Luiza Dreasher, Ph.D.

Assistant Dean and Director, Office of Multicultural and International Inclusion, Mitchell Hamline School of Law (Saint Paul, Minnesota)

Luiza is originally from Brazil and currently serves as an Assistant Dean and Director for Multicultural and International Inclusion at the William Mitchell College of Law in Saint Paul, MN. Before that, she served as an Academic Advisor and Multicultural Liaison Officer at Iowa State University where she worked closely with faculty, staff, advisors, and administrators to support the recruitment of underrepresented student populations, develop programs that impact student retention, and support students’ personal and professional development through curricular and co-curricular activities.

Luiza is very passionate about issues related to diversity, inclusion, and building cultural competence. Her expertise in global and domestic diversity has led to consulting jobs and invitations to develop and implement customized programs to numerous audiences, including the United States Department of Defense, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, institutions of higher education, and international educators from around the world. She has presented extensively on topics such as contrasting U.S. American values with those of other cultures, challenges and opportunities of a culturally diverse workplace, building inclusive environments, communicating effectively across cultures, resolving conflicts effectively, understanding cultural differences, the impact of nonverbal behavior in communication, understanding the cultural adjustment process, and the importance of recruiting and retaining culturally diverse students, faculty, and staff.

Her publication topics include the contributions of international students to campus diversity, the impact of demographic changes on colleges and universities, skills for working effectively across differences, and steps for developing cultural competence. Through a diversity grant, Luiza successfully led the “inclusive classrooms” project for Iowa State University. The goal of the project was to help faculty learn effective ways to positively and respectfully deal with differences in the classroom. During the training, faculty had the opportunity to learn about the needs of diverse student populations, understand the impact of cultural differences in the classroom, and develop effective teaching strategies to transform the classroom environment in order to make it more inclusive.

Luiza has international work experience in Spain and led groups of students to Brazil on several occasions. Through a project sponsored by UNESCO, she had the opportunity to work in Ukraine preparing women scientists for the new Ukrainian economy. In addition to serving as an assistant to the program director, she presented workshops on project management and intercultural communication. She has also worked with international women scientists from Ukraine, Pakistan, Botswana, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, China, Israel, Albania, Lithuania, Romania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Russia, Georgia and Colombia who were visiting the U.S. to develop their leadership and scientific skills.

Her educational accomplishments include an M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language and a Ph.D. in Higher Education with emphasis in international education. She is also a certified BMIA:tm: (Business Model of Intercultural Analysis) trainer, and an IDI (Intercultural Development Inventory) Qualified Administrator.