Dedicated to student empowerment since 2008
Team
Next Step Connections (NEXSTEP) is led by multicultural, entrepreneurial and dedicated international education specialists from France, United States, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, India, South Korea, Thailand and Japan. We are united by shared values and a strong passion to innovate and advance the experiential learning or ‘beyond classroom’ education sector.
Jérôme Le Carrou is the founder and executive director of NEXSTEP. He has been running the organisation since 2008. Jerome is passionate about the intersection of education, technology and personal growth. He pioneered virtual internships in 2017. He is the Asia coordinator for Apm, the world’s largest leadership development organisation for French-speaking CEOs. He is also a board member of the French Tech Thailand and an Asia Specialist for IRIS, a leading French think tank on geopolitical and strategic issues. He has a B.A in Languages, Literature and Foreign Civilizations from Utah State University and Executive Education in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. He has been named by the ASIAN Network one of the 30 leaders in Asia creating change and impact.
Roderick is a Singapore national who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the National University of Singapore. Prior to joining the NSC team in 2015, Roderick worked in a number of countries in a diverse range of roles. His past work experience includes stints as a Business Development Manager at Sweden’s second-largest personal care retailer, an Investment Banking Summer Analyst at a boutique Investment Bank in New York, and a Marketing Coordinator at a Pharmaceutical company in Vietnam. Roderick also co-founded a social venture based in Hangzhou for the benefit of special needs children in China.
“My most rewarding experience was my search for the most suitable country in Emerging Asia to be based in. Unexpectedly, what started off as a search for the most suitable country turned out to be a rich journey of personal growth and discovery.”
An international education professional with a career spanning 15 years abroad designing and managing academic experiential learning programs for three of the world’s premier international education organizations has prepared Aaron (affectionately referred to as P.A by students) for his role as NEXSTEP’s Regional Director in Asia.
A native of the USA, Aaron received a B.A from the University of Hawaii Manoa in Asian Studies, specializing in Southeast Asian Studies. I spent over 4 years abroad at Mahidol University, in Thailand during both his undergraduate and graduate studies. This firsthand experience offers insight and understanding of the student experience, the process, challenges and benefits of studied abroad, especially Thailand.
He is passionate about international education and immersing students in the local culture. One of his favorite tools for immersion is developing mutually beneficial volunteering opportunities that make a difference in the host community as well as the life of NEXSTEP students.
Asking him what the most gratifying part of his career has been he said it is the opportunity to develop experiential learning programs that promote in others the same love and appreciation for Asia, that he feels in his own heart.
Jacky is the Associate Director of NEXSTEP in Hong Kong.
Studying overseas alone since he was 10 years old, Jacky has developed important problem solving, leadership, social skills, and independence at an early age. This experience forced him to discover strengths, build connections, experience teamwork, and critical thinking skills that help him to become who he is. Jacky graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Sport, and Tourism from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in the U.S.A.
Jacky is the University of Illinois representative for the Hong Kong Big Ten Network, a group formed by Hong Kong alumni of Big Ten schools from the United States. Serving as a platform for alumni to network and meet like-minded individuals, the group has been organizing volunteering, sports, and social events since 2010.
Specializing in student engagement, CV writing, and interview preparation, he has coached many students in personal and career development and placed them into reputable Hong Kong companies for over 4 years.
“My most rewarding experience was my search for the most suitable country in Emerging Asia to be based in. Unexpectedly, what started off as a search for the most suitable country turned out to be a rich journey of personal growth and discovery.”
Abha Jaiswal
Resident Director India
Abha is an experienced learning specialist skilled in managing the complete learning cycle including identifying learning needs, planning and executing experiential programs, identifying and managing learning partners, managing budget. She is also a skilled student mentor and advisor. Abha has organised numerous internships and study tours in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kerala.
Ken Ikeo
Resident Director Japan
Florensia Wiyono Daryanto
Resident Director Indonesia
Florensia joined NEXSTEP in 2012 as Shanghai Program advisor and Assistant Program Manager. She is now directing our Indonesia Office. Prior to this, she has worked in education, consulting, retail, and marketing. She graduated as an International Business Management major and has spent many years in Indonesia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and China. She is fluent in Indonesian, English, and Chinese. Outside of work, Florensia enjoys traveling, playing badminton, and living in a multicultural environment.
“Seawalker – helmet diving at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef was one of my best experiences abroad!”
Hallie hails from the United States but has been living in Korea for a decade. She have been featured on CNN, the BBC and the Samantha Brown show as an expert on trends in Seoul and travel in Korea. She started The Soul of Seoul a site to promote travel and culture in Seoul and Korea.
She has written for Forbes Travel Guide, The Korea Times and Groove Magazine. She promotes travel through an optimistic lens and shares off the beaten path places and hot spots that locals and travelers need to see in Seoul.
Dr. Noah Goldblatt has over 20 years of experience in international education, and prior to joining NEXSTEP, served as Senior International Officer and Senior Director of International Education at Champlain College. Noah has extensive experience building programs and helped bring the Champlain College study abroad participation rates to number 12 in the nation. Noah has held multiple roles within international education organizations, and previously led international service learning trips to Latin America while teaching Spanish at The White Mountain School in New Hampshire.
Noah holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Vermont and focused his research on the impact of study abroad on career outcomes. Noah also holds an MA from Dartmouth College in Globalization Studies. Noah is an active member of the NAFSA Association of International Educators and serves on the Board of the Vermont Council On World Affairs.
Noah lives with his wife and two boys in Montpelier, Vermont, and enjoys skiing, biking, yoga, and hikes with the family dog. Noah also loves to cook large meals for friends, and can often be found sailing the family boat on Lake Champlain in the summer.
Engineer by trainer and marketing by trade. Thibaut has been in marketing for more than 15 years. Early on as a developer, Thibaut has spent a lot of time trained teams, and as a marketer has trained thou thousands of sales people , other marketers as well as entrepreneurs. Thibaut has worked for startups, scalups and large companies like Nokia or Cisco. Thibaut is a mentor for may accelerators like Google for Startups, Block71, The Incubation Network, Startup SG as well as the AWS Education Accelerator “EdStart”. He is also a mentor for Singapore University of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technology University, National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University.
Thibaut is passionate about marketing, entrepreneurship and innovative ways to help youth gain confidence to take actions and solve the world’s most pressing problems. His specialties include marketing strategy, digital marketing, product marketing, psotionning and branding, product launch, inbound marketing, content strategy, social media, Saas, agile marketing.
Dexter Chiang
Resident Coordinator, Singapore
Dexter is a resident coordinator for NEXSTEP in Singapore. He is also the co-founder of rice. and the Cuble Agency, specialising in social marketing consulting. Over the years, he has frequently been invited to give career talks in schools, where he shares his entrepreneurial and media experiences with students. Dexter has coordinated many nexstep experiential learning programs in Singapore for various universities such as Western Sydney University and Hong Kong University
These experiences makes him a natural fit to continue supporting student growth in Singapore.