Meet our staff
Lee Frankel
Director of Programs
Email: Lee(at)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, Australia, and South America, Lee plays drums in a band in Boston and boogie boards wherever there are waves. Lee and his wife Jessica are the parents of Zachary and Amelia, both of whom travelled abroad before they could walk!.
Lee is a member of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, serves as the Consular Liaison to the Consulate of Spain in Boston, and has been designated as a Warden for the U.S. Department of State's Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC).
Chelsea Kaloupek
Programs Manager
Email: Chelsea(at)academicstudies.com
Chelsea is the Programs Manager for ASA and works in our Boston office. She handles enrollment and pre-departure processing for all ASA students. 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. She frequently stays in contact with students after they have completed their study abroad. While residing in Roslindale, Massachusetts, Chelsea enjoys music, dancing, Red Sox baseball, seeing foreign films, and practicing Spanish whenever she can.
Mary Meadows
Programs Advisor - Southeast Region
Email: Mary(at)academicstudies.com
After earning her M.S. in Higher Education Administration at Florida State, Mary went to Germany for a year. She interned in the International Programs Office in Karlsruhe and taught in-company Business English. Besides traveling, she enjoys creative writing and photography. Her professional interest is in student development theory as related to international experiences. She has also worked in recruitment and career services and can tell you how studying and interning abroad will boost your resume ahead of others at job search time. (Ja, Si, Jo, Da, Oui!) Mary grew up in a military family, which she claims has fueled her desire to travel the world and explore new cultures. She tries to add a new country every year to her passport! Mary says, "Venturing out on my own to new places has been the best challenge I ever gave myself." As the Programs Advisor for ASA in the Southeast her area includes Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Rudy Rodriguez
Programs Advisor
Email: Rudy(at)academicstudies.com
Rudy Rodriguez was born and raised in a small Texas city on the border of Mexico. She moved to Alabama to pursue a degree in journalism from the University of Alabama and studied abroad in London during her junior year. While abroad, Rudy worked as an editor for the Regent College newspaper and fell In love with the city of London and world travel in general. She has a strong passion for study abroad and enjoys talking with students and faculty about how going abroad can enhance their college experience. In her free time, Rudy enjoys traveling across the US visiting the many friends she met while on her ASA program.
Gabriela Gamper
Buenos Aires Site Director
Email: Gabriela(at)academicstudies.com
Gabriela has lived in Buenos Aires her whole life and loves showing students her city and culture. She received her degree in Tourism and when she isn't helping ASA students, she is giving private tours of the city that she loves. Gabriela has traveled throughout South America and speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and English fluently. Her favorite part of the job is seeing what life is like in the U.S. without actually being there. She says that meeting students from other countries helps her learn about their culture.
Richard Browning
Barcelona Site Director for UB and UAB
Email: Richard(at)academicstudies.com
Richard was born and raised in the U.S. and completed his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Oregon State University and his Ph.D at Tulane University. He was also a Peace Corps volunteer in Provincia del Tungurahua, Ecuador where he facilitated classes on agricultural methods, marketing, bookkeeping, mathematics, and worked with farmers on an individual basis. He then began his career first as a Professor of Spanish, then as Associate Director at the International Programs division of the University of Oregon. In 2006 Richard moved to Barcelona with his wife Elena, who is from Barcelona, and the rest, as they say, is history. Richard loves showing his students the city that he now calls home and helping them adjust to the Spanish way of life.
Paco Frisuelos
Madrid Site Director
Email: Paco(at)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.
Ana González Expósito
Salamanca Site Director
Email: Ana(at)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 before coming to ASA in 2004, 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 and her husband Alvaro welcomed a beautiful baby girl in 2009.
Elisa Guidera
Sevilla Site Director
Email: Elisa(at)academicstudies.com
Elisa is bilingual and bicultural as she was born in the United States and raised in both the U.S. and Spain. At the University of Seville she earned a Masters degree in Fine Arts (MFA) and completed the Fine Arts PhD courses. Born into a family of Study Abroad professionals, at an early age Elisa came in touch with American students in Spain and made a career of over 20 years in Study Abroad as a teacher and administrator. She has taught Spanish Language, Culture and Art History at Universities and study abroad programs in Seville and in the U.S. As a Resident Director she has experience in Spain and Cuba. She has travelled in America, Europe, Africa and Asia. She enjoys dance, sports, music and art. One of her passions is to show people Spain, a country which she deeply loves and to guide students to understand and admire new people and cultures different from their own.
María Alejandra Flores
Viña del Mar Site Director
Email: Alejandra(at)academicstudies.com
María Alejandra was born in
Emily Nunes
London Site Director
Email: Emily(at)academicstudies.com
It’s not every day that a young American pulls up her roots and moves half way across the world, but you should expect nothing less from the adventurous Emily Nunes. Emily's knowledge of both London and England will leave you wondering if her American accent is fake and if she has, in fact, lived in England her whole life. If there's something you fancy to do in London, just ask Emily and she will tell you where to go, how to get there, and who the right person to talk to is. Oh, and make sure to ask Emily what it's like to have a famous sister!
Emily continues to live by Mark Twain’s quote “Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”