2025 institute staff
Explore the skilled team driving the Institute at Purdue University, leading the way in international development and collaborative strategy. See how their expertise and leadership are turning global challenges into chances for meaningful change, making this resource crucial for anyone interested in the latest insights and partnerships in international development and strategy.

Gary Burniske
Gary Burniske is a specialist in international relief and development, with a technical focus on food security, sustainable agriculture, forestry and natural resource management. He is currently the Assistant Director for Program Development and the Academic Director for the Mandela Washington Fellows Program. Burniske works with Purdue’s faculty and scientists to take a multi-disciplinary approach to tackling global challenges affecting agricultural supply chains and food security. He develops research, educational and outreach international agriculture programs in partnership with research institutions, universities, NGOs and businesses in lower- and middle-income countries. He also serves as Co-PI on several projects in Latin America, Asia and Africa.
Mr. Burniske has 35 years of international experience covering over 50 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Former Soviet Union. He has held senior level technical and managerial positions with humanitarian organizations and international public institutions. Before joining Purdue, Mr. Burniske served as Country Director for Mercy Corps in Colombia and Tajikistan, and Country Director for the Institute for Sustainable Communities in Russia. He worked as Regional Technical Advisor in Agriculture and Natural Resources with CARE covering 25 countries in Asia and Latin America. Mr. Burniske headed the International Tropical Timber Organization’s conservation efforts globally, and was Principal Technical Advisor to the Nicaraguan Forest Service with a leading role in drafting national forest policies and legislation.
Mr. Burniske’s notable accomplishments include the design and management of Mercy Corp’s regional flagship program for Latin America utilizing alternative dispute resolution to resolve land conflicts on two million acres of Afro-descendent and indigenous communal land in the Darien Gap region of Colombia. In Tajikistan, he led the transformation of a small Tajik NGO, the National Association of Business Women into the largest microcredit provider in Tajikistan. Mr. Burniske also has a successful track record in raising funds from bilateral and multi-lateral donors as well as the private sector.
Mr. Burniske holds an MS in Forest Economics and a BS in Natural Resources Management, both from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He is fluent in Spanish, Russian, Thai and Arabic, and conversational in Portuguese.
Lonni Kucik

Tami Sells
Tami has spent the last 11 years providing support in an international programs office at Purdue. During that time she has developed a love and passion for all things international. When the opportunity came to move to another international office on campus she leaped without hesitation. She has traveled with faculty and students, hosted international scholars in her home, and took on the role of “mom” to many international students on campus. She looks forward to many more years in this arena.
On a personal note, she has been married to the love of her life for 35 years, she has 4 adult children and 5 grandchildren who are the light of her life.

Shawn Farrington
Shawn is a Senior Lecturer in the Polytechnic Institute at Purdue University. His main responsibility is to direct and teach the core Design Thinking course that teaches nearly 1,500 students a year how to solve critical problems using a human-centered approach. As coordinator, he leads a team of 20 graduate student instructors, graders and undergraduate teaching assistants. He mentors his team on proper pedagogy, various instructional strategies, sound assessment techniques, and positive teacher-student interactions. Additionally, he is an instructor for the Designing Technology for People course as part of the Design & Innovation minor and had taught courses for pre-service Engineering/Technology teachers. In his role, Shawn has also developed graduate student evaluation criteria for the Graduate School, implemented Service Learning in his Design Thinking course, and co-created the Design & Innovation competition that awards over $10,000 per semester to winning design teams.
Prior to his Purdue career, Shawn was an Engineering/Technology high school teacher, focusing on design, manufacturing, and construction courses. With that, he mentored young leaders through the Rotary Club. As part of the Rotary Club, Shawn led leadership events for the top student leaders at the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) at Camp Tecumseh YMCA in Brookston, Indiana.
In his personal life, Shawn has held various leadership positions, including being an Elder and President of the congregation for his church, Grace Lutheran Church in Lafayette, IN. He and his wife have three young kids – a 2 year-old daughter and twin 9-month old boys that keep them both quite busy.
Shawn is pursuing a PhD in Learning Design & Technology and holds a masters and bachelors in Engineering/Technology Teacher Education, all from Purdue University!
2025 institute steering committee
Heidi Arola
Diedonne Baributsa

Christian Butzke

Heather Goodwin

H. Parker

Evan Rocheford
Torbert Rocheford
