Jason Hope

Director of Global Risk & Strategic Operations

Jason is a native of Louisville, KY, but he has called Lexington home for more than a decade. He holds bachelors degrees from UK in International Relations and Spanish, and a masters from UK in Educational Policy Studies & Evaluation. He also holds a graduate certificate in Emergency Management from Eastern Kentucky University. He works closely with the health and safety aspects of international education, liaises with UK’s international insurance broker, and is responsible for international crisis management. He also partners with Education Abroad in the development of faculty-directed programs and implementation of health and safety protocols, and works closely with all students petitioning to travel for UK purposes to higher-risk destinations.

He currently serves as a member of the OSAC Academia Sector Committee leadership team, as a member of the Board of Directors of PULSE, a network of international higher education risk managers throughout the U.S. and abroad, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Fulbright Association of Kentucky.

Jason has had a lifelong passion for travel. So far, he has had the opportunity to visit and/or study in 43 countries, all 50 U.S. states, and 2 U.S. territories. His best experiences abroad were in Guatemala, New Zealand and Switzerland, while he ranks New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming as his favorite U.S. destinations.

PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Panelist, “The Changing Nature of Transnational Crime and Unrest in Latin America,” Presented at the OSAC Annual Briefing, Washington, DC, November 2023.

Panelist, “Diverse Identities in the Czech Republic.” Presented at the OSAC Academia Sector Committee Fall 2023 Seminar on Health, Safety & Security, Prague, Czech Republic, October 2023.

Published Chapter: Holliday, E., Hope, J. & Potterton, A. (2022). "Bring them Home? Questioning Education Policy, Safety and Choices for Students Traveling Internationally during a Global Health Crisis. In H.D. O'Hair & M.J. O'Hair (Eds.)  Communication and Catatrophic Events: Strategic Risk and Crisis Management. Wiley Blackwell.

Presenter, Plenary Session on Crisis Management. APLU CII Summer Meeting, Bozeman, MT, June 2022.

Presenter, "Prioritizing Mental Health & Wellbeing for Faculty and Staff: Lessons from Leadership to Mitigate Burnount." Presented at the Forum on Education Abroad Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, March 2022.

Published Chapter, "Crisis Management & Communication," in M. Wiedenhoeft (Ed.) NAFSA's Guide to Education Abroad, 5th Edition. NAFSA.

Presenter, "Travel Abroad during the Pandemic: Lessons Learned." Presented at the URMIA Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, October 2021.

Presenter, "Collaborating to Support the Safe Resumption of International Travel." Presented at the URMIA Virtual Spring Conference (Online), May 2021.

Presenter, "What Do We Do Now?: Risk Assessment and Mitigation Approaches in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond." NAFSA Region VI Conference (Online), November 2020.

Republished Article: McFarland, M. & Hope, J. "Managing Fears with Effective Communication: Creating a Crisis Communication Plan that Serves All Stakeholders." (2019). In NAFSA's Toolkit for Managing in Times of Global Uncertainty (pp. 12-15). NAFSA.

Panelist, "NAFSA Government Connection: Monitoring Travel Advisories and Conditions Abroad during COVID-19," Online, August 2020

Panelist, "Practical Operations in Crisis Management" NAFSA Collegial Conversation, Online, April 2020

Published Interview, "Junior Year Abroad, with Help from Your Therapist." Published in The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 11, 2019

Presenter, "The Changing Landscape of Education Abroad Safety & Security." Presented at OSAC Academia Working Group Seminar, Lexington, KY, 2019

Published Interview, "Mental Health: At Home and Abroad." Published in International Educator. May-Jun 2019, pp. 34-43

Presenter, "Who Changed My Travel Warning?" Presented at NAFSA Annual Conference, Washington, DC, 2019

Published Article: McFarland, M. & Hope, J. "Managing Fears with Effective Communication: Creating a Crisis Communication Plan that Serves All Stakeholders." International Educator. Mar-Apr. 2019, pp. 36-37

Panelist, "Community Members Joining Faculty-Led Education Abroad Programs: Yea or Nay?" NAFSA Collegial Conversation, Online, 2019

Presenter, "Managing Education Abroad Fears with Effective Crisis Communication." NAFSA e-Learning Seminar, Online, 2019

Presenter, "Who Changed My Travel Warning?" Presented at NAFSA Region VI Conference, Columbus, OH, 2018 (Session Awarded "Best in Region")

Fulbright Recipient, U.S.-Germany International Education Administrators Program, Germany, 2018

Presenter, "Fear Management in the Midst of a Crisis: Methods for Effective Crisis Communication." Presented at NAFSA Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA, 2018

Presenter, "Empowering Students to Manage Health Abroad: Three Institutional Approaches." Presented at Forum on Education Abroad Annual Conference, Boston, MA, 2018

Published Interview, "Is Russia Really Too Risky?: Colleges Revise their Travel Risk Policies in Response to New State Department Advisories." Published in Inside Higher Ed., Online, 2018

Published Interview, "Colleges and Universities Step Up their Systematic Approaches to Risk Management." Published in International Educator: Risk Management Supplement. Jan.-Feb. 2018, pp. 5-9

Trainer, NAFSA Core Education Training Program, "Health & Safety in Education Abroad." Trained at NAFSA Region VI Conference, Louisville, KY, 2017

Presenter, "This is Work: One Institution's Approach to Education Abroad Site Visits." Presented at NAFSA Region VI Conference, Louisville, KY, 2017

Presenter, "Fear Management in the Midst of  a Crisis Abroad." Presented at NAFSA Region VI Conference, Louisville, KY, 2017

Panelist, "Institutional Liability for Personal Travel in Education Abroad Programs." NAFSA Collegial Conversation, Online, 2016

Panelist, "Crisis Communication Roundtable." Forum on Education Abroad: Standards of Good Practice Institute, Chicago, IL, 2016

Presenter, "Planning for the Unexpected: Assessing Risk & Managing Crises." Presented at NAFSA Region VI Conference, Cincinnati, OH, 2015