RDL SPEAKER SERIES
SCHEDULE 2026
June–November 2026
3 Live Sessions w/ discussion | 60 Minutes Each
A year-long extension of the Global Respectful Disruption movement
June: Lunch and Lead
June 17, 2026,
12-1PM ET w/ 30 min post session discussion
SESSION
Beyond Safe and Unsafe: Queerness, Power, and Truth in Global Education
Conversations about queerness in global education often stop at risk. This session does not.
Instead, it examines what global education gains when queerness is treated as knowledge rather than something to manage. Using Respectful Disruption Leadership, presenters explore how queer realities surface hard truths about power, mobility, belonging, and decision-making across borders.
This session centers clarity over comfort and responsibility over silence. It invites leaders to reflect on how integrity shows up when systems are designed for complexity rather than avoidance.
Session Goals
Participants will:
- Stop treating queerness as a liability and recognize it as a powerful source of global and cultural knowledge that exposes how systems really work.
- Name the power dynamics we avoid, examining how identity, borders, and belonging decide who gets to move freely, who must explain themselves, and who is rendered invisible.
- Engage in respectful disruption with integrity, grappling with what leadership demands when global education refuses simple answers or safe neutrality.
Dr. Neal J. McKinney is a multifaceted educator, scholar, and practitioner with over 10 years of higher education expertise across education abroad, career development, and college-level equity, diversity, and inclusion. Dr. McKinney has become a thought leader in the study abroad field using critical theories (e.g., critical race theory, intersectionality, critical whiteness studies) to disrupt systems of inequity in international education that disproportionately impact the success of U.S. domestic and international students of historically marginalized backgrounds.
Dr. Christina “Chris” Thompson (she/her/hers) is an award-winning international educator, leadership strategist, and justice-centered advocate. She is the Founder and Managing Director of COMPEAR Global Education Network, and the Principal Consultant of Christina Thompson Global Strategies (CTGS), where she partners with institutions and organizations worldwide to redesign global learning systems through intercultural strategy, leadership development, and human-first organizational change. With two decades of global educational experience in higher education and international education, Dr. Chris has led global programs, access initiatives, and intercultural learning efforts across public and private institutions. Her work centers on aligning institutional vision with community impact through strategic planning, curriculum design, and transformational leadership practices.
She studied abroad in Germany at the University of Mannheim, an experience that continues to shape her commitment to equitable access, intercultural learning, and globally grounded leadership. She has taught and facilitated intercultural preparation and reflective learning courses across the United States and internationally, including programs connected to the United Kingdom, Spain, China, Cyprus, The Gambia, and New Orleans.
Previously, she served as Director of Partnership Development and Inclusive Programming at Barcelona SAE, where she pioneered the nationally recognized access centered TODOS strategy. A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Dr. Chris has presented at more than 50 national and international conferences and has served on working groups for NAFSA, The Forum on Education Abroad, and CANIE. She has held leadership roles within NAFSA’s Education Abroad Knowledge Community, including Chair-Elect and past Vice Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Subcommittee, and is a longtime mentor and contributor to the field.
Her publications include contributions to The Changing Landscape of Education Abroad (CEA CAPA), Convergence of Litigation, Policy, and Standards (Forum on Education Abroad), practitioner guides published by the Institute of International Education and the AIFS Foundation, and multiple thought-leadership pieces on global learning, access, and ethical leadership.
Dr. Chris holds a Master’s degree in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Global Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and completed her EdD in Organizational Leadership and Innovation at Marymount University. Her doctoral research, To Disrupt or Not Disrupt? Redefining Equitable International Education through Respectful Disruptive Leadership, examines how respectful, human-centered disruption can transform exclusionary global systems.
At her core, Dr. Chris is a builder of bold ideas and inclusive action-oriented communities, leading with empathy, disrupting with purpose, and centering shared humanity as the foundation of global learning.
Session 2: October Speaker Series 2026
October 8, 2026.
6:00- 7:00PM ET w/ 30 min post session discussion
SESSION
Rangaranga ki te Ao: A Different Way of Knowing the World Through Indigenous Internationalisation
Rangaranga ki te Ao speaks to the act of weaving and paddling outward into the world, inviting participants to question longstanding assumptions about internationalisation and global engagement. This session explores how Indigenous principles can serve as powerful tools for reimagining global education systems, encouraging attendees to consider what relational, values-led internationalisation might truly look like. Together, we will reflect on how the strands we choose to weave—and the ways we weave them—shape the kind of world we collectively create. The session offers both inspiration and practical pathways for engaging more ethically, intentionally, and courageously within the global ecosystem.
Session Goals:
- Challenge dominant assumptions in internationalisation through Indigenous perspectives that open new pathways for global engagement.
- Center storytelling, identity, and belonging as catalysts for relational understanding and ethical practice in global education.
- Offer practical, actionable pathways to weave values-led, reciprocal approaches into the global ecosystem.
Session 3: November 2026 - GRDI Scholars Virtual Block Party
November 13, 2026
12-2:30PM ET w/ 30 min post session discussion for RDL Learning Co-hort
SESSION
GRDI Virtual Block Party and Scholar Presentations
This closing gathering brings the community together to reflect, celebrate, and look ahead. The Block Party honors the ideas, questions, and disruptions that emerged across the Speaker Series while creating space for connection, recognition, and collective imagination.
Purpose:
- Celebrate Speaker Series insights and shared learning
- Highlight GRDI scholars and participant ideas
- Share reflections and future commitments
- Formally close the 2026 Speaker Series cycle
Kory M. Saunders (she,her,hers)I am an award winning people centered, results-driven Kultural Strategist who helps organizations turn strategy into impact and sustainable change. She designs and delivers inclusive, high-impact learning opportunities for U.S. and global audiences that strengthen culture, elevate engagement, and improve how people work together.
Kory is a proud graduate of Hampton University, an HBCU (Historically Black College or University), where she earned a B.S. in Marketing and a B.A. in Spanish and also earned an M.B.A from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and an M.A in International Business with an International Marketing concentration from la Universitat de Valencia, Spain.
Known for leading through complexity and change, she builds and strengthens partnerships with stakeholders at every level to guide internal and external engagement, align people and processes, and deliver data-informed solutions tied to business and mission-driven goals.
Kory has worked in both corporate and university settings. Kory is a sought after skilled presenter and workshop facilitator. She has presented at both in person and virtual conferences. Kory is the inaugural recipient of the Go Abroad Global Respectful Disruption Leadership Award sponsored Compear Global Education Network. Kory is the creator of Kultural Kurators, a platform to amplify and uplift BIPOC folxs who have had global experiences. She is currently working at AIFS Abroad.
Dr. Christina “Chris” Thompson (she/her/hers) is an award-winning international educator, leadership strategist, and justice-centered advocate. She is the Founder and Managing Director of COMPEAR Global Education Network, and the Principal Consultant of Christina Thompson Global Strategies (CTGS), where she partners with institutions and organizations worldwide to redesign global learning systems through intercultural strategy, leadership development, and human-first organizational change. With two decades of global educational experience in higher education and international education, Dr. Chris has led global programs, access initiatives, and intercultural learning efforts across public and private institutions. Her work centers on aligning institutional vision with community impact through strategic planning, curriculum design, and transformational leadership practices.
She studied abroad in Germany at the University of Mannheim, an experience that continues to shape her commitment to equitable access, intercultural learning, and globally grounded leadership. She has taught and facilitated intercultural preparation and reflective learning courses across the United States and internationally, including programs connected to the United Kingdom, Spain, China, Cyprus, The Gambia, and New Orleans.
Previously, she served as Director of Partnership Development and Inclusive Programming at Barcelona SAE, where she pioneered the nationally recognized access centered TODOS strategy. A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Dr. Chris has presented at more than 50 national and international conferences and has served on working groups for NAFSA, The Forum on Education Abroad, and CANIE. She has held leadership roles within NAFSA’s Education Abroad Knowledge Community, including Chair-Elect and past Vice Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Subcommittee, and is a longtime mentor and contributor to the field.
Her publications include contributions to The Changing Landscape of Education Abroad (CEA CAPA), Convergence of Litigation, Policy, and Standards (Forum on Education Abroad), practitioner guides published by the Institute of International Education and the AIFS Foundation, and multiple thought-leadership pieces on global learning, access, and ethical leadership.
Dr. Chris holds a Master’s degree in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Global Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and completed her EdD in Organizational Leadership and Innovation at Marymount University. Her doctoral research, To Disrupt or Not Disrupt? Redefining Equitable International Education through Respectful Disruptive Leadership, examines how respectful, human-centered disruption can transform exclusionary global systems.
At her core, Dr. Chris is a builder of bold ideas and inclusive action-oriented communities, leading with empathy, disrupting with purpose, and centering shared humanity as the foundation of global learning.
Registration Costs
ONLY 2026 GRDS SUMMIT ATTENDEES
ComplimentaryFULL ACCESS
Early Bird
Speaker Series + RDL Learning Cohort
Early Bird Plus
INDIVIDUAL ACCESS
GeneralREGISTRATION INFO
Complimentary
$95 Value
- Available exclusively to Global Respectful Disruption Summit attendees who register during the Summit period.
- This Founders Rate recognizes early supporters of the Respectful Disruption Leadership (RDL) Speaker Series and rewards early commitment to the growing RDL community.
- We will your promo code to you when registration opens for the RDL Speakers Series
Early Bird
$75
- Available to participants who register before the series begins on Jun 17, 2026 The rate is per session thereafter.
- After the series begins, sessions may be purchased individually.
General Registration
$95
- Registration remains open for the duration of the series and closes November 13, 2026 at 12:00 PM ET.
- Participants who register after the series begins will receive access to available recordings of earlier sessions (if available) and may join live RDL Learning Cohort discussions moving forward.
Speaker Series + Global RDL Leadership Learning Cohort
Early Registration: $125 and is open through Jun 17, 2026
Access Grants
A limited number of GRDI Access Grants are available to cover the cost of registration for the Global RDL Speaker Series.
Please note that these grants apply to the Speaker Series registration only and do not cover participation in the Global RDL Leadership Learning Cohort add-on.
This option includes:
- Full participation in the Global RDL Speaker Series
• 30-minute facilitated post-session discussions
• Deeper engagement with the global RDL learning community