NCDA's International Student Services Committee 2026 Mini-Conference

In this episode, Melissa Venable hosts Dr. Pankaj Desai and Abby Senuty - Co-Chairs of the 2026 NCDA ISSC Mini-Conference hosted by the NCDA International Student Services Committee (ISSC). This conversation introduces the annual ISSC Mini-Conference taking place on Friday, August 7, 10:00-4:00pm CST.

Registration is free and open to all NCDA members, and attendance earns up to 5 CEs.

• Registration Form
• Information and Agenda
• Join the NCDA ISSC Committee (Interest Form)

 Resources

• ISSC and other NCDA Committees
• ISSC YouTube Channel

Learn More About Our Guests:

Dr. Pankaj Desai currently serves The Career Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as the Senior Assistant Director for Inclusion Initiatives. Multiculturalism in higher education, career education, international and first-generation student support, globalization in education, mental health and well-being, college student persistence, and student development are some of his areas of interest. Dr. Desai currently serves the NCDA International Student Services Committee as the Chair of the annual mini-conference planning committee within the ​Professional Development and Community Connections Team. Together with The Career Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Desai is the recipient of NCDA’s 2025 Diversity Initiative Award. Dr. Desai is also honored to also be a part of the 2026 cohort of the NCDA Leadership Academy.

Abby Senuty is the Director of Career Resources at Skagit Valley College and the current Co-Chair of the NCDA International Student Services Committee’s annual mini-conference. Prior to working in higher education, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer and worked in college access advising. She is passionate about access to career resources and strengths-based, collaborative approaches to career development. 

Transcript

National Career Development Association

Career Practitioner Conversations Podcast

ISSC 2026 Mini-Conference

2026 NCDA ISSC Mini-Conference Podcast Audio

[00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Melissa Venable, NCDA Director of Professional Development, and this episode is focused on the upcoming virtual mini conference coordinated by NCDA's International Student Services Committee, also known as the ISSC for short. So you may hear us refer to the acronym as we go forward.

I'm here with the co-chairs of the mini conference, Dr. Pankaj Desai, and Abby Sanuty,

great to have you both here, , to share this event. Great. Thank you so much, Melissa. First of all, uh, thanks for inviting us to this podcast. It's, , awesome to come back year after year. Uh, and also thank you for that quick introduction. Just to share a little more about myself and my affiliation with NCDA, uh, I must share that I'm a proud inductee of the NCDA Leadership Academy, and I currently serve on the International Student Services Committee, or ISSC, where I get to co-lead the annual mini [00:01:00] conference.

That's, , what we are here to talk about, as the chair of its, , planning committee alongside Abby, who's here with us. I'm excited that this is the fourth time that I've helped curate and lead the annual mini conference, and it has shaped up so well, so I'm excited to share a little more about it.

Also, starting this October, I'm excited to step into the role of the incoming co-chair for NCDA ISSC, and I'm looking forward to that

Echoing Pankaj. Thank you so much for inviting us to join you today, Melissa. , I currently serve as the director of career resources at Skagit Valley College, and I've been involved with the ISSC for a few years now. That said, this is my first year co-leading the mini-conference planning, and I will say we've been so fortunate to have Pankaj's leadership over the past four years.

He's done such a wonderful job guiding the team in developing what's really a thoughtful, well-run, and approachable event for folks to attend. Pankaj, if you would just tell us a little bit more just before we get rolling here, like what is the ISSC [00:02:00] mini-conference? Yeah. So the NCD ISSC mini-conference is a dynamic virtual event, which is built specifically for higher education career practitioners dedicated to guiding international students and the rest of the international community through today's shifting global landscape.

So the conference acts as a strategic beacon offering practical tools, intercultural advising frameworks, data-driven strategies, and essential updates on US immigration developments. So across five targeted sessions, it equips attendees with everything they need to cultivate cross-campus networks, implement cohort-based job search models, and champion equitable hiring practices for international talent.

I must also share that attendees can also earn five continuing education credits if they attend all the sessions. And the best news is that this mini-conference is free for all NCDA members. Oh, so glad you got that out right away. [00:03:00] Those are two really good things, continuing education credits and affordability, right?

And much like NCDA's Global Career Development conference we just had in Minneapolis, you've got a theme this year. So tell us about that. Yeah. So one of the most exciting things that we do is come up with a theme, think about what's happening around us, and curate it. So the theme of this year's conference is Building Together: Centering Advocacy, Community, and Adaptability, which calls on career practitioners to lead with strategic insight and creative collaboration in an ever-shifting global landscape.

So it focuses on empowering higher educational professionals to dismantle systemic hiring barriers, cultivate cross-campus support networks, and champion international students through changing policy environments. Ultimately, the theme emphasizes that driving meaningful career success for international talent requires a [00:04:00] collective adaptable approach, one which is rooted in shared advocacy, data-informed practice, and strong community building Excellent.

And Abby, tell us more about when this is actually gonna be taking place this year. Yeah, absolutely. So this year's mini-conference is on Friday, August 7th from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM Central Time. And part of the way that it's really approachable as an event is that we certainly encourage everyone to participate in the full program, but folks are also welcome to opt into individual sessions as their schedule permits if they're not able to attend every single session And what does the agenda look like?

Yeah. So I'm sure we'll have a link to the agenda in our podcast notes, but to quickly share an overview, there are five sessions. So the first session introduces a practical framework for cultivating the cross-campus work champions who advocate for international student success by addressing cultural dynamics and institutional [00:05:00] alignment gaps.

Then the second session is designed to deliver rapid high impact insights on diverse topics. So these mini sessions cover four distinct areas in a single fast-paced hour. The lineup explores navigating hidden workshop norms using something called as the RRII framework, which breaks down unwritten workplace cultural norms into four distinct observable layers.

Then you have sessions which focus on implementing community-based support models and leveraging first destination survey data to advocate for institutional resources. So then it rounds out with student-led strategies from a job search case competition that empowers international job seekers and informs campus collaboration.

So then the third session details a cohort-based group model that fosters community and accountability during the job search, complete with ready-to-use session templates and logistic plans. [00:06:00] Session four goes into a timely legal briefing from our very own attorney, Aaron Blumberg, from Fragomen, on current US immigration policy changes affecting higher education.

And finally, session five presents something called as the Launch Bridge Coach framework for practical intercultural advising on real-world challenges like networking, small talk, and imposter syndrome. So in conclusion, this year's mini conference promises to serve the diverse needs of our NCDA members working with international students.

So many great topics, really relevant, I think, at this time, and you all do su- such a great job of selecting and getting the proposals in. So thank you for this again. , Now let's kind of shift gears a little bit. Abby, I'm gonna go to you and say, so who should attend? Yeah. Absolutely, Melissa. So this event is a great fit for any career development practitioner who's interested in learning more about or engaging more deeply with international student [00:07:00] career development.

So whether that means you are brand new to supporting international students and looking to dip your tools in and get some good tools and tips, or if you already specialize in this work, you'll come away with new information and perspectives, and also some really great examples of how colleagues are innovating in this space.

Excellent. And once people get to the, the mini conference online what can they expect to take away? Are there some key benefits and outcomes that you're expecting? Yes. The list of benefits could be long, but I will keep it to a condensed, focused set. , This year, as you heard in Pankaj's overview of the agenda, we have a really interesting blend of micro and macro level strategies and interventions for supporting international students.

So by attending, folks can expect to walk away with actionable strategies to cultivate adaptability, multi-pathway career readiness, networking skills, and confidence in international students navigating today's evolving job market. Grounded in that [00:08:00] core theme of the mini conference, the event also equips practitioners with the leadership mindset and practical tools that they'll need to dismantle systemic hiring barriers, advocate for equitable opportunities, and navigate shifting policy landscapes.

And then last but not least, attendees will learn more about how to leverage creative cross-campus partnerships and community building initiatives to maximize institutional support and drive student success even within more resource-constrained environments. So I guess the last question I really have is, how do we sign up?

Absolutely. So conference registration is linked on the NCDA events page, as well as in the show notes for this podcast episode. The mini conference, as Pankaj noted, is free for all NCDA members, and if you are not yet an NCDA member, we encourage you to join for access to the event, as well as all of the other benefits of membership.

Oh, thank you so much. Let's close out Pankaj, with you, and just tell us more about the [00:09:00] committee and how folks that are listening to this episode and those who might be participating in the mini conference might get involved. Yeah, sure. First of all, I would like to say that this is a very welcoming group of people, as is the case with, uh, many , , groups of, , people within NCDA.

So this committee is dedicated to helping career practitioners and researchers who are passionate about advancing international student success and deepening a wide range of knowledge on global career development. So through dedicated teams focused on professional development, research, and maintaining a comprehensive digital resource guide, our committee actively builds community, advocates for culturally competent advising, and equips professionals with practical tools for the field.

So if anybody listening is wanting to get involved, I would invite you to join our very active LinkedIn community or fill out the ISSC interest form, which is linked right here in the podcast description, to connect with one [00:10:00] of our teams. All of you are welcome Pankaj and Abby, thank you so much for your work, uh, with the ISSC and your support of the association and , all of the work that all your colleagues in the ISSC are doing as well.

Thanks for being here today. Thank you so much for having us. Thank you. I look forward to seeing all of you folks at the mini conference. Listeners, please check the show notes for this episode. You're gonna find the registration link for the mini conference as well as a list of additional resources related to the ISSC.

Thanks again