People
Michael Ulrich, Ph.D
Associate Director for International Education Services/Study Abroad
Michael has directed the study abroad office since August, 2003 and taught a short term study abroad course on HIV/AIDS for the University of Maryland on several occasions. His primary duties are program development, oversight and assessment, risk management, liaison to campus units and staff supervision. He has also served as Coordinator for Preprofessional Programs and as Premedical Advisor at UM and as as Department Chair and Assistant Professor of Biology at Elon University where he first became active in study abroad developing programs. His academic training includes a B.A. in Biology and a Chemistry minor from the University of Iowa where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. His doctoral training in Molecular Genetics was completed at Washington University.
Pernille Levine
Coordinator
Pernille, a native of Denmark, began working at the Office of International Programs in 1997. In 2005, she began working for the Study Abroad Office as a coordinator of Exchanges and partner programs. Prior to coming to the United States, Pernille worked as a film translator and language instructor. She received her BA in English from the University of Copenhagen and will have an MA in English and Danish when her thesis is completed. Pernille is fluent in Danish and Swedish, and she speaks German well. Her fascination with foreign cultures has taken her to Australia, China, Turkey, Costa Rica, Hungary and many other countries in Europe, including the UK, where she spent a year in London.
Aggie Danielewicz, Ph.D
Coordinator for Short Term Programs & Advising
Aggie is a true cosmopolitan. Aggie, short for Agnieszka, was born and lived in Poland until she was 16 years old. She moved with her family to Denmark, where she lived for the following 20 years, interrupted by study abroad and graduate school in the US. By education, Aggie is a molecular biologist with a Ph.D. degree from the University of Aarhus, Denmark and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. After her post-doc with the Danish Cancer Society, Aggie entered the world of study abroad. From 2003 Aggie worked for the Denmark's International Study Program (DIS) in Copenhagen, Denmark directing the Science and Health Programs. While at DIS, Aggie worked closely with the University of Maryland on the HIV/AIDS summer program. She joined the Study Abroad Office at UM in April 2007. If not at work, Aggie reads books, rides her road bike or motorcycle. Her passion is food; she confesses to having more pictures of food than people.
Catherine Donohoe
Coordinator of Semester Programs & Advising
Catherine coordinates the Maryland semester programs in London, Nice, Alcala and Berlin, as well as Maryland’s membership in the University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC). Additionally, she advises students who are interested in studying in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and the U.K. Catherine has a B.A. in Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an M.A. in Spanish from New York University. Before joining Maryland’s Study Abroad Office in 2006, Catherine studied, lived, and worked in Chile, England and Spain.
Lisa Tenley Alton
Program Specialist for Outreach
Lisa joins the Study Abroad staff from Letters and Sciences, where she served a variety of roles over the years, including coordinating the Individual Studies Program, recruitment, a peer mentoring program, and exceptions to academic policy; teaching UNIV 100; academic advising; and serving as the interim pre-medical advisor. Prior to that, she worked with the Office of Community Service Learning at Maryland. She is a double graduate of the University of Maryland with a BA in Psychology (Phi Beta Kappa) and an MA in Counseling and Personnel Services. Lisa's travel experiences include Sweden, England, and various Caribbean islands. When she is not working, she can be found playing with her 2 crazy boys, gardening, reading, volunteering in her boys' schools, or trying to catch up on her sleep.
Shoshana Griffith
Program Assistant & Advisor
Shoshana joined the UM Study Abroad Office in July 2007 after returning from a year teaching English near Paris. She earned a B.A. in International Development Studies and a minor in Spanish from the University of Virginia (Phi Beta Kappa), where she worked as a Peer Advisor in the International Studies Office. Shoshana caught the Study Abroad bug in high school, when she spent a summer in Argentina and hosted a student from Ecuador. These experiences inspired her to study in northeast Brazil for a year and in Rio de Janeiro for a semester. She has traveled to Costa Rica, Japan, Germany, and throughout much of France, and speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Outside the office, Shoshana can be found biking, rock climbing, or tackling girls twice her size on the rugby pitch. She also enjoys cooking and supporting her wine habit (especially Syrah from her home state of Washington).
Regina Harple
Program Assistant & Advisor
Regina joined the University of Maryland Study Abroad Office in June 2009. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2006 with a B.A. in Spanish and a minor in International Studies. Her passion for international education started shortly after returning from her study abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Upon returning to the United States, Regina began volunteering at VCU’s Study Abroad Office, where she helped students interested in going overseas and she also helped the incoming international students. Some of her travels include Argentina, Uruguay, and Mexico. Outside of work, Regina enjoys being outdoors, catching up with friends and family, and of course spending quality time with her wonderful pug, Lulu.
Taylor Wood
Program Assistant & Advisor
Taylor advises for Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. He supervises the front desk staff and assists with Maryland-in-Haifa, Maryland-in-Berlin, and various short term programs. His travels have taken him through Southern Africa, South America and the Caribbean. When he's not traveling overseas he enjoys exploring local cities, reading about new places and cooking new recipes.
Laurie Koehler, Ph.D.
Resident Director in London
Laurie has been Resident Director of the London program since 1993. She has a B.A. in German literature (Phi Beta Kappa) and a B.M in music history from Oberlin College, and a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Göttingen (Germany). As an undergraduate she spent two summers in Vienna and one semester in Mainz as a study abroad participant. She was a Fulbright grant recipient to Germany, where she remained to complete her Ph.D. During her years in Germany Laurie worked as a research assistant in musicology for the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German National Research Foundation). After moving to London in 1982, she was London Director of the University of Delaware study abroad programme before becoming Maryland's London director. She is a founding member and serves on the Executive Committee of the Association of American Study Abroad Programmes in the UK. Fluent in German, she is a dual American and British citizen. Laurie and her German husband have two sons.