Executive Committee
WACE Executive Committee Incumbents
Dr. Maurits Van Rooijen
BIO: Involvement with WACE has spanned more than two decades; hosting events, publications, symposium contributions and servicing on the executive. Currently CEO – Academic of Global University Systems and President of the University of Europe for Applied Sciences, Germany.
Co-Chair
Term: 2 years
Dr. Sampan Silapanad
BIO: Chairman of Board of Education. Board Member of The Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST). Co-Chairman, World Association for Cooperative & Work-Integrated Education (WACE).
Co-Chair (Industry)
Term: 3 years
Ms. Judie Kay
BIO: Consultant Graduate Employability at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Co founder / Past President Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN). A member of WACE since 2000 and currently WACE Vice Chair Programs & Partnerships and Chair of the WACE National Associations Committee.
Term: 3 years
Dr. Nancy Johnston
BIO: Past-President of WACE and Adjunct Faculty member of Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Education. Currently WACE Vice Chair for Charter Initiatives and member of the Transition Team
Term: 1 year (Director)
Dr. Norah McRae
BIO: Associate Provost, Cooperative and Experiential Education at the University of Waterloo. A member of WACE since 1998, and current WACE Vice-Chair, Strategic Operations and head of the WACE Secretariat, University of Waterloo, Canada
Term: 3 years
Dr. James R. Stellar
BIO: Professor of Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of Albany. A member of WACE for over 30 years and current WACE Vice-Chair Finance and Audit.
Vice-Chair finance and Audit
Term: 1 year (Director)
Ms. Keiko Saito-Miyakawa
BIO: Founding President of International Language & Culture Centre Co., Ltd. (ILCC) since 1976 and Founding President of NPO Japan Forum for Work Integrated Learning (NPO WIL, Japan) since 2003. A member of WACE since 1996, Executive Committee member since 2004.
Term: 3 years
Prof. Dr. Wichit Srisa-an
BIO: Thailand’s former Minister of Education and the Founding. He was bestowed the title ‘Father of Thai Cooperative Education’ by the Thai Government for his introduction of cooperative education to Thailand. Currently he is the President of the Thai Association for Cooperative Education (TACE).
Term: 3 Years
Dr. Axel Gerloff
BIO: Head of International Relations, Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University, Germany. A member of WACE since 2014.
Term: 1 year
Mr. Shakeel Ori
BIO: The Southern African Society for Co-operative Education (SASCE) Board Member; WACE Executive Member. Currently, Director of Co-operative Education & External Engagement, Durban University of Technology
Term: 3 years
Dr. Nagi Naganathan
BIO: Served as the Dean of Engineering for 15 years and interim President for the 2014-15 year at the University of Toledo. A member of WACE and director of the world board. Currently, President of the Oregon Institute of Technology, USA.
Term: 3 years
Dr. Zorica Pantic
BIO: Former President of Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston and the first woman engineer to lead an institute of technology in the U.S. is a member of the WACE Executive Committee.
Term: 1 year
Dr. Karsten Zegwaard
BIO: Director of Work-Integrated Learning Research at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, Editor-in-Chief for the International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning, board member of the WACE (2017-2020), and the Executive Chair of the WACE International Research Committee.
Term: 3 years
Dr. Patrice Twomey
BIO: Director of Co-operative Education and Careers at the University of Limerick. A member of WACE for over 20 years and a member of the Board of Governors for the past ten years. Dr. Twomey has co-authored a chapter recently for the WIL International Handbook.
Term: 3 years