Our Mission:
USLA is a nonprofit devoted to providing cutting-edge education and skills training to students and working professionals.
Our Team
Owen Lombardi
President / Director/Co-founder
Nino Abralava
GALA Program Director / Co-founder
Luka Unapkoshvili
Marketing & Creative Director / Board Member / Co-Founder
Sky Cook
Logistics Coordinator
Owen Lombardi
Owen Lombardi is our Academic Director, a master teacher with dual undergraduate degrees in History and Secondary Education from Rutgers University, and a masters degree in Counseling Psychology from Naropa University.
He has taught 9th and 11th graders in Piscataway, New Jersey, and Santa Fe New Mexico, as well as adults in graduate psychology and a variety of other adult learning programs, both in-person and online, in the US and internationally.
Nino Abralava
Prof. Dr. Nino Abralava is the head of the European Language Institute and represents the USLA in Georgia. She served as a Director of the Foreign Language Center and a Head of the Academic Department at the State Medical University of Georgia between 2015-2022. She was a full Professor at the Academy of the Ministry of Interior of Georgia in 2015-2018. She was a full professor and a Head of the department of German Philology at the University of Georgia in 2007 to 2015. She is the author of numerous textbooks and scientific publications, including publications published in Germany on the ongoing reforms of Georgian education and language policy.
Prof. Nino Abralava is the organizer of several international conferences and editor of the contributions to the international conferences. To date, she has received around 20 training and international scientific grants for educational projects.
Prof. Abralava has many years of pedagogical and scientific experience in Georgia and abroad, including in the field of educational management. She is the scientific expert of numerous research projects and has supervised dissertations in Georgia and Germany. She completed her master's thesis at the University of Saarbrücken. She also worked on her doctoral thesis at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster.
Sky Cook
Sky has run logistics at various industries, from construction, landscaping and airline companies to, more recently working with immigrant and refugee children as a government contractor for the US government.
At USLA, Sky is responsible for the following:
Scheduling and Planning: Creating daily and weekly program schedules, coordinating excursions, and cultural activities.
Transportation Coordination: Arranging buses, vans, for field trips and ensuring safe travel to and from program sites.
Housing and Facilities: Managing dorm assignments
Vendor and Partner Management: Communicating with caterers, venue partners, transportation companies, and other external service providers.
Luka Unapkoshvili
As USLA’s Marketing and Creative Director, Luka Unapkoshvili leads the visual and strategic direction of the organization’s brand. A founding member of the US Leadership Academy, he plays a key role in shaping how USLA communicates its mission to inspire and empower international students through leadership and cultural exchange programs.
Luka oversees all aspects of marketing, creative strategy, and design — from developing visual branding and managing digital campaigns to producing corporate presentations and promotional materials. He also directs the creation of marketing products that highlight USLA’s international partnerships and student achievements.
Additionally, as an entrepreneur Luka is launching an art and fashion design company startup. His projects include animated feature film creations using the Unreal Engine developer platform. He also serves as a consultant for corporate presentations and marketing projects.
