About SASE

Director
David Wright completed his B.A. in Speech Communication and German at the University of Northern Colorado (1986), his M.A. in German Studies and Foreign Language Pedagogy at the University of Arizona (1992), and has studied in Berlin, Cologne, and Regensburg. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona (1997) where he specialized in Second Language Pedagogical Theory and Program Administration. His research interests lie in the areas of language teaching, as well as foreign language teacher education and cross-cultural training.  Please see Wright's CV for more details.  Between 1998 and 2003 he served as the Director of Business German in the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Texas - Austin. He spent the 2001/2002 academic year as a guest professor for Business English at The European School of Business in Reutlingen, Germany.  In August, 2003, he joined the Office of International Affairs at the University of Arizona where he directs the Office of Study Abroad and Student Exchange.  David is married, has one child, and enjoys travel, cycling, and hiking in the Santa Catalina mountains north of Tucson.

Direct line: (520) 626-7129
E-mail: wrightd1@email.arizona.edu

Jill Calderón

Program Director, Latin America
Jill completed her BA at Colorado State University in Creative Writing and her MA in Latin American Studies at the University of Arizona. After graduating with her undergraduate degree, she set out for Costa Rica where she worked at becoming fluent in Spanish while running her own business, Escuela Latina de Lenguas, S.A., a language school teaching English to Costa Ricans and Spanish to foreign travelers. While in Costa Rica, Jill had the opportunity to travel throughout Latin America. She came to Tucson from Costa Rica in 2000 to work at the UA and pursue her Master's degree. For nearly 5 years, she worked as a Project Director for the Office of International Affairs before transitioning to her current position of Program Director, Latin America, for the Office of Study Abroad and Student Exchange. Currently, Jill advises for the majority of our Latin America programs and assists the Center for Latin American Studies with international initiatives in teaching, research and study programs abroad.

Direct line: (520) 626 4931
E-mail: jcaldero@email.arizona.edu

Harmony DeFazio

Study Abroad Advisor
Harmony attended the University of Oregon, where she earned her BA in German, with minors in Italian and Linguistics. As an undergraduate, she had the opportunity to study abroad in both Italy and Germany and to travel throughout Western Europe. These experiences were pivotal in shaping her personal and professional goals and she decided to continue her studies at the University of Oregon, this time pursuing a Master of Public Administration with a focus on international education. In graduate school, she returned to Germany to develop a study abroad program for US business students. After completing her studies, she worked as a Study Abroad Advisor at Central Washington University. Harmony joined SASE in May, 2007 where she is currently working with exchange students coming to UA and advising for programs in Africa and the Middle East.

Direct Line: 626-6039
E-mail: defazioh@email.arizona.edu

Eric Deschamps

Student Exchange Coordinator
Eric received a B.B.A. in Business Management from James Madison University in Virginia, in 2001.  Following graduation Eric moved to Cambodia where he taught English as a Second Language.  Eric returned to James Madison University in August of 2003 where he earned a M.S.Ed in Human Resource Development in August of 2005.  After completing an internship with JMU’s Office of International Programs, Eric moved to Arizona to join the UA's Office of Study Abroad & Student Exchange.  Eric is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Comparative Higher Education.  In June and July of 2009, Eric served as Adjunct Faculty for Sookmyung University, in Korea, teaching a class on Globalization and Higher Education.  Eric coordinates the UA's student exchange programs and overseas outbound programs in East Asia.

Direct line: (520) 626-7171
E-mail: deschamp@email.arizona.edu

Molly DeStafney

Study Abroad Advisor
Molly is the most recent staff member to join the SASE office, coming to the UA in October 2008 from the east coast.  Molly holds a BA in History from Alfred University in New York and an MA in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.  Always excited and interested in different cultures and customs, Molly studied in Great Britain during her time at Alfred and did a summer program in St. Petersburg, Russia as a graduate student.  Those experiences, in addition to her volunteer work as an AmeriCorps*VISTA orchestrating a variety of activities for a small college in Massachusetts, encouraged her to join the Peace Corps.   As a Peace Corps Volunteer she served in Ukraine from 2005 to 2007, teaching English at a local university.  Presently, Molly has the luxury of advising for a region of the world that she has a lot of enthusiasm and love for:  Eastern Europe and Russia. 

Direct line: (520) 626-6406
E-mail: mollyd@email.arizona.edu

Renee Griggs

Program Coordinator, Senior
Renee has been with Study Abroad and Student Exchange for many years. Specializing in semester and summer programs, Renee is the principal advisor for programs in Spain and Mexico. She is also the person you'll want to see for great help with registration, credit, financial aid and transcript issues with your study abroad program.

Direct line: (520) 626-7180
E-mail: griggsr@email.arizona.edu

Juliet Naone

Exchange Coordinator
Juliet has successfully incorprated study abroad into her undergraduate and graduate studies. While working towards her B.A. in Socio-cultural Anthropology and Italian at Brigham Young University, she spent her junior year abroad in Bologna, Italy, at the Dickinson College Center for European Studies. She subsequently spent a year and a half volunteering and teaching ESL to professionals, students and immigrants in northern and central Italy (Verona, Venice, Livorno and Bolzano). Juliet later studied and researched at the University of Siena during the second year of her master’s program in International Relations at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Prior to joining the SASE team in March 2004, she gained invaluable experience as an instructor of Italian at both the university and community levels. Juliet has enjoyed using her international and cross-cultural skills in working with the incoming international exchange students at the University of Arizona.  She currently advises mainly outbound students who want to participate in programs to France and Italy.

Direct line: (520) 621-9403
E-mail: jnaone@email.arizona.edu

Lindsay Downs

Study Abroad Advisor
Lindsay earned a B.A. in Psychology from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY and an M.A. in Higher Education from the University of Arizona. While an undergraduate Lindsay had the opportunity to study abroad in both England and Ireland, and credits both of these experiences as pivotal in shaping her personal, professional, and academic goals. She enthusiastically joined the SASE staff in December of 2003 and currently advises for programs in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada and the U.S.

Direct line: (520) 626-3427
E-mail: lmdowns@email.arizona.edu

Stella Rios

Administrative Associate
Stella has been at the University of Arizona since 1991.  She joined our staff in 2001 and is responsible for managing our front office and guiding students through the application process. She has worked for the College of Humanities and Emergency Medicine at the U of A. Stella is also our representative for the Spanish Consulate in Los Angeles. She is our "L.A. Connection."

Direct line: (520) 626-9211
E-mail: srios@email.arizona.edu

Cara Simon, MSW

Study Abroad Advisor
Cara's family was the catalyst for her interest in the world of international education. She was fortunate to have parents that encouraged her to travel abroad and gain independence with exploring new and unfamiliar places. Cara received a BA degree in Psychology and Art at SUNY  Geneseo in NY. The summer after she graduated, she had the opportunity to travel around England, Italy and Spain, an unforgettable experience. She then pursued a Master's Degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Stony Brook in New York and took some time off after graduating to backpack through Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand and Fiji. This international experience in particular, was life changing both personally and professionally for a variety of reasons. Prior to working at the Study Abroad/Student Exchange office, she was employed as a therapist in various educational settings and also as an advisor for the International Studies Department at the University of Arizona. Cara joined the SASE team in December 2008, where she advised for outbound Italy programs initially. However, now she is advising for outbound students headed to Australia, New Zealand or Fiji. She is very passionate about this region and looks forward to sharing this enthusiasm with students interested in studying in this region.

Direct line: (520) 626-9273
E-mail: csimon@email.arizona.edu

Laura Thornes

Assistant Director
Study abroad has been an important part of Laura’s personal life as well as the driving force for her career in education. Through the University of Arizona, Laura completed her BA in Secondary Education with a major in German and a minor in Spanish. During her undergraduate studies, she studied German for a year in Austria, and Spanish for 6 weeks in Mexico. Her international studies have also taken her repeatedly to Germany and Guatemala. As a high school teacher, Laura was able to chaperone many students on exchange programs and trips to Germany and Mexico. She has taught languages to students from ages 6 to 82 and has experience in school guidance counseling and career counseling.  In 2004, she finished her MEd with an emphases in Counseling & Student Affairs (NAU). Laura advises for the programs in Northern Europe as well as German-speaking countries.  She also has a variety of responsibilities related to outbound advising and personnel.

Direct Line: (520) 626-9702
Email: thornesl@email.arizona.edu

Student Positions:
Brian Le and Brittany Prince