Janet Gao is the Webinar Director of STAR Scholars Network. She is also a Doctoral Candidate at the George Washington University with a specialization in Higher and International Education. She received her master’s in Intercultural Communication from University of Pennsylvania. She is also a Research and Program Associate at Council of Graduate Schools in Washington DC, a previous scholar at American Institutes for Research, and a former Assistant Director of International Office at Drexel University. Janet’s research interests include college access and success, higher education finance and policy, study abroad and international mobility using both quantitative and qualitative data and methods of analysis. She is currently serving as an Assistant Editor of Higher Education Politics & Economics, and the Mentorship Chair of Study Abroad and International Student SIG of Comparative and International Education Society, where she leads monthly national webinar series that promote discussions among scholars to explore issues related to international education, study abroad, transnational collaboration of educators, and global social mobility.