Welcome to Managing Critical Events in International Settings, a Gateway series of specific issue briefs written to aid Senior International Officers (SIOs) based at U.S. college and universities with preparing for and managing critical events that occur in international settings.
Each issue brief in the series discusses a specific type of critical event that may involve a student, staff, or faculty member traveling abroad under an institution’s auspices. Leveraging specific case studies, each aims to provide a generalized context, present key considerations, potential action steps, and essential resources. Each issue brief is concise, with distinct and well-framed sections for easy reference.
ISO 31030:2021 is an industry-first best practice framework that helps institutions and organizations evaluate and manage their international travel risk. The guidance was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and provides a structured approach to manage risks associated with travel. It covers policy development, program implementation, threat identification, risk assessment, and prevention/mitigation strategies.
In the face of a natural or political disaster, do you have a clear plan for evacuating your travelers?
Do you know what steps to take if one of your travelers passes away while abroad?
Do you know what to do should one of your travelers is sexually assaulted while abroad?
How have you shaped an environment that prioritizes students’ mental health and well-being?
Do you know the critical response considerations and procedural steps to navigate the complex issue of student arrest?
Are you prepared to respond swiftly and compassionately if a student goes missing?
With this series, our goal is to cultivate an engaging and collaborative environment, encouraging readers like you to share perspectives, pose questions, and discuss experiences related to managing critical events in international settings. Utilize this platform to exchange best practices, highlight essential resources, and foster a community of shared insights.
Dr. Anthony C. Ogden is the founder and managing director of Gateway International Group. He is a respected scholar-professional with 25+ years of experience in international higher education. He has held senior leadership positions at renowned institutions such as Pennsylvania State University, the University of Kentucky, Michigan State University, and the University of Wyoming.
Whitney Longnecker is an international educator with 15 years of education abroad experience. Whitney has passion for traveler health and safety, pre-departure preparation, and risk management and emergency response, and she presents regularly on these topics. Throughout her career, Whitney has served institutions and education providers including Texas Tech University, Penn State University, Semester at Sea, and Central College.
Frank Harrison is the Security Director for the Americas at World Travel Protection. With over 20 years of experience in emergency, operations, and security risk-management planning, Frank has worked across the globe, including often hostile and austere locations such as West Africa, the Middle East, and the Arctic. As a member of the British Standards Institute and a certified instructor of the ALIVE Active Shooter program, Frank has a deep understanding of the travel risk management industry.
Joel Lockwood is the Regional Chief Medical Officer of the Americas at World Travel Protection and is a Staff Physician in Emergency Medicine and a Trauma Team Leader at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. Dr. Lockwood manages a team who handle over 40,000 assistance cases annually and about 400 medical evacuations every year. He is also a transport medicine physician. He is committed to driving medical innovation, implementing best practices, and ensuring compliance with international standards and regulations.
Dr. Sagasti Suppes has been a Senior International Officer at two liberal arts colleges before her current position as Director of Global Engagement and SIO at Stockton University. She began her career as a Spanish Professor, advocating for internationalization of the curriculum and developing several innovative, experiential travel courses for undergraduates.
Ms. Jennifer Pencek is the Executive Director at Centre Safe, a non-profit organization offering services for people who have experienced dating/domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Pencek is an experienced professional in the field of primary prevention of power-based interpersonal violence with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education and non-profit industries.
Rodger Cook is the General Manager of Global Security Services at World Travel Protection. With 16 years of service in the Australian Defense Force, including deployments to Rwanda, East Timor, and Iraq, Cook brings extensive operational experience. Rodger has held senior security and business resilience positions in mining, oil, and gas companies across Indonesia, Madagascar, Zambia, and Papua New Guinea. His understanding of client needs informs his approach to developing robust travel risk management programs.
Whitney Longnecker is an international educator with 15 years experience in education abroad. Whitney has a passion for traveler health and safety and manages these processes, in addition to all education abroad programming, in her current role at Texas Tech University. Throughout her career, Whitney has served institutions and education abroad providers including Pennsylvania State University, Semester at Sea, and Central College.
Ximing Li is a graduate intern of Gateway International Group. She is a PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests focus on international student mobility and online education
As Gateway continues to develop this series, we invite your suggestions for additional topics, authors, or any other recommendations. Your feedback is highly valued.
World Travel Protection specializes in global travel risk management services, which help support travelers on the ground and the risk managers responsible for their safety and wellbeing. They have taken care of scholastic, corporate and leisure travelers for over 30 years, helping them prevent and mitigate risks and providing them with immediate access to the right experts when an emergency occurs.
Their decades of experience in global travel risk management is the reason they are trusted by travelers and organizations across the globe, who allow them to help prepare for potential travel threats and assist when they need it most. World Travel Protection is at the forefront of utilizing technology to enhance travel risk management and innovations for their clients.
Via creates innovative, intuitive, and affordable software for colleagues in the international education community.
Via’s mission is to empower leaders to engage every student, faculty member, and traveler in global experiences through powerful and user-focused Traveler Relationship and Risk Management (TRM) software. The company’s focus on #everytraveler means leaders across the world have the tools they need to engage, enroll, manage, and connect with students and travelers from every background at every stage of their journey abroad.
