Intercultural Relations

Professor Meenakshi Chhabra is a graduate of the Intercultural Relations Program at Lesley University, where she also completed her Ph.D in Educational Studies with a focus on youth development in protracted conflict contexts.  As a scholar and practitioner in Peace and Conflict Studies, Meenakshi has been recognized as a Fulbright Specialist in the field. She has also been awarded two Fulbright Senior Scholarships for her research and teaching related to Peace Education. Her current research focuses on a comparative study examining teaching about historical events of conflict in India, Northern Ireland, and South Africa for which she has received a Fulbright Global Fellowship. Her research interest includes, peace education, youth leadership, and trauma and resilience, in conflict contexts. In addition to research and teaching, Meenakshi has been working with youth and educators in international conflict and post-conflict contexts.

Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Violence Against Women Initiative. 
Violence against Women: Representations, Interpretations, Explorations/Education is a call for action to put a stop to violence against women.

Dr. Vital is a core faculty member in the International Higher Education program at Lesley University. Concurrent with her doctorate degree Dr. Vital earned a graduate certificate in international development and specialized in Latin American and Caribbean studies. She writes, “my positionality as a first-generation American and daughter of Haitian immigrants has largely shaped how I view and understand the world and has proved instrumental in the academic and professional decisions I have made thus far.”

Dr. Vital’s research interests include global student access, persistence, and success in higher education; the role of higher education in society; critical reflexive practice in academia, and scholar/practitioner preparation for international engagement. She seeks to unpack challenges in marginalized communities and discover how higher education can be used as a tool for addressing those challenges. Additionally, she endeavors to learn more about others and the cultural influences that underpin their lived experiences. Thus, in her teaching practice she emphasizes the increasing interconnectedness of our global community and asks students to consider their place and role in society. She encourages students to adopt critical reflective practices to understand what influences their decisions in practice and research and asks them to contemplate their positions in a new setting to minimize their impact to the environment and those they encounter.

Dr. Vital is the Vice President for Academic Partnerships Development for the USA chapter of Le Groupe de Réflexion et d’Action pour une Haïti Nouvelle (GRAHN). Additionally, she is the Senior Instructional Advisor for The Global Citizens’ Initiative online course Fundamentals of Global Citizen Leadership for international development professionals across the globe. Dr. Vital is a reviewer for the International Journal of Doctoral Studies and the Journal for the Study of Postsecondary and Tertiary Education and is a member of the American Educational Research Association, Association for the Study of Higher Education, and the Comparative and International Education Society.

Ann Moritz is a management consultant with over 30 years of experience in HR management and training. She specializes in issues of social, racial, and economic diversity and inclusion, in communications and organizational management.  Ann is principal of Moritz Advisory Group, founded in 1989, where she has consulted to both corporate and non-profit organizations in diversity and inclusion assessment, plan development, executive coaching, communication skills, training, and team-building.  She co-designed the ongoing workshop program: Building Alliances Across Race for Women Leaders.  Ann chairs the Boston Cultural Council,  served on the Executive Committee of Commonwealth Compact, the Steering Committee of Boston Busing/Desegregation Project, and chaired the Trustee Committee on Diversity of Outward Bound/Thompson Island.  The 25 years of Gospel Night at the Boston Pops began with the initiative of a BSO Diversity Committee that she helped design.  She formerly headed Human Relations, Training and Development for the newsroom of the Boston Globe.  She also has served as Director of the Management Training Center at the Northwestern University/Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Arlene retired in May 2018 after teaching at Lesley for 23 years. Her teaching and scholarship have been focused on examining sociology and feminist theory and pedagogy from a cross-cultural perspective.

Her areas of academic focus and expertise include: sociology, qualitative methodology and ethnography, diaspora and transnationality, gender and globalization, and film and advocacy. At Lesley, she has taught the following courses: Sociology of Family Gender and Globalization Global Social Change Film, Media and Advocacy Dimensions and Methods of Cultural Exploration II. 

Arlene holds a BA from Tufts University, and a MA and PhD from the University of California Los Angeles.