IAS Adjudication Board

Alexandre Argenta is the CEO and founder of Travelmate Intercâmbio Franchising, one of the leading international education agency networks in Brazil. He is also the founder of Classmate Language School, a private English institute for children and teenagers, where he currently lives in Curitiba, in the south of Brazil. His entrepreneurial career also includes product import and export projects with Europe, Asia and North America. Over 40,000 students and professionals have travelled abroad through his company. Alexandre is a former international high school student in the USA and has an academic background in International Business from UFPR (Universidade Federal do Parana) and MBAs in Business Management and Marketing from FGV (Fundação Getulio Vargas) and International Trade and Law from UNIVALI, all in Brazil.

Alexandre is the President of BELTA (Brazilian Education and Language Travel Association, with over 50 member agencies all over Brazil), initially for a first term from 2021-2024 and re-elected for a second term from 2024-2027.

Andrew Mangion is Executive Chairman & CEO and a major shareholder of the EC Group. He acquired equity in the fledgling company in 1997 and grew the organization into one of the leading international players. Andrew was CEO of EC from 1997 until 2009 and moved into the Executive Chairman role from 2009 until 2019.  He took over the CEO role once again in 2019. Prior to joining EC he worked for an international trading company with offices in Russia, India, Dubai, the Baltics and Malta, running their Indian and later Baltic operations.

He graduated from Luther College (USA) in 1992 having double majored in Business Management and French. He is also a graduate of the OPM programme at Harvard Business School. Andrew is a director of Chiswick House School and St Martins College, two of the leading K-12 Schools in Malta and served on the board of the Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations in Malta (FELTOM) both as a board member as well as serving two years as President of the Board. Andrew was also a member of the board of the Association of Language Travel Organisations (ALTO) between 2010 and 2015.

In 2005 he championed the startup of the first YPO Chapter in Malta and was Chapter Chair between 2005 and 2008. He also served as a member of the YPO European Board.

Bethan is Director of BAISIS (British Association of Independent Schools with International Students) and HIEDA (Health in Education Association) and leads on all consultancy and INSET services across BSA Group as Executive Director, Consultancy. Bethan also manages the BSA certified agent scheme, launched in 2020, championing increased due diligence and best practice across student recruitment, care and support whether domestic or international.

Before joining BSA in 2017, Bethan was a pastoral lead and a houseparent, with experience working in state and independent, co-educational and girls’, and UK and international schools. Bethan is a keen advocate for youth opportunity and social mobility worldwide and believes confident, well trained, and supported practitioners can be a positive force for young people and their development.

Chris Broadhurst – Global Director of Recruitment, Marketing and Admissions, Kings Education, UK

Chris Broadhurst is the Global Director of Recruitment, Marketing and Admissions for the Kings Colleges business division of Kings Education. He has over 20 years of experience in international education recruitment. He is a dedicated and passionate advocate of the K-12 sector and the international agent community.

Chris has previously held senior management positions at Bell Educational Trust, Cambridge Education Group, Astrum Education, Oxford International Education Group and Nord Anglia Education. He has a tremendous track record for delivering growth in the quantity and quality of students for K-12 schools.

Throughout his career, Chris has partnered with agents and fully appreciates the significance of their contribution to the success of the international boarding school sector. The professionalism and integrity of agent partners has enabled his former and current schools to welcome tens of thousands of students who have achieved exceptional outcomes and progressed onto world leading universities.

Dr. Emily Kirsch guides the development of new campus and international partnership programs at Berkeley Global and leads efforts to expand the university’s global partner network. She works across academic and administrative units to design innovative recruitment and marketing strategies, strengthen international engagement, and identify new program opportunities aligned with global market demand.

Previously, she served as Director of International Relations and Partnerships at UCLA Extension, where she managed global partnerships and spearheaded international enrollment strategies. With over 17 years in international education, she brings deep expertise in strategic enrollment management and a collaborative, partner-focused approach to advancing cross-border educational opportunities.

Her passion for the field began with a semester abroad in China, leading to a career dedicated to cultural exchange and ethical internationalization. She holds a Ph.D. in Leadership for International and Intercultural Education from the University of Minnesota, where her research focused on ethical approaches to global engagement.

Emma Payne joined the University of Portsmouth in October 2024 as the Director of UoP Global, leading on the strategic direction and management of UoP Global. The Global Office includes global admissions, marketing and recruitment.

Emma has over 20 years of experience working in international higher education, starting at the University of Essex in 2005 working in various roles which include admissions and recruitment, across the pathway department and Essex Business School. She then moved to the University of Hull in August 2017 managing student recruitment from South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. After five years at Hull, in September 2022, Emma moved to the pathway sector at INTO University of East Anglia as the Assistant Director of Student Recruitment. Emma’s remit in admissions and recruitment has included working with agents across many different institutions.

Gabriela Ardito is Founder & CEO at VCE INTERNATIONAL (1993) and also the current president of ARSAA Argentine Study Abroad Association (2016).

Passionate about progress, development and constant evolution, Gabriela started up as a very young ESL tutor to become a university lecturer & researcher and then create her own Language Travel & HE consultancy business.

Gabriela holds a Bachelor’s in English Language (1999), a PhD in Modern Languages (2012), a Bachelor´s in Tourism & Hospitality (2022), and has been involved in International Education for three decades – not only through her work as an agent but also in the Higher Education sector as Head of the Student Mobility Department at Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires and – most recently – as member of the ISEP Study Abroad Council of Advisors. She has signed collaboration agreements with renowned international educators, is an ICEF trained agent; QE, IALC & English UK partner agent; ALTO member, and FELCA board member.

Mother of two teenage sons, Gabriela sometimes finds it hard to strike a balance between career and family life. However, that has not deterred her from engaging in diverse education industry collaborative projects and events with the aim of exploring new destinations for Latin-American students, working towards the growth of Argentina as a study abroad market and generating worldwide academic opportunities with the firm belief in international education as a transformative, life-changing means to foster understanding and promote cooperation among the peoples of all nations.

Jessica Cheng has 20 years of extensive experience in the study abroad industry. Since August 2023, she has been the Vice President of Bright Can-Achieve, a leading Chinese education service provider that she has been passionately working with for the past 9 years. Between August 2016 and August 2023, she held the positions of Manager of Australian Programmes, Director of Australian Programmes, Senior Director of UK, AUS, NZ, European & Asian Programmes and Senior Director of Channels and Markets (USA, CAN, UK, AUS, NZ, European & Asian Programmes). Bright Can-Achieve was established in 2008 to provide strategic international recruitment solutions to overseas educational institutions in China and the Pan-Asia region. Headquartered in Beijing, the company has 20 offices in China and five international offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok.

Magdalena Link is the Senior Vice President, Partnership Development at ILAC Education Group, working closely with university and college partners in Canada. She previously held senior positions at Cambridge Education Group and Oxford International Education Group and has over 20 years of experience in the sector. Magdalena is passionate about international education. Born in Poland, her family emigrated to Germany before settling in Canada, where they have since made their permanent home. Understanding the student journey through her own experience has given her a deep appreciation for the sector. Throughout her career, Magdalena has always been a vocal advocate for international student mobility, promoting educational opportunities abroad for students. She believes it is crucial to work with quality agent partners as they become brand ambassadors not only for the schools but also for the countries they represent. Integrity, quality and ethical recruitment are of paramount importance to her. Magdalena enjoys being a mentor through the CBIE Mentor in the International Network of Tomorrow’s Leaders (INTL) Mentorship Programme, helping to shape the future generation of the industry.

Marie is an international strategic recruitment specialist, with 20+ years experience working in 50+ countries with agents, government, and educational partners. She has worked in the university and college sectors, and has a strong interest in market development.

Marie has served on various education related boards and advisory groups (e.g EduNova, Skills Canada, Techsploration) – and has spoken at conferences promoting ‘Institutional Accountability in Agent Management’.  Marie has a Master’s Degree in Conflict Analysis & Management, and significant experience in mediation and effectively resolving conflict.  She looks forward to serving ICEF through membership on the IAS Adjudication Board.

Richard Obeng Assuming is the founder and CEO of AstoLinks International, an overseas education advisory firm in Ghana, West Africa. Over the past 13 years, Richard and his team have recruited over 10,000 students to study in countries such as Australia, UK, USA, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and other top study destinations in Europe and Asia. Prior to founding Astolinks, Richard worked as a science teacher in a secondary school in London, UK. To ensure that agents understand their role within the student recruitment sector, he has campaigned in Ghana for agents to work with ethical values and integrity, which led to the formation of the Ghana Association of Education Consultants (GAIEC), whose aim is to ensure that all agents are mobilised and given the necessary training and support to promote their businesses with integrity. Richard is the current President of this noble organisation.

Robert Parsonson brings over 30 years of experience in education and education export, both in Australia and internationally. He spent 4.5 years in Japan, initially working as a corporate trainer and developing programs for corporate clients and vocational colleges. Upon returning to Australia, he worked with ALC Press, Japan’s largest study-abroad publisher.

In 1995, Robert began his marketing career with a vocational and English school in Sydney, eventually becoming the Marketing Director of Aspect Sydney (now KAPLAN), a multinational education provider, and NextEd, an ASX-listed education provider.

In 2003, he founded Education Export Services (EDEX), a consultancy supporting training organisations in Australia and abroad. EDEX specialises in developing international student markets and achieving recruitment targets. The company has partnered with numerous higher education and vocational education providers, state and federal government departments, and industry peak bodies like ITECA and English Australia.

Since 2017, EDEX has organized the Symposium on Leading Education Recruitment (SYMPLED), a forum that brings education agents, providers, government officials, and industry leaders together. In 2018, Robert and a group of education agents launched the International Student Education Agents Association (ISEAA), which serves as the voice of education agents in Australia.

Dr Sarah Todd is an experienced senior executive and non-executive board member with expertise in international education (including student recruitment, global partnerships, branding, learning abroad, marketing and admissions, capacity building programmes, student experience) and higher education leadership. Recently joining QS Quacquarelli Symonds as a Principal Consultant, her previous university leadership roles include VP Global at Griffith University in Australia and Pro Vice Chancellor International at the University of Otago in New Zealand, and prior to moving into international education she was Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean of Otago’s Business School. Sarah has served on and chaired a number of national and global boards and committees related to international education, including as past president of the Asia Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE).

Sushil Sukhwani is the Founding Director of Edwise International LLP, established in 1991, which is India’s leading overseas education consultancy. Over the past three decades, he has been dedicated to helping over 200,000 students from India achieve their higher education goals abroad. Sushil oversees the organisation’s operations, representing 900+ institutions from over 15 countries through a network of 24 self-owned offices and a team of more than 400 employees.

In addition to his role at Edwise, Sushil is a Director of Blue Star Tours (Air Travel Services India Pvt Ltd) and has managed three computer training institutions for over 30 years. A Commerce graduate from Mumbai University, Sushil holds an MBA in Services Marketing from Bond University, Australia. He is a Founding Member of the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India (AAERI) and has served on the American International Recruitment Council (AIRC) Board from 2018 to 2024. He has also been the President of the St. Mary’s Alumni Association for 20 years and is a Committee Member of the Australian Alumni Association – Western India Chapter.

Globally recognised, Sushil has presented at numerous prestigious conferences, including ICEF (USA, Canada, and India), AIRC, and NAFSA. He remains deeply connected to his roots in India.

Thuong Duong is a senior international education executive with over 22 years of experience in student recruitment, agency network development, and transnational education strategy across Southeast Asia. She holds a Master’s Degree in Project Management from Queensland University of Technology, Australia, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the National Economics University, Vietnam. She was also awarded an Australian Development Scholarship (2000–2001). Her career began in 2002 as Regional Manager for Study Group International, where she was involved in the recruitment of students from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar. A key focus of her role was the selection, training, and performance management of a robust network of B2B education agents. She developed strong partnerships with trusted agents, ensuring alignment with institutional values and service standards, while also resolving operational issues and addressing parent and student concerns ranging from visa delays to academic readiness and transition challenges. Through this network, her teams supported over 500 students annually to study at institutions in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, and the US. Thuong is currently Regional Director for Shorelight, a US-based education company. She has established and expanded Shorelight’s operations in Vietnam and other markets in Southeast Asia. She continues to lead all aspects of B2B engagement, from agent recruitment and onboarding to compliance oversight and issue resolution. Her approach emphasises long-term relationships and regular training to ensure agents deliver accurate, ethical, and student-centered guidance. She also engages with parents to provide counseling and reassurance on issues related to academic fit, safety and cost concerns.

William Herrera is the Executive Director for Grupo Estudiantes Embajadores. A distinguished serial entrepreneur, he has established companies spanning various sectors, including international education, travel, technology, human resources, corporate training, travel, insurance, healthcare, and investment funds. As Managing Partner of Grupo Estudiantes Embajadores, he has spearheaded consulting initiatives in international education and mobility, facilitating opportunities for over 25,000 students and professionals across more than 40 countries. With over 35 years of experience in multinational corporations, he serves as a mentor to emerging entrepreneurs, offering expertise in strategy, operations, and marketing.

An alumnus of ITESM, he graduated in 1994 with a degree in Electronic Systems Engineering and earned an MSc in Management from the London School of Economics in 2000. He has held key leadership positions, in different Chamber of Commerce and Associations, and was AMTE´s President from 2019-2024. He is currently the President of the Advisory Board for AMTE, the Mexican Association of Educational Travel, formed by some of the most important educational travel agencies, highly regarded schools, diplomatic missions and service providers in Mexico.