About

International education enthusiast interested in inclusion and equity. Social justice advocate, writer, and perpetual learner.

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About Me

Dr. Lily Lopez-McGee 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.

In her current role as the director of the nationally-recognized Pickering Graduate Fellowship Program based at Howard University, Dr. Lopez-McGee manages 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. 

Dr. Lopez-McGee is a scholar, researcher, and sought-after speaker on the intersection of diversity, equity, and inclusion, international education and exchange, and careers in international affairs. A certified Intercultural Development Inventory Qualified Administrator, Dr. Lopez-McGee has also designed organizational surveys that examine how bias affects employee and student success. 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.

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, 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 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. Dr. Lopez-McGee is an International Career Advancement Program and Institute for International Public Policy Fellowship alum. She is deeply committed to equalizing access to education and increasing opportunities for young people to gain international credentials.

Skills and Expertise

Add Your Past Experiences

Director, Pickering Foreign Affairs Program at Howard University
(2018 – Present)
Oversee complete administration of the Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship Program – a nationally competitive, multi-year program funded by the Department of State and housed at the Ralph Bunche Center at Howard University.

Deputy Director, Rangel International Affairs Program at Howard University
(2016 – 2018)
Manage outreach, recruitment, and selections for the Charles B. Rangel Fellowship Program and Summer Enrichment Program housed at the Ralph Bunche Center at Howard University.

Manager at Diversity Abroad
(2012 – 2015)
• Led the planning and implementation of the annual national conference that attracts 300+ participants.
• Developed, facilitated, and coordinated on-campus diversity trainings for international education professionals.
• Organized and oversaw hiring, payroll, on-boarding, and training procedures for all staff.
• Represented Diversity Abroad at conferences, workshops, and other professional events.
• Fostered collaboration between the Diversity Network and higher education institutions/organizations within the U.S. and abroad; and, managing the consortium website, http://www.DiversityNetwork.org.
• Developed national assessment tool for study abroad offices focused on access, inclusion, and diversity.
• Managed the development and implementation of online learning modules for professionals and students.see less