Institute Team

Debra Giles, B.S., M.Ed.

AAIE Institute Instructor

Debra Giles has over 21 years of experience in international education. She began her teaching career in rural Kansas. Shortly thereafter, she was offered the opportunity to teach in Karachi, Pakistan. In spite of two emergency evacuations from Pakistan in four years, she fell in love with international education and knew that this is how she would spend the next several years. After teaching in Pakistan, Ms. Giles entered school administration and served schools in Nigeria, Honduras, Paraguay, and Mexico.

Ms. Giles holds a B.S. in Business and an M.S. in Education Administration from Fort Hays State University in Kansas. She has also been certified as a Board of Education trainer by the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA), the regional educational association that covers the continent. Since receiving that certification, she has the opportunity to train School Boards in Nigeria, Senegal, Niger, several schools in Honduras, and Paraguay.

Overall, Ms. Giles is a huge supporter of international schools and enjoys sharing stories about the joys and challenges of embracing other cultures. She feels that it is a privilege to have the opportunity of seeing another country and another way of life from the inside, and she enjoys preparing and encouraging others to take that first step into the unknown or pushing themselves beyond what is familiar and comfortable.

On a personal note, Ms. Giles has three children and four grandchildren who live in the United States and Taiwan. Her hobbies include traveling, reading, playing the piano, Zentangle, calligraphy, art journaling, watercolor painting, and studying Spanish. She currently lives in Queretaro, Mexico and works at the John F. Kennedy American School of Queretaro.