Speakers

Speakers at the Asian Conference on Education & International Development will provide a variety of perspectives from different academic and professional backgrounds. This page provides information about presenters. For details of featured presentations, the conference schedule and other programming, please visit the Programme page.

To be announced

  • Evangelia Chrysikou
    Evangelia Chrysikou
    University College London, United Kingdom
  • Dexter Da Silva
    Dexter Da Silva
    Keisen University, Japan
  • William C. Frick
    William C. Frick
    University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
  • Kiichi Fujiwara
    Kiichi Fujiwara
    Juntendo University, Japan
  • Héctor García
    Héctor García
    Author, Japan
  • Seoyoun Kim
    Seoyoun Kim
    University of Michigan & NACDA Program on Aging, United States
  • Kathryn M. Lavender
    Kathryn M. Lavender
    National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA), United States
  • James W. McNally
    James W. McNally
    University of Michigan & NACDA Program on Aging, United States
  • Fathali M. Moghaddam
    Fathali M. Moghaddam
    Georgetown University, United States
  • Hiroshi Ota
    Hiroshi Ota
    Hitotsubashi University, Japan
  • Yukiko Sawano
    Yukiko Sawano
    University of the Sacred Heart, Japan
  • Monty P. Satiadarma
    Monty P. Satiadarma
    Tarumanagara University, Indonesia
  • Lowell Sheppard
    Lowell Sheppard
    Never Too Late Academy & IAFOR, Japan

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At IAFOR, we are committed to delivering exceptional conferences that inspire and challenge academics and professionals from around the world. Since 2009 over 50,000 academics have chosen to present their research at our conferences. To ensure we offer the best content possible, we rely on established plenary speakers to share their insights, experience, and ideas with our diverse audience.

Excellent plenary speakers are central to our conferences, ensuring that timely, innovative and engaging content is presented to our audiences around the world. If you would like to be considered for a speaking slot at one of our conferences, please apply below.

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Previous Speakers

View details of speakers at past ACEID conferences via the links below.

ACEID2025 ACEID2024
ACEID2023 ACEID2022 ACEID2021
ACEID2020 ACEID2019 ACEID2018
ACEID2017 ACEID2016 ACEID2015
Evangelia Chrysikou
University College London, United Kingdom

Biography

Dr Evangelia Chrysikou, RIBA is Associate Professor within the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction at University College London, United Kingdom, and Founder/Programme Director of the university’s MSc Healthcare Facilities. A multi-awarded RIBA architect and healthcare planner, Dr Chrysikou has published widely and won several prestigious grants and fellowships from international organisations, including Horizon 2020, UKRI, Wellcome, British Academy, Royal Society of New Zealand, and the Sasakawa Foundation. Her research interests lie at the spectrum of inclusion in relation to design, spanning across the disciplines of built environment, health, digital technologies and the social sciences. Dr Chrysikou is a member of the National Accessibility Authority, Hellenic Republic by invitation from the Greek Prime Minister, and a member of the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Life Sciences and Healthcare Council Leadership Committee. She was the coordinator of the Environment Section of the EIPonAHA, EU, and has worked as a consultant for international government bodies such as the Japanese MOFA, Peru Reconstruction Mechanism, and the British Government for projects related to healthcare planning and architecture. She was elected Vice-President of the Urban Public Health section of EUPHA in 2018.

Keynote Presentation (2026) | Designing Care Futures: Built Environments, Health Systems, and Human–Robot Cohabitation in an Ageing World
Dexter Da Silva
Keisen University, Japan

Biography

Professor Dexter Da Silva is Professor Emeritus at Keisen University in Tokyo, Japan, where he has been teaching for 35 years. He is an Educational Psychologist who has taught at junior high school, language schools, and universities in Sydney, Australia, and at various educational institutions in Japan. He was educated at the University of Sydney, Australia (BA, Dip. Ed., MA), and the University of Western Sydney, Australia (PhD). He has presented and co-presented at conferences throughout Asia, Australia, Europe, and the United States, and published or co-published a number of books, articles, and book chapters on education-related topics. He is a past president of the Asian Psychological Association and currently a Vice-President of IAFOR. As an Educational Psychologist, he is very interested in how Artificial Intelligence will continue to be incorporated into and impact research and theory on the nature, types, and uniqueness of Human Intelligence(s).

Panel Presentation (2026) | Longevity, Happiness, and the Art of Community: Lessons from Japan and Beyond

Previous Presentations:

Panel Presentation (2024) | Communication and Education for Peace
Featured Panel (2020) | Educating Children in Vulnerable Communities
William C. Frick
University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Biography

Dr William C. Frick is currently a Professor in the College of Public Policy at the University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and a faculty developer with the Institute of Leadership in Higher Education. Previously, he was the Rainbolt Family Endowed Presidential Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education at the University of Oklahoma, United States. He is the founding director of the Center for Leadership Ethics and Change, an affiliate body of the international Consortium for the Study of Leadership and Ethics in Education (CSLEE) of the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA). Professor Frick has assumed editorial roles and been appointed to editorial boards in a number of prominent registers including, and most recently, Leadership and Policy in Schools, the Journal of Educational Administration, and the Journal of School Leadership. Prior to his higher education academic roles, Professor Frick was a practitioner in common education public schools including building and district-level administration. He has been awarded Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar and Fulbright Public Policy Fellow assignments. A doctoral graduate of The Pennsylvania State University, United States, his research interests include the philosophy of administrative leadership, school system reform within urban municipality revitalisation efforts, and broader cultural studies exploring the intersection of identity and schooling. A coauthored book with Jacqueline A. Stefkovich titled Best Interests of the Student: Applying Ethical Constructs to Legal Cases in Education (2006) is now in its third edition with Routledge. He has served in multiple officer and representative roles for national professional associations such as AERA, UCEA, and the CSLEE as well as local schools and school systems.

Featured Workshop (2026) | Navigating Academic Publishing
Kiichi Fujiwara
Juntendo University, Japan

Biography

Kiichi Fujiwara is a Professor in the Graduate School of International Liberal Arts at Juntendo University and Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo, Japan. He taught International Politics at the Graduate Schools of Law and Politics and the Graduate School of Public Policy until 2022. Professor Fujiwara founded the Institute for Future Initiatives at the University of Tokyo, a university think-tank that engages in multidisciplinary approaches to global challenges. His publications include Remembering the War (2001), A Democratic Empire (2002), Is There Really a Just War? (2003), Peace for Realists (winner of the Ishibashi Tanzan award, 2005), International Politics (2007), Conditions of War (2013), A Destabilizing World (2020), and Predatory Imperialism (forthcoming). Professor Fujiwara is a commentator on international affairs and writes a monthly column for Asahi Shinbun. He is also a film buff, and serves as a film reviewer for the NHK.

Keynote Presentation (2026) | TBA
Héctor García
Author, Japan

Biography

Héctor García was born in Spain and worked at CERN in Switzerland before moving to Japan, where he has lived for over 21 years. During his fifteen years in Tokyo’s IT industry, he wrote the international bestseller Xcentric Culture: A Geek in Japan (2008) and later The Magic of Japan: Secret Places and Life-Changing Experiences (2020). He is also the co-author of the global hit Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life (2016), which has been translated into 70 languages. Notably, Ikigai holds the distinction of being the most translated book ever originally written in Spanish. To date, he has published ten books on Japanese culture.

Panel Presentation (2026) | Longevity, Happiness, and the Art of Community: Lessons from Japan and Beyond
Seoyoun Kim
University of Michigan & NACDA Program on Aging, United States

Biography

Dr Seoyoun Kim is affiliated with ICPSR and the Population Studies Center at the Institute for Social Research within the University of Michigan, United States She is also the director of the NACDA Program on Aging. She holds a dual-title PhD in Sociology and Gerontology from Purdue University, United States. Her research lies at the intersection of social gerontology, epidemiology, multi-omics, and cardiovascular health. Dr Kim explores how social and environmental factors shape health outcomes, particularly in ageing populations. She examines the impact of paid and unpaid productive engagement on the well-being of older adults, shedding light on the social determinants of health in later life. Her research also integrates multi-omics approaches to unravel the complex interactions between genetic, epigenetic, and environmental influences on health and ageing.

Panel Presentation (2026) | Understanding Cognitive Impairment: Placing Dementia Within a Realistic Framework
Kathryn M. Lavender
National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA), United States

Biography

Kathryn Lavender is the Data Project Manager for the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA), the aging archive at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the Institute for Social Research, the University of Michigan, United States. NACDA is funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Ms Lavender helps to guide data producers on data management and data sharing in the realm of data on aging populations/gerontology; promotes secondary research resources for public use; and contributes to spreading knowledge about quality metadata and data discovery through NACDA, as well as through the DDI Alliance. Ms Lavender has been an ICPSR staff member for more than 15 years and has been managing NACDA for nearly half of that time.

Featured Workshop Presentation (2025) | Aging Data in the Digital Era: Leveraging NACDA Resources for Gerontological Research, Training, and Education

Previous Presentations

Featured Workshop Presentation (2025) | Aging Data: NACDA Resources for Gerontological Research, Training and Education
James W. McNally
University of Michigan & NACDA Program on Aging, United States

Biography

Dr James W. McNally is the Director of the NACDA Program on Aging, a data archive containing over 1,500 studies related to health and the aging life course. He is also a Senior Advisor for the National Institute on Aging (NIA), Division of Behavioral and Social Science (DBSR/ODRA). He currently does methodological research on the improvement and enhancement of secondary research data and has been cited as an expert authority on data imputation. Dr McNally has directed the NACDA Program on Aging since 1998 and has seen the archive significantly increase its holdings with a growing collection of seminal studies on the aging life course, health, retirement and international aspects of aging. He has spent much of his career addressing methodological issues with a specific focus on specialised application of incomplete or deficient data and the enhancement of secondary data for research applications. Dr McNally has also worked extensively on issues related to international aging and changing perspectives on the role of family support in the later stages of the aging life course.

Panel Presentation (2026) | Understanding Cognitive Impairment: Placing Dementia Within a Realistic Framework
Fathali M. Moghaddam
Georgetown University, United States

Biography

Dr Fathali M. Moghaddam is an award-winning professor of psychology at Georgetown University, United States. He previously worked for the United Nations and McGill University, Canada. Dr Moghaddam has published extensively on intergroup relations, the psychology of democracy and dictatorship, and subjective justice. His most recent books include Political Plasticity: The Future of Democracy and Dictatorship (2023), The Psychology of Assimilation, Multiculturalism, and Omniculturalism (2024), The Psychology of Revolution (2024), and The New Immigration Challenge: A Psychological Exploration Toward Solutions (with M. Hendricks & R. Salas Schweikart, 2026). Professor Moghaddam currently holds an h-index of 67.

Keynote Presentation (2026) | The Psychology of Democracy and Democratic Backsliding
Hiroshi Ota
Hitotsubashi University, Japan

Biography

Dr Hiroshi Ota is a Professor in the Center for General Education at Hitotsubashi University, Japan, where he serves as Director of the Hitotsubashi University Global Education Program. His research primarily focuses on higher education policies and practices related to internationalisation and international student mobility from a comparative perspective. He has more than 150 publications in both Japanese and English, including 20 book chapters published by Springer, Routledge, SAGE, Multilingual Matters, and so on. Professor Ota serves as a vice president of the Japan Association of International Student Education (JAISE). In addition, he has been a visiting scholar for the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO), a government agency that supports and promotes international education. He has also served on many selection and evaluation committees for international education and internationalisation projects organised by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in Japan and other international organisations. Professor Ota received his EdM in 2001 and a PhD. in Social Foundations of Education (Comparative and Global Studies in Education) in 2008 from the State University of New York at Buffalo, United States. He was also awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study international education administration in the United States in 1996. He was invited by the Harvard-Yenching Institute to serve as a Visiting Scholar from 2023 to 24.

Keynote Presentation (2026) | Challenges and Opportunities for the Internationalization of East Asian Higher Education in a Rapidly Changing Environment
Yukiko Sawano
University of the Sacred Heart, Japan

Biography

Dr Yukiko Sawano is currently serving as a tenured Professor in the Department of Education at the University of the Sacred Heart, Japan. Her professional background includes significant roles as a government official and specialist of overseas research for the Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT), as well as Senior Researcher at the Department of Lifelong Learning Policy Research of the National Institute for Educational Policy Research (NIER). Professor Sawano is a recognised expert in lifelong learning and comparative education, with a specific research focus on the Nordic model of lifelong learning and educational reform in post-Soviet countries.

Professor Sawano served as President of the Japan Association of Lifelong Education from 2016 to 2018, and as a member of the Lifelong Learning Subgroup of the Central Council of Educational Reform from 2019 to 2025. Currently, she serves as the Co-coordinator for Research Network 6: Learning Cities/Regions within the ASEM Lifelong Learning Hub.

Her recent publication includes Eastern Promise: New Wave Learning Cities in Japan in Edit. Seamus, OT, et.al. “Global Perspectives on Learning Cities”, Springer, 2025 (Co-author, In English), Lifelong Learning for GX and Sustainable Development in Europe, in “Bulletin of the Japan Association of Lifelong Education” No.46, 2025 (In Japanese), etc.

Panel Presentation (2026) | Longevity, Happiness, and the Art of Community: Lessons from Japan and Beyond
Monty P. Satiadarma
Tarumanagara University, Indonesia

Biography

Dr Satiadarma is a clinical psychologist who has been teaching psychology at Tarumanagara University since 1994. He was one of the founders of the Department of Psychology at Tarumanagara and served as the Dean of Psychology, Vice Rector, and Rector of the university. He earned a degree in psychology from the University of Indonesia, a degree in art therapy from Emporia State University, Kansas, a degree in family counselling from Notre Dame de Namur University, California, and a certification in clinical hypnotherapy from Irvine, California. He has published several books nationally with a focus on educational psychology and the use of music and art therapy. He provided treatment to survivors of the Indonesian tsunami through the International Red Cross and the United Nations. Dr Satiadarma is a board member and chair of the area for the International Council of Psychology and a founder and a board member of the Asian Psychology Association.

The Forum (2026) | Living Together in Disrupting Times: Community and Intergenerational Learning

Previous Presentations

IAAB Presentation (2017) | The Forgotten Indonesian Trilogy of Education
Lowell Sheppard
Never Too Late Academy & IAFOR, Japan

Biography

Mr Lowell Sheppard is an author, speaker, social entrepreneur, and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society with a lifelong commitment to social impact, ethical leadership, and exploration. He has worked extensively with established NGOs and start-ups, most notably as the Founder of HOPE International Development Agency Japan. Under his leadership, HOPE-JP has grown to rank among the top 2% of charitable organizations in Japan, achieving the prestigious nintei tax-deductible certification. Mr Sheppard has been a longtime supporter and past speaker at IAFOR Conferences. He currently serves as the organisation’s Director of Development, seeking to expand the Global Fellowship Programme and scholarship opportunities. Mr Sheppard’s passion for social and environmental improvement projects has driven his career. For over two decades, Lowell has served as an informal advisor to companies and boards around the globe.

In pursuit of adventure and deeper insights into ageing and longevity, Mr Sheppard moved onto a sailboat five years ago and has been sailing full-time around Japan, embracing the life of a digital nomad and explorer. After spending fifteen months moored and deeply immersed in the Blue Zone culture of Okinawa, Mr Sheppard set out in 2025 to revisit a journey that had first shaped his life twenty-five years earlier: chasing Japan’s cherry blossoms from south to north. What began as a seasonal passage became a year-long quest, repeatedly visiting and revisiting Japan’s key longevity hotspots—rural prefectures, islands, and communities where people continue to live long, healthy, independent lives. Between these journeys, he regularly returned to his own ‘longevity laboratory’” a remote island village where he lives and observes daily community life at close quarters, blending slow travel, field research, and lived experience.

As an author, his book Never Too Late (Lion Hudson PLC, 2005), published in four languages, became the inspiration for his latest social enterprise, the Never Too Late Academy. His most recent book, Dare to Dream, was shortlisted for the UK Business Book of the Year Award in 2023.

Panel Presentation (2026) | Longevity, Happiness, and the Art of Community: Lessons from Japan and Beyond

Previous Presentations

Featured Presentation (2020) | From South East Asian Classrooms to the Middle of the North Pacific!