Faculty & Staff

Lisa Slavid is honored to be sailing as the Executive Dean for the Fall 2026 voyage. She’s had a career in higher education that spans over 28 years, and includes sailing on four SAS voyages, serving first as a Resident Director, twice as Dean of Students, and as Assistant Executive Dean. Her areas of expertise in higher education and beyond has been in creating safe and thriving inclusive communities, teaching and facilitation, leadership development, and strategic planning. She currently consults and facilitates on a variety of leadership topics for the non-profit, higher education, and corporate sectors. She’s passionate about creativity and innovation and finds that Semester at Sea is one of the best places to meet incredible people who want to make the world a better place.

Dean Ellie is living proof that educational travel can change your life! For the past 20 years she has taught Art History at CSU and from 2020 to 2025 served as Department Chair for Art & Art History. As a teacher and administrator, student success is her north star. While serving as Chair, she led a diverse team of educators and students through the pandemic and helped the department emerge with increased enrollment and stronger retention by supporting inclusive pedagogy and access for all students, expanding faculty mentorship, steering equitable scholarship selection practices, and increasing funding for student support. She aspires to help every member of the shipboard community experience the transformative impact of Semester at Sea’s global comparative approach to immersive learning.