Global Citizenship Faculty

Sheetal Shah, PhD, is the academic director at Webster Leiden Campus, Webster University. As an educator and change maker at heart, she is a psychologist with a global orientation and has had the privilege of applying most psychological theories to different contexts in the real world, for example, education, public health, leadership, global citizenship and grassroots-level work.

Shah specializes in the field of counseling for chronic illnesses and trauma. Her research interests are focused in the field of modern-day slavery and human trafficking. In 2012, she founded the Bijlmer Project, a research project investigating the needs of victims of human trafficking, and now volunteers with the intervention phase of the project, Bridge2Hope that addresses the psychosocial and vocational needs of sexually trafficked women and men in the European Union. This project has also been a successful experiential learning component for many courses that are taught in both the psychology and global citizenship programs at Webster’s Leiden campus.

Part of Shah’s philosophy of teaching has been to connect students to real-world problems, or what she calls the "classroom outdoors" or "classroom in the community" format. This approach focuses on using experiential learning components in the field to build on the theoretical underpinnings that students learn in the classroom. Having studied both in India and the U.K., and having worked with an American educational system within a Dutch/European setting, her familiarity with diverse curricula has helped her understand and effectively respond to the evolving needs and dynamics of the international student profile that universities cater to as part of their global network.

Alexandra Arshanskaya is a visual thinker, visual artist, performer, visual design professional and teacher with a background in science and finance. Her professional practice includes painting, drawing, performance, digital art, photography, videography, graphic design, illustrations and interdisciplinary projects. Besides lecturing in the Media Department at Webster University Leiden, Arshanskaya gives drawing and painting lessons and offers workshops in various visual techniques. Also, she maintains visualizations and visual coaching during conferences, seminars and business meetings.

Arshanskaya obtained a BA from the Royal Academy of Art (The Hague, The Netherlands) in 2012 and then went on to study exact sciences at the Saint Petersburg State University, Russia, completing her MS degree in Mathematical Economics. Since 2006, she has been exhibiting, performing and collaborating on different visual projects in London, Berlin, St. Petersburg (Russia) and throughout the Netherlands.

Alexandra Arshanskaya on LinkedIn

Allison Kirk, PhD, is a Canadian linguist and English instructor. She obtained her doctorate degree from Leiden University Center for Linguistics in 2012, with specialization in word order and information structure in Old Greek. Kirk has been teaching at Webster Leiden Campus since 2013, as well as coordinating the Writing Center. She also teaches at Utrecht University in the department of English Language and Culture. Allison teaches a variety of courses in English linguistics, as well as English academic writing. Her research interests include nominal and clausal syntax of Indo-European languages, as well as of Iroquoian and Algonquian languages spoken in Canada.

Piotr Perczynski, PhD, earned his graduate degrees in International Relations and Political Science from Warsaw University and was awarded scholarships at Oxford University, Leiden University and University of Amsterdam. He was a postdoctoral researcher on political theory at Leiden University (1998-2001) and senior lecturer at the European Institute of Public Administration (2006-2009). He has also served as a head of Political Cabinet of the deputy prime minister, as a national coordinator for Performance Budget (statutory authority) and a vice-ambassador of Poland to the Netherlands (2012-2016). Currently, he is a lecturer on politics and international relations and is doing research on the work of Machiavelli and Castiglione.

Carlos Roos, PhD, is a lecturer with seven-plus years of experience teaching core curriculum, elective and mandatory courses in the humanities and the social sciences, with a focus on the arts. His teaching at Webster covers areas such as media and communication, art as social practice, and cultural studies. Roos has a master's in Philosophy of Art and a PhD in Creative and Performing Arts, both from Leiden University. Relevant publications include “A metaphysical model of communication: With examples from The Gold Rush” (2019) and “Lost performance and short film: Behrupiya on the stages of global capitalism” (2018). Roos is the executive editor of Empedocles European Journal for the Philosophy of Communication.

Anke Schüttemeyer is a social and economic geographer, sustainability consultant for SME and senior adjunct faculty member of Webster Leiden campus. She obtained her doctoral degree from the University of Bonn with a thesis on sustainable urban development in Sydney, Australia, and has worked at several universities in Germany (Bonn, Bamberg, Cologne). Schüttemeyer has received awards for excellent teaching as well as for her doctoral thesis. She is currently involved in local (Dutch) sustainability networks and initiatives as well as international research projects on sustainability and transition.

Jonathan Talbott is a communications advisor with a specialty in spoken communication and a background in the performing arts.

“I started out in business with a plan to help presenters eliminate ‘Death by PowerPoint,’ but it has gotten a little out of hand. The presenting work led to coaching TEDx talks. I’ve now assisted in the creation of more than 200 of those. Before I knew it, I was helping people and organizations with giving pitches, preparing for panel discussions, focusing their small talk at events, planning negotiation communication and practicing interviews. I spend a fair amount of time talking about goals, strategy and planning, particularly with regard to emotional connection with audiences. I also work with lots of startups on market validation, which really means asking good questions and carefully listening to the answers.”

Talbott is a regular guest lecturer on communications skills at the Delft University of Technology, Utrecht University and Erasmus University.

Bob Zevering studied Dutch at the Free University in Amsterdam where he received his MA in Arts (Dutch language and culture). He continued his studies at the Free University with an MA in Education.

With his company, Learn the Language, he has provided and arranged language and culture courses for middle and higher management at companies since 1999. He also set up several combined language and culture programs for talented refugees/"statushouders."

Next to his regular company courses, he also coaches cast members of big musicals like Billy Elliot, The Lion King, Anastasia and Tina Turner. He helps the (international) performers with their language skills and makes sure that the rhythm, pronunciation and intonation of their lines are how they should be.