
their study abroad experience. Chelsea normally travels to
Spain at the beginning of each program to spend the first few
days with the group, to help get them settled. She says that
the best part of these trips is having the chance to meet the
students and spend time with them when they arrive in Spain or
London. She frequently stays in contact with students after
they have completed their study abroad. While residing in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, Chelsea enjoys music, dancing, Red
Sox baseball, seeing foreign films, and practicing Spanish
whenever she can. She has even been known to grab the mic when
she and her friends go out for karaoke.
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Chelsea |
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Chaz Nielsen
Programs Advisor
Chaz@academicstudies.com
Chaz is one of ASA's Program Advisors, a job that entails traveling around the country meeting students who are interested in studying abroad and helping them decide which program they would enjoy the most. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a B.A. in Journalism and History. The summer before his freshman year, he studied in Salamanca, Spain, an experience that blossomed his love of traveling. Since, he has spent time in Ireland, England, France, Spain, Italy, Israel, and all around the U.S. He loves experiencing and being surrounded by life in other parts of the world because there's just so much to do and see out there, gosh darn it. When he's not touring the world, he spends his free time out in the woods on his mountain bike, or camping, belting out tunes with the boys 'round the campfire.
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Chaz |
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Xavier Legaud
Marketing Intern
Xavier@academicstudies.com
Xavier grew up in Nantes, on the west coast of France. He attended Nantes Management University, where he graduated with a degree in Management & Marketing. After spending a year in Paris at an internship, he decided it was the time to go abroad and through a partnership at his university he was able to attend Bentley College in Waltham, MA for a semester. He is now a Marketing Intern for ASA and works in our Boston office. Xavier enjoys spending his time playing sports, traveling, and discovering more about US culture.
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Xavier |
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Marta Nieves Gómez
Barcelona Site Director
Marta@academicstudies.com
Marta Nieves is a native of Barcelona and has lived there since she was born. She adds to the
diverse academic background of the ASA staff, having earned a degree in Tourism at the Universitat
de Girona. She has also studied Law at the Universitat de Barcelona. Her thesis fits well with
ASA, since it is about study abroad programs and customized programs in Barcelona. In 2003, the
University of Cambridge granted Marta a Travel and Tourism Career Award, an internationally
recognized Tourism diploma. Marta is a seasoned traveler, having spent time in France, Belgium,
Italy, Holland, and Monaco. In addition, she has studied and worked abroad in both Holland and
Belgium. She is fluent in Spanish, Catalan, English, French, and Italian. Her interests include
language study, art, reading, film, fishing, and visiting Barcelona's beaches. One of her favorite
aspects of working with study abroad students is sharing with them the history of Barcelona and
Spain; she loves being the students' tour guide. |
Marta |
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Paco Frisuelos
Madrid Site Director
Paco@academicstudies.com
Paco Frisuelos was born in the Spanish territories in the Sahara. He moved to Sevilla at the age
of three, which is where he ultimately grew up. He earned his undergraduate degree in Art History
at the Universidad de Sevilla and soon after came to the United States to study Communications
at McDaniel College in Maryland. Paco is currently completing two PhD programs in Art History and
Film Studies at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. He has worked as a professor for several
American universities and for several study abroad programs, teaching Art History and Spanish
culture courses. He has extensive experience working with study abroad students as their Resident
Director, and he takes great pride in being able to make the students' time in Madrid enjoyable. In
his spare time, Paco enjoys music, film, languages, photography, art, traveling, reading, and
going to the theater. He is fluent in Spanish, English, French, and Italian. Paco believes that
studying abroad is the best experience any student can have, because it is always challenging,
rewarding, and fun to learn a new language and culture, while exposing oneself to exciting places
and new situations. Moreover, Paco knows that studying abroad is a great opportunity to meet
lifelong friends. Past ASA students have said that Paco's vast knowledge of art history, Spanish
history and culture has helped them to continue to learn, even outside of the classroom, and has
allowed them to gain even more from their time in Madrid. |
Paco |
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Ana González Expósito
Salamanca Site Director
Ana@academicstudies.com
Ana grew up in Salamanca and her family has hosted study abroad students since she was
young, so she has a lifetime of experience in study abroad! In addition, Ana worked for the
Colby College program in Salamanca, so she has a wealth of experience. She has studied in
England in Worthing and Lancaster, as well as in Canada. She also received her degree in
Business Administration from the Universidad de Salamanca. Ana loves languages and in addition
to speaking Spanish and English, she is also learning French and Japanese. An enthusiastic and
energentic person, Ana is a great asset to our Salamanca program. |
Ana |
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Isidoro Janeiro, PhD
Sevilla Site Director
Isidoro@academicstudies.com
Dr. Isidoro Janeiro has an excellent understanding of Spanish and North American cultures, having
grown up in both Spain and the U.S. Isidoro was born in Galicia and lived there until he was
15, when he moved to Delaware. He earned both his Bachelor and Masters of Arts in Spanish Literature from the University of Delaware, with a concentration in
Peninsular Literature and Spanish Studies and a PhD from UMass Amherst in Spanish Literature. Isidoro has extensive experience teaching Spanish, as he
began teaching in 1997 at the University of Delaware. He went on to serve as a Teaching Associate
at UMass Amherst in 1999, and in the 2002-2003 school year became the Language Coordinator for
Intermediate Levels at the UMass Spanish & Portuguese Department, where he was responsible for
both teaching and curriculum planning. While teaching at UMass, Isidoro was awarded two
Outstanding Teaching Awards. He also has previous experience working with study abroad programs, as
he was a Teaching Assistant with the UMass Salamanca summer program in 2001. Isidoro's
sensitivity to cultural differences and to students' needs make him an important part the ASA
team. His main hobbies are reading, traveling, and meeting new people. He loves to cook for his
friends and family. Isidoro resides in Sevilla with his wife, Ana. |
Isidoro and his wife Ana |
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Ariadna Moreira
Italy Faculty-led Program Site Director
Ariadna@academicstudies.com
Ariadna was born and raised in Brazil, but left in 1990 to do graduate work in Vocal Performance in the U.S. After earning her Masters from the New England Conservatory in Boston and her Doctorate from the University of Miami, Ariadna moved to Italy to study the Baroque technique. She is fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian, and French and is currently learning German as well. She has taught both singing and languages in both the U.S. and Italy and continues to teach English to Italians in Florence. While she assists ASA students with all their needs, she still sings opera professionally throughout Europe and if she has her way, soon it will be throughout the world! |
Ariadna |
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Christine Wentzell
Florence Site Director
Christine@academicstudies.com
Christine was born and raised in a small fishing town in Nova Scotia, Canada. Her childhood dreams of world travel set her apart from the other fishermen's daughters and so after her undergraduate degree in English Literature and a year of work in the "big city" she set sail. Christine has been living in Florence since 1998 where she has been teaching English to Italian children. From Italy she has travelled to Greece, Germany, Switzerland, Scotland and Spain. Next stop, Africa! Her hands on experience with Italian culture (having recently married in!) is very helpful to our students living and studying in Florence. Christine is always available to lend her insight and know how and when she is not busy with the students, she is busy running her own small business planning other people's vacations in Tuscany. |
Christine |
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Heidi Finn
Design Director
Heidi@academicstudies.com
Heidi was born and raised in Augsburg, Germany, but moved to the U.S. when she was 15. She has traveled extensively throughout Europe and has lived in 8 different states in the U.S. Heidi has always had a love of art and got her B.A. from UMass Amherst in computer animation and painting. In addition to her love of art, Heidi is a huge music fan who loves trying to find the cheesiest songs she can to play for her friends. Heidi has been working with ASA for over 5 years and broke hearts recently when she got married to her longtime boyfriend Jeff.
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Heidi |
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