Julia Gaspar-Bates, President
Julia Gaspar-Bates, M.A., is a certified cross-cultural trainer and consultant who works with individuals and groups from the U.S. and abroad to facilitate the challenges of working and communicating across cultures.

Julia brings a wealth of personal, professional, and educational experience to her work. With over 15 years experience working in international business and educational environments Julia has held positions for a variety of companies and organizations such as Michelin, UNESCO, the American Embassy of Paris, and the Center for Global Education. Her varied background includes intercultural negotiations and contracting, international market research, export sales, product development, translating and interpreting. She currently designs and delivers customized programs and seminars for executives, entrepreneurs, and educators from around the world.

Julia is also able to share her insights and expertise from a personal perspective. A bi-cultural British-American, she was born in London and grew up in the United States. With an undergraduate degree in the Romance Languages, Julia is fluent in French, Spanish, and Italian and is able to incorporate a deep understanding of the complexities of communicating across linguistic barriers into her work. She lived and worked in Paris, France for seven years, as well as in Mexico, Italy, and Switzerland and has traveled to more than 40 countries in both a personal and professional context. Her seminars are peppered with personal anecdotes sharpened from a lifetime of interacting and working with people from different cultures. Combined with her sound foundation in intercultural theory, Julia is able to connect with her clients and participants in her programs and provide a deep awareness of the “whys” behind behavior.

Julia is an adjunct professor at The George Washington University and Deputy Executive Coordinator of SIETAR (Society of Intercultural Education Training and Research) Washington DC chapter.