Leadership Team
Board of Directors
Advisory Board
Associate Directors

Kristina Ralston
Associate Director

Kristina Ralston
Associate Director
Kristina Ralston has been teaching and living internationally for over 20 years. With a Master’s degree in Special Education and a certificate in Special Education leadership, Kristina believes in the strength of teams and collaboration to better serve ourselves, our colleagues and our learners.
Kristina has worked in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and South Africa, as a homeroom Elementary School teacher and Intervention Specialist. These diverse experiences and teaching opportunities have generated a passion for responsible inclusion, culturally responsive teaching, and bringing the science of learning into our classrooms. Kristina strives to connect to individuals and recognize bias and barriers that limit growth and collective response. Using MTSS as a problem-solving and collaborative framework, all students should be achieving high standards; however this is easier said than done. It is Kristina’s mission to build student and teacher efficacy so they will advocate for themselves and one another, and set the bar high for inclusion and belonging.
Outside of the school environment, Kristina loves to read historical fiction, spend time with her family and challenge herself in CrossFit. She is also crocheting blankets as donations for 67 Blankets for Mandela, and enjoys the rare opportunities for street and landscape photography to capture unique moments and memories.

Ginna Daza
Associate Director

Ginna Daza
Associate Director
Ginna is a proud Latina and a Lego and Harry Potter geek. Originally from Colombia, her joy and passion for everything she does is contagious.
Education changed her life, shaping the way she sees herself, understands different cultures, and views the world.
That is why she is committed to bring equity and inclusion to the classrooms with her curiosity and resilience to make a difference one kid at a time.

Sientania McNeil
Associate Director

Sientania McNeil
Associate Director
Sientania leads a team of K-12 Student Support Service staff as the Director of Support Services at Asociación Escuelas Lincoln in Argentina.
She holds an MSc in Educational Leadership, BSc in Special Education, BA in International Law & Human Rights, and international teaching certifications. She also spearheaded school-wide strategic advocacy for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice in Argentina and Côte d’Ivoire.
With a passion for school transformation and inclusion, Sientania launched the Learning Support Department at ICSA in Côte d’Ivoire, where she taught and led the growth of the program through capacity-building and establishing systems. She raised awareness about inclusive classroom practices to demystify disabilities from a culturally responsive perspective in the local community.
As a young educator, she began her journey in Zimbabwe, her home country, at HIS, extending her experience to local vocational centers for adults with disabilities and special needs institutions, supporting students with a wide range of disabilities.

Denise Padgett
Associate Director

Denise Padgett
Associate Director
Denise Padgett is a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) who hold the Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and licensure in Florida, Kansas, and Texas. She is resolute and compassionate with a specialized focus on neurodiversity, early intervention, and culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Denise is committed to providing individualized, family-centered therapy that respects and celebrates the uniqueness of each child and family.
Having worked in a variety of setting Denise finds the most enjoyment working with the above populations. She has worked at schools in the United States, Ethiopia (ICS Addis Ababa), and she has done volunteer work in the Bahamas.
In addition to clinical expertise, Denise has a strong background in compliance and service delivery within programs providing services to diverse populations, ensuring that all services met regulatory standards, and service providers administered programs with the highest level of professionalism. Denise is well versed in collective collaboration with multidisciplinary teams to create seamless, holistic support for every child.

Christine Köstlin
Associate Director

Christine Köstlin
Associate Director
Christine Köstlin is a trained special education teacher from Germany. She has worked in primary and secondary school settings in Germany as well as an international school in Hong Kong, where she taught and lived for 5 years. During her time abroad she entered the international teaching community and started her journey as a speaker and author. \. She is currently working for the government of her state in the Ministry of Education, where she is on the team of the special needs department.
In her free time, Christine enjoys arts and crafts, traveling and learning something new. She loves spending time with her friends and is active in her neighborhood where she brings people together.

Amanda Illeperumaarachchi
Associate Director

Amanda Illeperumaarachchi
Associate Director
Amanda currently serves as the Student Support Services Coordinator and Child Protection Officer at the International School of Busan, South Korea. She is a passionate advocate for diverse learners and a believer of inclusive education.
After graduating with an IB Diploma from the Overseas School of Colombo, Sri Lanka, she went on to work at OSC, first as a Learning Support Assistant, then a Learning Support Assistant Teacher, and finally a Secondary Learning Support Teacher. She has a Bsc in Psychology and Counseling and her K-12 Special Education Teaching License from Washington D.C. She is also a Counselor Training Center certified International School Counselor.
Amanda enjoys reading, watching movies, spending time with her friends and video calling her family in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Australia. She is a dancer, a cat mum and a wife.

Renee Foster
Associate Director

Renee Foster
Associate Director
Reneé Foster is the Director of Student Support Services at ICS Addis. With over twenty years of experience in education, she has held various roles, including Secondary Inclusion Coordinator at Kaohsiung American School in Taiwan and Learning Support, bilingual specialist at different international and US schools. Reneé is passionate about inclusion and empowering diverse learners.
She is committed to personal growth and diversity, equity, and inclusion. This is noted in her recent participation in the 2023 – 2024 AIELOC Aspiring Leaders of Color mentorship program. She has received recognition for her work in education, including the 2022 Summer Principal Academy overall best New School Design award, an alumni of 2006 – 2007 Fulbright Teacher Exchange experience in Colombia and the Colombia Destination Imagination Above and beyond award.
Reneé holds a BA from the University of Massachusetts, a M.Ed from Houston Baptist University, and an Ed.M in Public School Building Leadership from Teachers College Columbia University.
In her free time, Renee enjoys dancing, balloon decorating, and outdoor adventures with her family and friends.

Hannah Peters
Associate Director

Hannah Peters
Associate Director
Hi everyone! Originally from Minnesota, USA, I became a third culture kid when my family moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2000. After spending 10 years there and graduating in international education, I fell in love with life abroad and the idea of teaching overseas, so choosing education as my university major was an easy decision. It was volunteering with a Special Olympics program during university that led me to pursue special education specifically, and since starting my career, my goal has always been to make education more accessible and inclusive for all learners.
I have been based in Bangkok, Thailand since August 2020, when I joined International School Bangkok as the Elementary Life Centered Education teacher. Before moving to Bangkok, my career began with a similar teaching position at the International School of Brussels. Now, after 8 years of working with an amazing neurodiverse population of students and some incredible educators, I am excited to be a part of the great work SENIA does around the world.
A lifelong learner myself, I am currently enrolled in a Disability Studies graduate program that elevates the often underrepresented voices of self-advocates. Outside of school and work, I love travel, food, and sports – particularly boxing and Muay Thai. I also love meeting people all over the world, so let’s connect!

Jeannie Anthony
Associate Director

Jeannie Anthony
Associate Director
Jeannie’s career in PreK-12 education spans over multiple decades as a Special Education Teacher, Elementary Principal, and Central Office Leader supporting Special Education, English as an Additional Language, Health and Counselling Services in both International and US Public Schools. Jeannie has always been drawn to working for equity, diversity and inclusion for students (ability, race, culture, language, gender, and gender identity), teachers and systems. She earned an M.S. in Special Education at Dominican University, California, USA and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Design at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA.Along with her experience and expertise in special education,
Jeannie brings her knowledge and skills as a system leader with a focus on teaching, learning and policy design and implementation. Jeannie is an independent consultant providing educational leadership coaching and consulting with schools and school systems to improve student services.
She serves as a Regional Rep for local SENIA Chapters in Europe and as a Board Member for the SENIA Europe Chapter. She is a founding Board Member of the Technology Readiness Council (TRC) and spends time on the Advisory Board of the Global Safeguarding Collaborative
Jeannie splits her time between the Seattle, Washington area and Burgundy, France. She enjoys spending time with her adult children, out of doors and traveling.

Jon Springer
Associate Director

Jon Springer
Associate Director
Jon advocates for parents of neurodiverse and disabled children at international schools. This journey began when he started a parent-to-parent support group for parents of children with additional needs at his school in December 2020 with a little over 70 parents.
Jon is an at-home dad of 2 awesome autistic sons. Jon’s wife is an international school teacher of Humanities. Jon’s sons have grown up globally since they were ages 2 and 1: in Al Ain, UAE, for 2 years; in Qingdao, China, for 3 years; and in Vienna, Austria, since August 2019.
Today, Jon is focused on advocating for parents of neurodiverse and disabled children’s access to support and education at international schools. Past experiences of Jon include being part of a 3 person team that launched the School Closure Group for Online Learning in February 2020 on Facebook to network Covid closure impacted educators (today the primary administrator remains Kirsten Durward and the group is called the Global Educator Collective; the group went from 3 members to 100,000 members in 22 days, shortly after which — unrelatedly — Jon slipped into a very severe depression that his PALSS group later helped him recover from). Jon has a Masters of Teaching (2011) in Elementary Education from University of Virginia.
Jon had a journalism career covering emerging markets in Asia (2011 to 2015) writing mostly for Forbes Asia. The journalism career began with a blog post, a hedge fund manager with a publicly listed company, and an invitation to come visit said company onsite in Mongolia. His brief journalism career led him from interviews with one of the richest men in Sri Lanka to coverage of World Toilet Day, from an article about East Timor coffee to a profile of astounding Pakistani educator Humaira Bachal, from interviewing an impact investment fund manager in Nepal to moderating a panel of hedge fund managers in Hong Kong, and so on. Along the way Jon determined plumbing might just be mankind’s most impressive invention and that his kids needed him more focused on them at home.
Jon is an active participant in Families In Global Transition (FIGT), Safe Passages Across Networks (SPAN), Expat Kids Learning Differently (a parent-only Facebook page) as well as the Parent Association of Learning Support Students (PALSS) he facilitates at his school.

Emily Simbaña
Associate Director

Emily Simbaña
Associate Director
Emily Simbaña has worked in both the states and internationally as a special educator who is dedicated to advocating for students, families and communities on inclusion for people with different abilities. Emily has her MA in Sped K-12, and BA Education & Psychology. Previously she was the Program Leader and Head of Secondary Program of Specialized Learning Support Program (SLSP) 5th – 12th grade at International School Manila.
Currently, she is at Jakarta Intercultural School as a learning support teacher, who is working with the team at JIS to expand their JIS Learning Center into the secondary schools. Both these programs that Emily has helped/helping with are programs that work with MS/HS students who have higher needs, and that require an individualized curriculum. Since ISM and she is now working alongside the JIS team and community to continue to develop and educate about creating an inclusive community.
Outside of teaching Emily enjoys spending her time surrounded by family, cooking, outside, and escaping to explore new cultures.

Josh Flosi, Ed.D.
Associate Director

Josh Flosi, Ed.D.
Associate Director
Dr. Josh Flosi has been an educator for 25 years in public, private, and international schools. He currently leads Student Support Services at the International School of Tanganyika, an inclusive school in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Before that, he spent 10 years as a school and district administrator near Portland, Oregon (USA), where he helped lead the transformation to a profoundly inclusive model of education — where all students are served in their neighborhood school and in their general education classroom. He is the co-author of Leading for All: How to Create Truly Inclusive and Excellent Schools, which tells the story of that transformation.
Josh is committed to promoting inclusive and excellent schools, believing that we all have the capacity to learn and we all have the right to belong and contribute to a community. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University and his doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Oregon.
He enjoys traveling with his family, reading, coaching soccer, and crafting homemade ice cream.

Emily Easterday
Associate Director

Emily Easterday
Associate Director
Emily serves as the School-wide Student Support Team Leader and is a Secondary Learning Support Specialist at Vientiane International School in Laos. She supports all students, honoring them as individuals and working to provide a flourishing learning environment.
Prior to living overseas in Indonesia and Japan, Emily worked in the field of student support in the United States in Illinois and Colorado. She has a BA and MA in Special Education, a MA in Teacher Leadership, and is a National Board Certified Teacher in the area of Early Childhood – Young Adulthood/Exceptional Needs.
Emily enjoys being outdoors ~ running, hiking, and camping are her favorite activities.

Heather Naro
Associate Director

Heather Naro
Associate Director
After leaving her home country of Canada, Dr. Heather Naro began her overseas teaching career in 1992 in Egypt. In addition to Cairo, she has taught PE and elementary classrooms in Beijing, China, and Riyadh Saudi Arabia.
For the past fifteen years, she has been a school administrator in Thailand, Nepal, Kazakhstan, and currently Cote d’Ivoire.
During her time overseas she has been a student advocate and has helped establish learning support programs in many of her schools. Heather firmly believes that all students can be successful given the proper conditions. She is excited to continue to support SENIA and the excellent work that they do in international schools.

Melissa Sentman
Associate Director

Melissa Sentman
Associate Director
Melissa is an international educator whose career spans seven countries over three decades. From speech-language support to early years classroom teacher, she has centered her practice on the love of language, literacy, and communication. She currently supports Reception 1 students at the Hong Kong International School. Her latest deep dive is into the power of Story Workshop and its link to the mark-making and it is a grand adventure!
Hong Kong has opened up the hiking world for Melissa, with its many trails and outdoor spirit. Melissa hikes with her 13-year-old daughter and enjoys exploring new territories

Kanako Suwa
Associate Director

Kanako Suwa
Associate Director
Kanako Suwa (she/her) is a queer Third Culture Kid working as an EAL coordinator in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Originally from Japan, she uses her experiences of growing up abroad and learning English as an additional language to connect with her students. She has a bachelor ‘s degree in bilingual education and an M.Ed in international education.
Kanako is also on the board of ELLSA, one of SENIA ‘s partner organisation, and hopes to build a bridge between special education and multilingual education so that students who are dual-identified can receive the support they need. She is also the creator of a self paced course on TCKs for international school teachers on the EduSpark platform.
She is passionate about advocating for queer students, students of colour, TCKs, and multilingual students. Her motto as a teacher is “be who you needed when you were younger” – a belief she carries into every interaction she has with students and teachers alike. Kanako is an avid reader of young adult and new adult books and posts reviews on her Instagram (@kananovels).

Shannon Raybold
Associate Director

Shannon Raybold
Associate Director
Shannon Raybold is a special educator who is passionate about including all children in international school settings. She currently is a doctorial student working on her Ed.D in Special Education Leadership. She also serves as a program administrator in the U.S. for the largest birth-5 years old (EI/ECSE) provider in her state supporting over 3,000 children and families.
Internationally, Shannon supported schools across Central and SE Asia as well as in China for Quality Schools International (QSI) by developing supports for children with special learning needs and by building teacher capacity to serve diverse learners across environments. She also founded an educational consulting firm specializing in supporting children and adults with autism. Shannon has spoken at conferences or provided training in the U.S., China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. She brings over 20 years of experience in the field and has 3 school-aged children who are each exceptional learners in their own way.
Shannon is passionate about ensuring that inclusive practices and mindsets are in place in all school settings so every child enjoys the right to be included and valued as a member of their home community.

Faith Peik Hwa Ng
Associate Director

Faith Peik Hwa Ng
Associate Director
Principal Director & Consultant Speech-Language Pathologist |
SPA (AU), APSSLH (APAC), IALP (MT), MASH (MY)
Master of Speech, Language and Communication (Advanced Studies) | City, University of London
Bachelor of Speech Pathology | Flinders University
President | Malaysian Association of Speech-Language & Hearing (MASH)
Vice President | Asia Pacific Society of Speech, Language and Hearing (APSSLH)
Associate Director | Special Education Network & Inclusion Association (SENIA)
Clinical Instructor and Supervisor | The National University of Malaysia (UKM)
Co-Founder | International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative Malaysia Reference Group (IDDSI)
Faith is a clinical consultant and certified Speech-Language Pathologist (multilingual) in Australia, Malaysia, China and other APAC countries. She specializes in child & adolescent speech, language, communication and feeding development. She is actively involved in Education, Healthcare and Social Care, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise in diagnostic assessment & therapy, telespeech consultation, parent coaching and teacher training.
As an entrepreneur and co-founder, she leads business strategy, evidence-based practice and family-centered care at Blueprinsm. With the heart and mission to serve “every family, every child”, she envisions to enable nationwide access to quality Speech-Language Pathology care.

Rachel Arnold
Associate Director

Rachel Arnold
Associate Director
Rachel Arnold currently serves as Clinical Services Director at a reputable counseling center in Seoul, South Korea. From 2018 – 2023 Rachel served international schools in Seoul in various roles such as Director of Learning Support and later, Assistant Principal. Rachel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Exceptional Student Education (K-12) and a Master’s of Education in Autism & Applied Behavior Analysis and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA).
Rachel is hopeful to continue contributing to high-quality educational opportunities for all students, both through her work at the center and her collaboration with SENIA and local international schools in Seoul.
Rachel is interested in art, technology, and fine dining.

Bahera Abbas
Associate Director

Bahera Abbas
Associate Director
Bahera Abbas is a Middle School Learning Support Teacher at the International College Beirut. She is a special education advocate and passionate about helping students with special needs to reach their goals.
She worked at the American International School of Jeddah as a High School Learning Support Teacher and then joined the Learning Support department at the International College Beirut in 2011.
Her goal is to spread awareness about inclusion; special educators are the hidden soldiers who encourage and inspire. They teach students to achieve their dreams through grit and determination. As a single mother of two lovely boys. Bahera loves to travel all around the world and learn different cultures.