Daniela Draugelis
Nominations Director
Daniela Draugelis is an
accomplished cross-cultural professional with over 20 years of
experience working with non-profits, international education, tech
startups and Fortune 500 companies, throughout the US, Africa, Middle
East, Asia and Latin America. Throughout her career and personal life,
Daniela has learned how to successfully navigate different cultures to
build positive, long-lasting relationships and develop impactful
programs that deliver results. She has a deep knowledge of the issues
and challenges affecting global businesses and is passionate about
supporting families and individuals through cross-cultural transitions.
Ms. Draugelis was born in Argentina in a family of Lithuanian
immigrants. Growing up in a multicultural, multilingual environment she
developed intercultural dexterity, constantly shifting frames and
adapting behaviors to different cultural contexts. She moved to the
United States in 1994 to join the Latin America operations of a large
multinational corporation. In addition to her extensive experience
traveling and working internationally, she lived with her family as an
expatriate in China for seven years, and in Indonesia for two years.
Since her return to the USA in 2017, she has been supporting relocating
families as an Intercultural Trainer and Destination Services
Consultant, as well as developing and delivering in-person and virtual
workshops and social events as the co-chair of the DC affiliate of
Families in Global Transition (FIGT-DC).
Ms. Draugelis holds an MBA from the Catholic University of Argentina
(UCA). She is a Certified Intercultural Trainer from the Interchange
Institute (Crossing Cultures with Competence) and has completed Purdue’s
University Cultural Intelligence (CQ) course. She is a member of
Families in Global Transition (FIGT), Society for Intercultural
Education and Research (SIETAR-DC), World Bank Family Network (WBFN), DC
Lithuanian-American Community (DCLAC) and Lithuanian Foundation (LF).
She is fluent in English, Spanish and Lithuanian and conversational in
Mandarin, and currently resides with her family in Arlington, Virginia
(USA).
Contact Daniela at nominations@figt.org.