GO CENTER - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Study Abroad & International Student Advisor at Guilford College
Daniel Diaz is the Director of Study Abroad & International Student Advisor at Guilford College. He has over 16 years of International Higher Education Administration experience that spans over 55 countries. He is an active member of NAFSA and NCAIE, where he works on initiatives that build cross-cultural engagement, transformational learning experiences, and international leadership skills. Daniel holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) in Anthropology, and an M.A.I.S. in International Higher Education Administration from East Carolina University.
As Associate Provost for International Programs, Maria leads UNC Greensboro's internationalization efforts by working closely with multiple constituents across campus to create and implement global learning opportunities for students, faculty, and staff. Prior to joining UNC Greensboro, Maria served as Executive Director in the Office of International Education and Development at Appalachian State University. Maria also served as the Director of International Programs at USC-Aiken and as Director of the Lifelong Learning Program financed by the European Union at Frederick University in Cyprus. Maria received her BA in Economics and International Studies from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and her MA and Ph.D. in International Studies from the University of South Carolina. Maria has taught numerous classes on Foreign Policy and International Relations and likes to teach college-level classes when time permits. She is a native of Cyprus and came to the US in 1994 on a Fulbright Scholarship for her college education.
A professor in Media Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Frierson recently completed an hour long documentary Fred Chappell: I am One of You Forever that aired on PBS NC in fall, 2022. He was Co-Producer on Up from the Streets (Eagle Rock Entertainment, 2020), a documentary on New Orleans music. His other documentary work includes an hour-long film documentary on New Orleans photographer Clarence John Laughlin and FBI KKK, a personal, one hour documentary about his father, Dargan Frierson, an FBI agent in Greensboro, NC, and his informant George Franklin Dorsett, the Imperial Kludd, or chaplain, of the United Klans of America.
Frierson is the author of two books: Film and Video Editing Theory: How Editing Creates Meaning and Clay Animation: American Highlights 1908 to the Present which won the McLaren-Lambart Award in 1995 for the Best Scholarly Book on Animation.
He teaches filmmaking and editing, and has produced, shot and edited short films for Nickelodeon, Children's Television Workshop, MSN Video, and AT&T Blueroom.
As a former Associate Provost for International Programs, Dr. Penelope Pynes led the internationalization efforts at UNCG. Since 1995, she has worked to promote student/faculty exchange at UNCG and in the state. She piloted the Baden-Württemberg state-to-state program, which led to the establishment of UNC's system-wide exchange program housed at UNCG. In 2005, she represented the UNC system in an administrative exchange at the Ministry of Science and Arts in Baden-Württemberg. Penelope facilitates diversity and intercultural workshops on and off campus to prepare faculty and students for successful experiences abroad. She is a former Fulbright scholar to Heidelberg, Germany, and was awarded a Rotary Club Study Exchange Scholarship to Norway. She earned her master's degree from the University of Alabama and a doctorate in Germanic linguistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Lee Todhunter has worked with the Global Opportunities Center since early 2016, having served both as a board member and then executive director, before taking some personal time and then returning as the interim director of the center. Before this, she served as director and senior international officer at the Center for Global Studies at Bennett College in Greensboro, NC. In her work at the GO Center she has been heavily involved in the leadership and implementation of the Triad Regional Export Initiative project, funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation. Lee originally comes from Newcastle, Australia and moved to North Carolina in 2007, completing her Master of Arts at UNC-Greensboro. She has traveled the globe extensively, living also in New Zealand and Japan before settling in the United States.
Job Titles:
- Lead Marketing Media Producer
- Lead Videographer
Job Titles:
- Project Coordinator ( SBTDC )
With more than 20 years of international consulting experience, Owen George specializes in helping businesses expand their presence in the global marketplace. In his counseling, he helps clients to determine export readiness, develop a strategy for exporting and international business, identify and gain access to priority export markets, harness resources to support export initiatives, and access trade finance.
Owen's background includes experiences in a broad range of industry sectors, including environmental, electronics, home furnishings, consumer goods, education, design and construction. Owen graduated from Valedictorian in Political Science from NC State University. As a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, he attended the Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia. Fluent in Spanish and Mandarin, Owen is a Certified Global Business Professional.