Our Team

My name is Trond Petersen. I am the Director of BISP, and a Professor in the Department of Sociology and in the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and also serve as Executive Associate Dean in the College of Letters and Science. I grew up in Oslo, Norway, finished two Masters degrees at the University of Oslo and came to the United States in 1982 as a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I was previously at the Faculty in the Department of Sociology at Harvard University 1985-1988 and came to UC Berkeley in 1988. My research areas are on inequality, gender inequality, the role of family policy for equality, and quantitative methods.

It was 16 years ago that I started the BISP program, as a way to provide a unique opportunity for international students to experience the incredible courses and campus life Berkeley has to offer. It started with a group of students from Norway that we sponsored, and it now has grown tremendously in numbers and diversity to include students from many parts of the world. The hard-working BISP staff now coordinate the program and support our students. Speaking as a professor, it is wonderful to have these students in our classes and engaging in our program activities. It is truly a multi-cultural learning environment for all of our foreign visitors and UC Berkeley students, and the lives of students and Berkeley as a whole are enriched by this program.

In my spare time I like to read novels and history books, go to the Opera and the Symphony, and to travel to many corners of the world.

My name is Jenny Cornet-Carrillo and I’m the Associate Director of the Berkeley International Study Program. I’ve spent the first seven and a half years with BISP overseeing the L&S part of our program and working with campus departments and international partners around the world. Beginning in 2022 I have shifted my focus to overseeing the entire BISP team and all of our programs. I’ve been on the UC Berkeley campus since 2005, working as a graduate advisor, undergraduate advisor, career counselor, commencement pit boss, and supporting students throughout their time in Berkeley, whether that be for one semester or for many years. I am a strong advocate for studying abroad, and I came to BISP because I love the idea of bringing students to Berkeley to enhance their studies at their home institutions.

As the Assistant Director for BISP, I manage our BISP-Letters & Science program by collaborating with academic departments across campus and with international partners around the world. Prior to joining BISP, for over 15 years I guided UC Berkeley students who studied abroad in various locations around the world.

My passion for international education and advocacy for higher education access stemmed from being an immigrant and a first-generation college student. I studied abroad in Brazil and France as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley and also worked abroad in Japan and China. Study abroad provides amazing opportunities for growth, understanding and discovery and I’m honored to be a part of that journey for our students.

Hello, I’m Bridgette Lehrer. I’ve been fortunate to work in a variety of student advising and marketing/communications roles at UC Berkeley since 2007. As an art history undergraduate, I studied abroad in Florence, Italy, which greatly enhanced my academic studies and altered my views of the world. Before and after completing an M.A. in Museum Studies, I focused on marketing, communications and fundraising for both public and private sectors before transitioning to higher education. One of my biggest pleasures through this unique study abroad program is to capture and promote BISP students' diverse experiences through storytelling, including interviews, videos, social media promotions, and marketing campaigns. It is a true honor to collaborate with BISP visiting students, university and campus partners, and parents.

Hello all! My name is Shannon, and I am one of the Program Advisors. I advise BISP students and am the lead for planning our social activities and the Cultural Peer Mentors (CPM) Program. My own time studying abroad in the UK inspired my commitment to cross-cultural exchange and transformational international experiences. Before coming to UC Berkeley, I taught English language learners in Mexico, Panama, and New York City and worked at universities in China, South Korea, and Washington, D.C. I love helping visiting international students have experiences that are academically-enriching, result in meaningful friendships, and foster increased intercultural competency. 

Hello! As a BISP Program Advisor I work closely with Letters and Science students especially, and I am thrilled to be a part of this program. I have a passion for international education and cultural exchange, having studied in Spain, worked in Australia, taught in Japan, and traveled to many countries. Now I travel the world through my work with amazing international students. Prior to BISP, I facilitated international programs at Stanford and UC Davis, primarily supporting undergrads, both visitors and new freshmen. Demystifying American culture for visitors is a real joy, and as a Midwesterner, I can appreciate the cultural quirks of California, the Bay Area, and UC. My hope is that students leave BISP transformed and inspired, with new perspectives and lifelong friends. Go Bears!

Hello! My name is Marina Romani and I’ve been with the amazing BISP team since 2017, serving as an Academic Specialist and as a Program Advisor. I hold a PhD in Italian Studies with a Designated Emphasis in Film Studies from UC Berkeley, and an MA in Comparative Literature from King’s College London. My areas of specialization include cross-cultural communication, critical thinking, academic writing and research, American and European history, Italian cinema, and the politics and phenomenology of live performance. I developed and taught original curricula that integrate culture and language teaching with music and artistic performance, and I presented my original research at conferences in Europe and in the US (Yale, NYU, University of Southern California, UCLA, among others). 

I grew up in a tiny village in Southern Italy, and I’m grateful to have found another home in the Bay Area. Together with my work as a lecturer and advisor, I’m also a multimedia artist, translator, performer of opera and Afro-Caribbean music, and I serve as Resident Scholar and Expert for the UN Women’s Global Voices Film Festival.

Keila grew up in Marin County, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. She majored in French and Communications at Stanford, and then got a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Texas-Austin. She conducted a year of fieldwork with Tibetan refugees living in Northern India, an experience she wrote about in her book Echoes From Dharamsala: Music in the Life of a Tibetan Refugee Community. Keila's interest in refugees continues through her volunteer work as an English tutor for the International Rescue Society in Oakland. She has worked at UC Berkeley for 14 years, seven of those as an academic advisor with BISP and as an instructor of Sociology 198 ("Cross-Cultural Learning"). In that class, Keila uses anthropological concepts and approaches to help BISP students learn about American culture, reflect on their own cultural assumptions, and thrive at Cal.

Hi! I am Jiaying Song, an academic advisor with BISP and an instructor of Sociology 198.  I have a Ph.D in Social Science and Comparative Education from UCLA. Born in China and educated in both China and the U.S, my experience has made me a more worldly person and a compassionate educator. Our world is increasingly interconnected, as such, the greatest value of education is to cultivate citizens with global competence. At BISP, I look forward to sharing my own experience as an international student and how it shaped me to become who I am today. I hope to instill critical thinking in my students and help them become more objective and receptive to differing viewpoints.

Hello, my name is Antonella Vitale and I am an academic advisor and lecturer with the Berkeley International Studies Program (BISP). I am excited to be part of the program and team, working closely with international students to ensure that their time here at Berkeley is productive and enjoyable. As an educator for over two decades, I have a wealth of experience working with all kinds of students and have enjoyed learning with them, and the bonds that we have built over time. I have taught college history (US history, World history, Women’s history, and European history) for the past ten years. I have a PhD in Modern European History with a focus on southern Italian studies from the City University of New York, Graduate Center. My work focuses on the history of Southern Italian culture, and issues of gender equality, sexual violence and the law. I have presented my research at various conferences in the United States including at the annual meeting of the American Historical Society. I am currently working on publishing my first monograph based on my dissertation project entitled, Fuitina: Love, Sex, and Rape in Modern Italy: 1945 to the present. 

I love the experience of absorbing new perspectives, cultural insights, and styles of learning that come from working with international students. I understand the international experience firsthand, having emigrated to the United States myself as a child. English was my second language and I am the first in my family to become college educated. I look forward to guiding and inspiring students in the BISP program and teaching them more about American history and culture in comparison to their home countries and other parts of the world.