Office of Global Engagement

Asabe oversees Brown’s global strategic priorities and international academic initiatives and partnerships both on campus and overseas. She is responsible for developing and coordinating Brown’s diversity and inclusion plan for internationalization. In this capacity, she leads Global Brown’s reporting offices, including the Office of Global Engagement (OGE), Global Programs and Partnerships (GPP) and Office of International Students and Scholar Services (OISSS). Dr. Poloma is also the director of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program, a prestigious fellowship with the goal of increasing the number of students from historically underrepresented groups who pursue careers in the professoriate.

Prior to joining the Provost’s Office, Dr. Poloma served as Associate Dean of the College for International Students with responsibilities for academic advising, curriculum development and professional development opportunities, and inclusive support for Brown’s international undergraduate students and visiting exchange students. Before coming to Brown, Dr. Poloma was the Executive Director of the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers at Phillips Academy Andover, program staff at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and legislative policy staff aide at Hampton Roads Refugee and Immigration Services. 

She earned her BA in Political Science from Hampton University, MA in International Relations from Old Dominion University, MS in Management from Columbia University, and Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. As a researcher, her scholarship and publications focus on critical internationalization studies, and race, equity and education in the U.S. and transnational contexts. She has taught secondary school, undergraduate and graduate-level courses on globalization and higher education, gender and leadership studies, and global inclusion and social development.