Staff Biographies
Elaine Meyer-Lee, Ed.D.
Director, Center for Women's InterCultural Leadership
Assistant Professor of Education
Email: meyerlee@saintmarys.edu
Bonnie Bazata, M.S.
Associate Director, Center for Women's InterCultural Leadership
Email: bbazata@saintmarys.edu
Siqin Yang, PhD.
Assistant Director, International and Intercultural Learning
Email: syang@saintmarys.edu
Adriana Petty, B.A.
International Student and Scholar Coordinator
Email: apetty@saintmarys.edu
Linda Biggins, M.S.
Administrative Assistant
Email: cwil@saintmarys.edu
Administrative Assistant
Email: cwil@saintmarys.edu
Elaine Meyer-Lee, Ed.D.
Dr. Elaine Meyer-Lee is Director of the Center for Women’s Intercultural
Leadership (CWIL), and assistant professor of education. Her doctorate in human development
and psychology is from Harvard University’s School of Education,
where she began her studies of college student development around issues
of difference and the effects of intercultural education.
Before coming to Saint Mary's College, Dr. Meyer-Lee taught college courses in developmental psychology, psychology of women, research methods, diversity issues, and experiential learning. She also led a summer service-learning study abroad program in Honduras and served on several institutional committees on international education, affirmative action, and diversity. Her ongoing research in the field has included a post-doctoral position at Yale, a competitive research fellowship at the Harvard/Facing History Project (with principal investigator Carol Gilligan), and a position as senior researcher for a three-year comprehensive evaluation project at Cambridge College. She has been invited to give numerous talks and juried presentations and is active in national professional associations.
Earlier Dr. Meyer-Lee taught English as a New Language, worked in mental health counseling, and in adult education administration. She was profoundly affected by her own experiences living and studying in France and Haiti, and has a life-long passion for providing intercultural learning opportunities as an integral part of a liberal arts education.
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Bonnie Bazata, M.S.
Bonnie Bazata has developed CWIL's Community Connections component to create meaningful and powerful connections between Saint Mary's College and diverse women leaders in the Michiana area. These innovative programs include the Wellsprings of Wisdom conference, the Catalyst Trip, the Bridging College with Community Partnership grants, the WiLOC (Women in Leadership in Community Organizations) project, several courses, and the Women's Intercultural Leadership model. For her work, she was awarded an Indiana Torchbearer award in 2006 from the Indiana Commission for Women and in 2006 was given a community service award from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Foundation of St. Joseph County.
For the last 25 years, Bonnie has been involved in a wide range of organizations for social justice and community development. A graduate of Antioch College, she received a Watson Fellowship to study Gandhian nonviolence in England and India, and then worked in community based organizations working for peace and social justice. Later, she worked with several education programs to create success for culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged youth in Tucson, Arizona.
Her Master's is in bilingual/ multicultural education from the University of Arizona, and she also studied elementary education with Prescott College. Originally from the Michiana area, she was excited to return and join the vibrant work of CWIL at Saint Mary's College.
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Siqin Yang, Ph.D.
Alice Siqin Yang is the Assistant Director of Global Education. She is responsible for study abroad services and student travel grants. Besides supporting international student services and recruitment, she has designed a course on Chinese women and society and teaches the Chinese Mandarin course. With her background in women’s studies and international/intercultural education, she has a passion for campus diversity and internationalization.
Alice received her Ph.D. degree in Comparative and International Development Education from the University of Minnesota, where she gained intercultural training and international educational exchange skills. She helped design and manage the Beijing Summer Study Abroad Program and the Master of Law Program (LL.M.) for Chinese Lawyers in Beijing for the University of Minnesota Law School. Her dissertation research, funded by the Ford Foundation and the College of Education, was on women’s development and gender equity in Chinese higher education. She holds a master’s degree in women’s studies and has published her thesis on the internationalization and multiculturalization of women’s studies graduate programs in the United States.
Alice has established broad connections with various women’s organizations, including the International Federation of University Women. Her internship experiences at the Minnesota International Center and the American Association of University Women Minnesota helped enhance her leadership and development skills.
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Adriana Petty, B.A.
Adriana Petty is the International Student and Scholar Advisor for the Center for Women’s InterCultural Leadership (CWIL). In her role, Adriana advises the College’s international students and provides them with programming and immigration services; she supports and assists visiting scholars; and facilitates the planning and implementing of student-led programs. Adriana is a Saint Mary's College alumna 2001, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work.
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Linda Biggins, M.S.
Linda Biggins has worked at Saint Mary’s since 1994. Her
role as Administrative Assistant in the Center for Women’s InterCultural
Leadership is comprehensive: she coordinates events, calendars, and budgets
for the central administration as well as the Research and Scholarship
and International and Intercultural Learning components of CWIL. Linda received a master’s degree in secondary education from Indiana State University in Terre Haute, and has experience teaching in the classroom. In addition to her passion for education,
she also enjoys gardening.
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Pamela Blair
Pam Blair is a new addition to the CWIL staff. Her position is the administrative assistant to Bonnie Bazata, associate director of CWIL, and director of Leadership Education. Her interests lie in the social healing of our society, loving who we are, appreciating our cultural diversity, and working together to make a better world. She studied at the Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, Ohio. In her spare time she is an artist, poet, and singer.
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