Andrew Gordon, CEO & Founder

Andrew Gordon is a social entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Diversity Abroad.  As an international education expert, he has written and spoken extensively on topics pertaining to access, diversity, inclusion, and equity in international education. With a passion for international education Andrew founded Diversity Abroad in 2006 with a simple vision, that the next generation of young people from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds be equipped with the skills and experience to compete in the 21st century global marketplace. Currently Andrew is responsible for the daily operations at Diversity Abroad and serves as the chief national advocate for promoting diversity and inclusive excellence within international education.  

A native of San Diego, CA, Andrew is a graduate of the University of San Francisco and studied and interned abroad in Mexico and Spain. He is fluent in Spanish, proficient in French and Portuguese and has traveled throughout Europe, South America, and parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Based on his extensive experience abroad Andrew fully appreciates the value of international education and the power it has to prepare young people for leadership in an increasingly interconnected world.

Andrew has consulted higher education institutions, non-profit and for-profit organizations, and government agencies on developing strategies for increasing access to international education for diverse, first generation and high financial need students. He is a member of NAFSA: Association of International Educators,  AIEA, EAIE, National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), and the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA). Andrew is an alumnus of INROADS and Association for the International Exchange of Students in Economics and Commerce (AIESEC).

Dr. Lily Lopez-McGee, Executive Director

Dr. Lily Lopez-McGee (she/her) has dedicated more than a decade to capacity building, diversity, equity, and inclusion within international education and exchange and U.S. national security and foreign policy. Prior to joining Diversity Abroad, Dr. Lopez-McGee served as the director of the nationally-recognized Pickering Graduate Fellowship Program based at Howard University where she managed a vital pipeline of diverse, talented U.S. diplomats. She also empowers and educates future leaders as an adjunct professor at American University’s International Teaching and Education Master’s Program. 

Prior to her work at Howard University, Dr. Lopez-McGee served as manager at Diversity Abroad where she managed the Diversity Abroad Network, a professional network of institutions of higher education, and oversaw the development of the Access, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity in International Education (AIDE) Roadmap (now the Global Equity and Inclusion Scorecard), the first assessment tool developed to evaluate diversity and inclusion efforts in study abroad offices at U.S. institutions. Dr. Lopez-McGee also previously worked at UNCF Special Programs Corporation where she worked with minority-serving institutions on capacity-building efforts related to campus internationalization and grant management. 

Dr. Lopez-McGee is a scholar, researcher, and speaker on the intersection of diversity, equity, and inclusion, international education and exchange, and careers in international affairs. Dr. Lopez-McGee has published in industry and academic journals including Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, Global Impact Exchange, and the IIE Networker. She also serves as a Co-Chair of the Global Access Pipeline and has helped coordinate the Conference on Diversity in International Affairs sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations. 

She is a graduate of the University of Washington, where she earned her bachelor’s in International Relations and master’s in Public Administration. She completed her doctoral work at George Mason University where she studied students’ perceived self-efficacy gains from study abroad. She is deeply committed to equalizing access to education and increasing opportunities for young people to gain international credentials. Dr. Lopez-McGee is based in Washington, D.C. 

Eden Taylor, Senior Coordinator for Marketing and Communications

Eden Taylor serves as the Senior Coordinator for Marketing and Communications. Prior to Diversity Abroad she served as the Senior Program Coordinator for Education Abroad at Boise State University. Her passion for international education began in 2012 when she attended Cottey College, an internationally focused women’s college in Missouri. Eden studied abroad through a direct exchange program in 2014 in Aberystwyth, Wales and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations and a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from Boise State University. Eden has 7 years of experience in international education program development, partner relations, marketing and communications, student advising, program evaluation, team building and leadership. She is passionate about creating access to global engagement opportunities for students from all backgrounds. Eden resides in her hometown of Boise, Idaho and enjoys cooking, camping, and taking her two year old German Shorthair Pointer on outdoor adventures!