Our Leadership
Chairwoman - Sofia Martin, CMP, DES, CCTP
Sofia Martin is a co-founder and Chairwoman of Lessons from Abroad Chicago.
She’s been involved with LFA since 2016 and fell in love with traveling on an Explorica abroad program in 2006. Since then she’s traveled to over 20 countries, and counting!
During the week, she’s the Meeting and Transportation Specialist at Rotary International working to bring its’ members together in cities around the globe. She’s also the Chicago Chapter Director for Wanderful, a global community who support and encourage female travel.
Sofia holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Pepperdine University and is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), Certified Culinary Travel Professional (CCTP), and Digital Event Strategist (DES).
President - Alma Sandoval
Alma Sandoval is the founding President for Lessons from Abroad Chicago. She has been involved with LFA since 2016 in various roles from volunteer to planning committee member to more recently chairing the onsite committee for the annual conference.
Alma’s study abroad experience in Madrid, Spain ignited a passion to help more students have transformative experiences like hers and led her to a career in the field. She has been working in the education abroad field for a little over 10 years and is currently a Study Abroad Advisor & Technology Solutions Manager at DePaul University.
She holds a Master of Science in Human-Computer Interaction and Bachelor of Science in Business from DePaul University.
Vice President - Alyson Zimbler
Alyson Zimbler is the founding Vice President of Lessons From Abroad Chicago.
She has been involved with Lessons From Abroad since 2015, where she started with Lessons From Abroad DMV and after moving to Chicago in 2017 started to become actively involved with Lessons From Abroad Chicago.
For her day job, she is a Product Manager for Peapod Digital Labs in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to this role, she spent over 10 years in the International Education space working first with USAID, then the Department of State Education and Cultural Affairs Bureau before moving into the private exchange space at IES Abroad.
Alyson has traveled and worked in over 50 countries and loves meeting with LFA students who have studied abroad and hearing about their biggest culture shock.
Secretary - Hannah DeMilta
Hannah has been involved with Lessons from Abroad Chicago since 2014. She previously volunteered as marketing chair and conference co-chair for the annual conference and now is a member of the current board and organizing team.
She studied abroad in Australia as a student and was inspired to move to Sydney after graduation to pursue her career in marketing. After four years she returned to the U.S. and has spent the last 10 years in International Education. She is currently Head of Community at Sage Corps, helping students intern at global startups.
Hannah is a graduate of Otterbein University where she majored in Public Relations with a Deaf Culture and Language minor.
TreAsurer - Lily Andrules
Lily Andrules is a co-founder and Treasurer for Lessons from Abroad Chicago.
She has been involved in LFA since 2015. For her day job, she is a Regional Director for The Education Abroad Network (TEAN) and International Studies Abroad (ISA) based in Chicago, Illinois.
Prior to this role she spent three and a half years on the TEAN program team working with students traveling to New Zealand and China. In her current role she works with universities across Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Pennslyvania. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Temple University where she worked as a Program Assistant at Study Away in Klein College.
She is an alumna of NAFSA Academy Class 14, a NAFSA Trainer Corps member, and has been the International Educators of Illinois Education Abroad representative since 2019.
Vice President of Marketing & Outreach -
Katie Rooney, M.Ed.
Katie got involved with Lessons from Abroad Chicago in 2016 and was immediately hooked.
Beginning as a member of the marketing committee for the annual conference and eventually the marketing chair, she now serves as the Vice President for Marketing & Outreach on the board.
She discovered her love of international education during her undergraduate study abroad experience, when she spent a year studying in Innsbruck, Austria and did a summer internship in Mannheim, Germany. Before she began her master's program, she also spent 4 months as an au pair in Matrei in Osttirol, Austria. She's traveled to 31 countries so far and isn't planning to stop anytime soon!
Katie is a Product Marketing Manager at Meta, having previously spent over 8 years working in international education, working at The Education Abroad Network, Loyola University Chicago, IES Abroad, and Semester at Sea. She holds a Master of Education in Higher Education Administration from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts in German Language & Literature from the University of Notre Dame.