India-based Staff
Students, parents, faculty and advisors can rely on the Alliance for Global Education to provide insightful guidance and thorough support services throughout their experience. Before departure, students may contact the Alliance's India Senior Program Manager with any questions or concerns. Once students arrive overseas, the Alliance for Global Education's Resident Directors lead orientation programs and are available to students at all times for academic and personal support and practical advice. They work to enhance students' experience through planned cultural activities, lectures, field study trips, and social events.
Pune Staff
Prashant Kothadiya
Director for Institutional and Community Relations, India
A well-known development consultant and social activist, Prashant Kothadiya brings to the Alliance over 10 years of study abroad program management in India, as well as extensive experience in Indian higher education and development work with regional, national and international NGOs. A Pune native and committed international educator, Prashant is well-connected within academic, non-profit, and performing arts communities, and is responsible for gaining our students access to the best of what Pune has to offer.
Uttaraa Jadhav
Resident Director, Pune Program
Uttaraa Jadhav comes to the Alliance with extensive experience in higher education as a consultant to the University of Pune's NAAC project for Performance Excellence in Higher Education, as well as over five years of experience in study abroad management in India and a strong professional background in business administration and information technology. A Pune native, Uttaraa has strong ties to the local business, IT, and performing arts communities, and is both a capable administrator and a ready ear for student support. Together with Prashant Kothadiya, Uttaraa is committed to running a high-quality, academically rigorous program that introduces U.S. undergraduates to contemporary India though the lens of development issues, environmental studies, and public health.
Justin Scarimbolo
Assistant Resident Director, Pune Program
Justin is responsible for assisting the Resident Director in coordinating all aspects of the Pune program. He brings to the Alliance more than five years of fieldwork and study in India wholly funded by competitive awards, including a Fulbright-Hays dissertation research fellowship. A PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), Justin has extensive experience in playing the sitar and western classical guitar, and competency in several modern and archival languages of South Asia, including Marathi, Hindi, Persian, and Modi. He has taught courses in music, culture and ethnic studies at UCSB and in India at Symbiosis University’s School for Liberal Arts. As both a product and teacher of intercultural education, Justin is committed to creating a highly successful and meaningful experience for American students coming to India.
Manipal Staff
Virginia Van Dyke, Ph.D.
Resident Director, Manipal Program
Dr. Van Dyke oversees our Public Health and Indian Studies program at Manipal University. Before joining the Alliance, she served as an assistant professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, then as an adjunct instructor at the University of Washington. Her scholarly interests focus on the intersection of religion and electoral politics in the southern states of India, developed through four years of field research in India funded by competitive AIIS and Fulbright-Hays grants. With an impressive list of publications and conference presentations, and over ten years of teaching at the university level, Dr. Van Dyke will provide strong academic leadership for the program as well as a rich array of field visits and activities for our students. In addition, Dr. Van Dyke’s background makes her ideally suited to teach the Contemporary Indian Society course in Manipal. Download her full CV.
Preston Hollis
Assistant Resident Director, Manipal Program
As Assistant Resident Director, Preston facilitates student activities and field visits, and supports ongoing academic and logistical functions of the Manipal program. An alumnus of the Alliance program in Pune, he later returned to join the Pune staff as Senior Resident Alumni Advisor. A Texas native, Preston earned a BA in Economics from Southwestern University and is currently working towards a Master’s in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His interdisciplinary interest in development economics and comparative religions has led him to India on numerous occasions, and Manipal students will benefit from his prior experience advising and supporting American undergraduates as well as his rich knowledge of Indian culture.
Varanasi Staff
Lara Azzola, Ph.D.
Resident Director, Varanasi Program
A long-time resident of Varanasi, Dr. Azzola received her Ph.D. in Art History from Banaras Hindu University. Her research interests include historical iconography and Hindu symbolism in Indian visual and performing arts, and she is both a scholar and performer of Kathak dance. Most recently, Dr. Azzola has worked with American undergraduates in her role as Assistant Director for Princeton’s gap year program, run in conjunction with Where There Be Dragons, and is well connected within the academic community in Varanasi. She is fluent in English, Hindi, and Italian and is also conversant in Chinese.
