Nan Sussman

Nan Sussman received a PhD. in Social and Cross-cultural Psychology, became a Professional Associate at the East-West Center in Honolulu, and completed her training at the Intercultural Communications Institute in Stanford. She has had a 30-year career in the intercultural field: as a practitioner, educator, and researcher. Her research has been featured in the LA Times, Wall St. Journal, South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), China Daily, Shanghai Daily, and Shenzhen Daily.

As a researcher, she has maintained program of research focusing on the psychological aspects of cultural transitions. She has been awarded two Fulbright Fellowships, conducting research in Japan and Hong Kong. Other research has focused on acculturation and health, and culture and nonverbal behavior. Her recent book, Return Migration and Identity: A Global Phenomenon, A Hong Kong Case, is published by Hong Kong University Press. She serves on the Board of Directors of the International Academy for Intercultural Research.

As an educator, she taught at five US and six international universities and is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology, City University of New York, Staten Island and on the doctoral faculty of the CUNY Graduate Center in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. She developed overseas study programs in five countries and served as the Director of the Center for International Service. Professor Sussman was active in the National Association for Foreign Student Affairs (NAFSA) and was Vice-chairman of the Board of the College Consortium for International Studies (CCIS).

As a practitioner, she trained Indo-chinese refugees, American executives, Nigerian trainees, American students embarking on study abroad, repatriated JET teachers, World Bank staff, foreign service officers, Chinese technicians and mid-level managers from developing countries. She worked with several NGOs in Washington DC as an intercultural advisor and trainer. She wrote and produced the videotape training series, American Social Behavior: Sources of Cultural Misunderstanding while a Senior Program Coordinator at Meridian International. She served on the Governing Board of SIETAR and won their Outstanding Interculturalist Award. She specializes in preparing people for working globally and for re-entry to their home countries.