Bio Board Members

Pia K. Schneider

CHAIR EUASA

Pia K. Schneider is a Collaborative Professor in the Departments of Art and Design and Architecture at the Iowa State University of Science and Technology and since 2007 the director of the College of Design Rome program. Originally from Switzerland, she has been trained as Architect at the ETH (Federal Institute of Technology) in Zurich and is the recipient of numerous fellowships and prizes, including an Exchange Fellowship at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, and the Rome Prize at the Swiss Academy.
Recently she published a survey on 50 Years of Growth in Study Abroad for AACUPI, the Association of American College and University Programs in Italy.

Kurt Gamerschlag

COMPTROLLER EUASA

Kurt Gamerschlag studied English & American Literature, German Literature, Philosophy and Comparative Linguistics at the University of Bonn including 2 years of doctoral research at Edinburgh University. He acted as Assistant Director of the Department of English at Bonn University until 1985, the year he was appointed founding director of the German office of the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) in Bonn with branch offices in Berlin and Frankfurt, and „Education USA“ student counselling centers also in Munich, Cologne and Leipzig. In 2003 he became the founder and managing director of an agency specializing in higher education exchange. He was Chair of AASAP e.V. Germany from 2013 to 2017. Now he is the special liaison officer of AASAP e.V. to EUASA.

Stephen Robinson

DEPUTY CHAIR EUASA

Stephen Robinson is Director and Associate Professor with Champlain College Dublin, the Irish study abroad campus of Champlain College of Burlington, Vermont, USA. British born and Canadian raised and educated, he holds a PhD from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and previously held the Chapin Chair in Geology at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. He is a co-founder and member of the board of the Association of Study Abroad Providers in Ireland (ASAPI) and Board Chair for the Irish Council of International Students (ICOS)

Alexis Phylactopoulos

BOARD MEMBER EUASA

Alexis Phylactopoulos is the President of College Year in Athens, the oldest (est. 1962) and largest study abroad program in Greece. He earned his first degree from the Law School of the University of Athens and his post-graduate degrees from Princeton University (The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs), and the University of Cambridge (Wolfson College). Before joining College Year in Athens he served as a diplomat for the Greek government in Washington, D.C. and in Mexico City. He has been directing CYA since 1986. He serves on a number of Boards of educational institutions and not-for-profit organizations.

Loren Ringer

SECRETARY/TREASURER EUASA

Loren Ringer has been in the field of international education for the last 20 years. As an administrator of study abroad programs in Brittany, Paris and Barcelona, Loren has worked closely with students as educator, mentor and guide. A dual citizen of France and the US, he enjoys helping students, faculty and staff to develop the cross-cultural skills necessary to live and work abroad and to interact with international teams. With these same skills, he applies creative solutions to the daily administration of Parsons Paris. Loren holds a PhD in French literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has published a book, numerous articles and reviews in the fields of literature, live theater performances and international education.

Gian Franco Borio

LEGAL CONSULTANT to EUASA

Gian Franco Borio is an attorney at law and former CPA, Legal Counsel to the Association of American College and University Programs in Italy and to the European Association of Study Abroad. He graduated with cum laude at the Law School of the Università degli Studi di Firenze (Florence), continued his graduate studies at SAIS of Johns Hopkins University in D.C., at the London City Poly, in Germany and in France. He served as Technical Counsel at the Italian Federation of EUCPAs (FEE) to the European Commission on Corporate Law, Tax Law, SMEs. He is a member of the Florence Bar, professional association of lawyers in Italy.