Facilitators

Sophia Skaff currently serves as a Program Officer in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. In this role she oversees a number Fulbright programs and contributes to management of the Global UGRAD program. She is a big proponent of international exchange and education. She spent her junior year of university studying Spanish in Spain, spent a year in Brazil teaching English through the Fulbright Program, and two subsequent years teaching English in Chile. 

Last year, she completed her M.A. in International Affairs at American University and has a B.A. in International Relations from Hobart and William Smith Colleges. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, cooking, and playing with her dog, Dino.

Amy is the managing director and lead trainer of Equilibrium Coaching & Consulting. She works with people and organizations around the world to foster their sense of purpose and effectively leverage systems to help them be their best. Before this role, she worked for two decades at the intersection of education, international development, and activism at universities, nonprofits, and in government. She is passionate about organizational management and helping people connect with themselves and lead their teams to holistic success.

In addition to being a certified professional coach, she has a master’s degree in International Education from the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and International Studies from John Carroll University. She sits on the board of the DC-based non-profit Learning Life and has also served on advisory boards for Story District and Dagaeno School for Girls in Tanzania.

She lives in Washington, DC where she is also a yoga teacher and mother of two small humans. 

Michelle Bolourchi joined the Global UGRAD team in April 2022. She grew up in a bicultural household where her interest in international education and languages blossomed. Her first time living abroad was during her junior year in college when she had the opportunity to study in Germany. In her own words: "I am originally from Long Beach, California, so you can imagine what a difference it was for me to live in northern Germany where it rained for most of the year. Nevertheless, aside from improving my German, I was able to learn how to ride a bicycle while holding an umbrella! That came in handy when I returned as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Germany after I graduated."

Since then, Michelle has studied in South Africa and India and traveled extensively for work and fun. While she lived in India, she recruited students for New York University Abu Dhabi. She worked for the Fulbright Program when she moved to Washington, DC. In addition to her bachelor’s degree in international studies and German, she completed a master’s degree in global studies in Germany and an MPhil in sociology of education in India. She is excited to continue supporting talented students from around the world through her role with Global UGRAD.

Amy Broome joined World Learning and the Global UGRAD team in March 2021 and currently serves as a Senior Program Officer, advising students from the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. She currently lives in Austin, Texas but grew up in Vermont. Amy has a master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied Arabic and Hebrew. Her bachelor's degree is in international relations from Wheaton College in Massachusetts. 

She is very much inspired to work with World Learning because of her study abroad experiences in Beijing and Cairo and her Fulbright scholarship to Muscat, Oman. Amy’s background is in managing international exchange programs in the United States, both for high school students and J-1 work programs.

Melanie Winters is the Global UGRAD Program Officer for Sub-Saharan Africa, the South and Central Asia regions, as well as the Fulbright Commissions in Asia. She joined the World Learning team in March 2023. Originally from a small town outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, her passion for travel started at a young age as she watched her grandparents travel the world. Melanie was an exchange student in Germany in high school and at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland during her undergraduate program. 

She has a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs and has spent most of her educational and professional career focused in the international education field. She is passionate about cultural exchange and looks forward to supporting and encouraging students coming to the U.S. as well as learning from their diverse perspectives. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, camping, kayaking, playing board games, going to concerts, and spending time outdoors with her husband and dogs, Liebe and Chip.