As PIER Manager and PIER Director for the Council on African Studies at the MacMillan Center, Maxwell Amoh oversees and coordinates the work of the PIER Directors in East Asian, European, Latin American, and Middle East Studies.

Max is a familiar presence in classrooms and school systems across Connecticut and has made presentations for professional and educational organizations, businesses and civic groups in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Indiana. The recipient of fellowships from the Connecticut Humanities Council and Fulbright fellowships to Ghana, he serves on the advisory board of the Connecticut Council for the Social Studies and as the national chairman of the outreach committee of the African Studies Association.

Originally a national of Ghana, Max holds a B.A. from the University of Ghana, an M.A. from Wesleyan University (CT) and is a Ph.D. candidate in ethnomusicology at Wesleyan. (back to top)

Brian Carter is the PIER Director for the Council on European Studies at The MacMillan Center. He directs the European Studies professional development programs for K-12 and college teachers, makes presentations to professional, business, church, and civic groups across the U.S., and is an exchange consultant for schools and the Connecticut State Department of Education. He coordinates the MacMIllan Center's High School Cooperative Language Program, and administers the European Studies Inter-University Faculty Consortium.

A sociologist specializing in Russia, Brian attended Yale (M.A., M.Phil, Ph.D.), Moscow State University, and Michigan State University (B.A.).

Brian speaks Russian and French and is a frequent visitor to Europe and the former Soviet Union. (back to top)

Elena Gibbons Serapiglia is the PIER Director for the Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies at the MacMillan Center. A trained classroom teacher, she is involved with various Pre K-12 student events, programs, and services.

After earning her undergraduate degree (B.A., Honours) in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, Elena returned to her native Connecticut, where she earned her teaching certificate and taught Spanish at Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge. She received her M.A. in Latin American & Caribbean Studies at the University of Connecticut, with a disciplinary background in history. Her final paper was entitled "Cuba's 1912 Race War: Silences in the Official Story."

Elena has traveled to many parts of Latin America, including Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. She has traveled throughout Spain, Portugal, and Andorra, and has worked in Barcelona, Spain. Elena speaks Spanish and is looking to improve her Portuguese and Catalan. (back to top)

Greta Scharnweber is PIER Director for the Council on Middle East Studies at The MacMillan Center. She organizes special events and workshops designed to better inform educators, the Yale community and the public about current issues related to the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) and its diaspora.

Greta graduated in 2001 with an M.A. from Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. She also holds an M.A. in Comparative Religion from the University of Colorado at Boulder (1999). In 1997, Greta earned her Bachelorís degree in Religion and Cultural Anthropology from Kenyon College. Her research interests have focused on popular culture, contemporary religion, and education. She is particularly involved in issues of cultural identity, including the importance of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, and language to the modern societies of the Middle East and North Africa. 

Greta speaks Arabic and Spanish, and has also studied French, KiSwahili, and Brazilian Portuguese. She has lived overseas in Egypt and Morocco, has traveled widely throughout the Middle East, East Africa, Western Europe and the United States, and has recently begun exploring Central and South America. (back to top)