This interdisciplinary presentation will highlight the recent Fulbright-Hays experience of Salem Academy and College faculty and staff who traveled to Morocco to examine critical issues related to women’s health, leadership, and community-based care within a global context. Through site visits and conversations with local practitioners, educators, and community leaders, the team explored how cultural, social, and structural factors shape women’s access to health resources, education, and leadership opportunities. The presentation will describe where they traveled, the organizations and communities they engaged with, and the focus of their inquiry, including women’s health practices, leadership development, and models of community-centered support.
The presentation will also demonstrate how the Fulbright-Hays experience has been intentionally integrated back into the Salem community to strengthen the College’s distinctive focus on health leadership. Faculty and staff translated their learning into action through community symposiums hosted on both the Bennett College and Salem College campuses, fostering dialogue and shared learning across institutions. Insights from the experience have also been incorporated in the curriculum with the development of new courses and new units in classes and labs, enriching curricular discussions with lived examples. New research projects are in development as part of the month-long experience, contributing to a range of academic disciplines as well. Finally, co-curricular programming has included integrated communication practices learned through the Fulbright-Hays experience in Morocco.
JaNae Joyner, Vice President of Mission and Strategy and Chief of Staff
JaNae Joyner, PhD, MHA, received her PhD in Molecular Medicine in 2007 from Wake Forest University where her research focused on translational basic science, community programming, and continuing medical education (CME) for primary care physicians related to hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. After receiving her master’s in healthcare administration (MHA; Winston Salem State, 2014), Dr. Joyner transitioned to a role as Program Director of Academic Affairs/MD Program at Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSOM). In 2017, she continued her career journey at WFUSOM as the Director of Healthcare Education & Innovation where she held operational and curricular innovation responsibilities, achieving two national experiential learning accreditations by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) and the American College of Surgeons (ACS).
Prior to joining Salem Academy and College, Dr. Joyner served as Associate Vice President and Assistant Dean for WFUSOM and Atrium Health serving areas of curriculum experience and support. Her responsibilities included senior leadership for the Center for Experiential and Applied Learning (CEAL), the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Research and Learning (CERTL), which includes instructional design/distance education, and Coy Carpenter Library. Currently, Dr. Joyner serves as Vice President of Mission and Strategy and Chief of Staff in the President’s Office at Salem Academy and College, Director of the RISE Leadership Program and Director of the Salem Scholars Program. Dr. Joyner has been honored to attend epidemiology and leadership programs at Johns Hopkins and Harvard Business School. She has two post-graduate certificates from the Kenan Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in Management and Business Acumen and has completed Lean Six Sigma Green Belt training. Dr. Joyner currently serves on the Board of Directors for the REACH Women’s Network and co-chair of the 2026 REACH Women’s Network Annual Conference.
Savitha Krishna, Associate Professor of Biology
Dr. Savitha Krishna, has over 20 years of undergraduate teaching and research experience in Biology. She enjoys teaching and interacting with students inside and outside of the classroom where she integrates her broad research interests in biological concepts focused on anatomy, physiology, microbiology and health related topics. Her own research focuses on a range of public health topics like supplementary medicines and their effect on human health. Her past research focused on vector borne diseases, physiology of e-cigarettes, and antimicrobial activities of herbal medicines. Her most recent research expedition included the Fulbright-Hayes trip to Morocco, where she learned about women’s role in public health (formal and informal roles) and how they are contributing to community health. She wants to use those experiences in classroom teaching when she interacts with many international students by expanding her own global knowledge about public health practices in one of the African sub- continents. She immersed herself in experiential learning experiencing different culture, language and women empowerment perspectives by travelling with a team of academicians.
Katie Manthey, Associate Professor of English and Writing Studies
Edyta Oczkowicz, Professor of English
Charlotte Vail, Assistant Professor of Leadership
Charlotte Maheu Vail, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Leadership and Leadership Program Director at Salem College. For over 20 years, Dr. Vail has worked under Academic Affairs and always in partnership with Student Affairs at Tulane University, the University of New Orleans, and currently, at Salem College. Using an interdisciplinary lens and firmly grounded in the liberal arts, her teaching and research interests include gender, leadership, campus cultures, epistemology, the history of American higher education, and health equity. At Salem, she teaches courses on leadership and gender in relation to health where she challenges students to examine relevant questions and problems through a range of disciplinary lenses. Before coming to Salem College, Dr. Vail served as Associate Dean and Honors Program Director at Tulane University. In that role, she taught epistemology and research methods courses, oversaw a robust fellowships advising program, facilitated undergraduate research programs, and coordinated with Residence Life on the Honors living-learning experience. Previous to that appointment, Dr. Vail was the founding director of the Newcomb Scholars Program for academically ambitious undergraduate women leaders at Tulane. She also worked with faculty and administration at Tulane to design and develop the Newcomb Institute, the erstwhile women’s coordinate college, after Hurricane Katrina. Dr. Vail earned her PhD in Higher Education Administration from the University of New Orleans.
Jamila Young, Assistant Professor Health Law and Policy