About FIUTS and the SUSI instructors
About the Foundation for International Understanding Through Students (FIUTS)
FIUTS is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) located close to the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington. FIUTS’s mission is to connect students with local and global communities through programs that build international awareness, cross-cultural communication and informed leadership. FIUTS is a place to meet people, share experiences, and make friends from around the world. We work with thousands of students each year, and are excited to welcome you to our community.
Be sure to explore our website to learn about the programs that we produce and read the FIUTS blog before you arrive to get a sense of who we are and what we do.
The FIUTS SUSI Staff Includes:
Era Schrepfer, Executive Director
Era joined FIUTS in 2006, and brings many years of nonprofit and international experience to her role. Era has traveled extensively in Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean and served with the US Peace Corps as a Community Agriculture Volunteer in the Dominican Republic. In addition to her role at FIUTS, she is a volunteer for Seattle Works, The Beacon Hill International School PTA, and Girl Scouts. Her interests include cross-cultural leadership development, team building, nonprofit strategy and planning, and the use of social media for social change.
Olena vlasova, Manager of Education Programs
Olena joined FIUTS in 2022 and implemented more than 20 Visiting programs in the course of 2023-2024 together with her team. Olena grew up in Ukraine and moved to Seattle in 2011. Olena worked as a Program Manager for international exchange students coming to Seattle, finding host families and supporting students during their academic year. Olena also worked as a Program leader and ESL teacher for international summer camps with students from China and Spain. Olena managed multiple student groups from Denmark, Mexico and Taiwan coming not only to Seattle, but also to LA and New York. During the pandemic Olena explored the fields of philanthropy and public higher education having worked at a small Foundation in Bellevue and University of Washington.
NADA RAMADAn, Program specialist, education programs
Born and raised in Lebanon with the heart of an adventurer, Nada moved to Washington in 2021 and joined FIUTS staff in 2022. She received her BA in Literature and TESOL certification from the American University of Beirut while working with refugees from neighboring countries to integrate into the Lebanese society. She’s lived in Lebanon her whole life, but her heart always longed to discover new places around the world. She has traveled to so many places from Europe to the Middle East to Australia and looks forward to travel all around the Americas. She spends a lot of her free time cooking, visiting museums, hiking, and playing "catch me if you can" with her puppy. She loves how Washington has been a wonderful place to fulfill her love for breathtaking sceneries.
Her interests encompass working towards social equity, broadening students' horizons to achieve greatness, community building, and change the world to the better along the way.
Learn more about the full FIUTS staff team here.