In Conversation with Heidi Buffington | Saint Louis University – Madrid – Edu Unlocked Podcast

Heidi Buffington

Guest

Heidi Buffington serves as the Director of Admissions at Saint Louis University – Madrid Campus (SLU-Madrid), where she leads a global admissions strategy focused on expanding access to transformative international education. With over 20 years of higher education experience, Heidi has been a driving force behind SLU-Madrid’s enrollment growth and reputation as a world-class destination for global learning.
A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, Heidi’s own international journey began as an undergraduate at the College of Wooster, where she majored in Biology and Spanish and studied abroad in Spain—an experience that shaped her lifelong passion for international education. After earning a Master of Arts in International Studies in Spain, she joined SLU-Madrid in 2004 as the U.S. Study Abroad Coordinator, later serving as International Admissions Counselor and Graduate Admissions Coordinator for students from the U.S. and Western Europe. In 2016, she became Director of Admissions, where she continues to help students pursue life-changing global education experiences similar to her own.
As a strategic enrollment management leader, Heidi has developed and implemented two five-year strategic plans that helped grow SLU-Madrid’s enrollment by 100% in eight years. She is recognized for her ability to build collaborative teams, design data-driven recruitment strategies, and cultivate relationships across education, government, and international networks to promote student and scholar mobility.
Heidi is also known as a humanistic and entrepreneurial leader, combining empathy, creativity, and analytical thinking to achieve institutional goals. Her Six Sigma mindset and design-thinking approach guide continuous improvement in admissions processes and communications.
Key Highlights:
1. Strategic Enrollment Management & International Recruitment
2. Bilingual (English & Spanish); conversational Chinese
3. Agent partnership development & global marketing strategy
4. CRM management (Salesforce, Slate) & digital communications
5. Study abroad programming & cross-cultural engagement
6. Branding, multimedia marketing, and enrollment communications

Ashish Fernando

Host

Founder & CEO, EDMO
Ashish Fernando is the visionary founder and CEO of EDMO, a revolutionary educational technology platform that's transforming how people learn and grow. With over 15 years of experience in education and technology, Ashish has dedicated his career to making quality education accessible to learners worldwide. Before founding EDMO, Ashish held leadership positions at several prominent EdTech companies and worked as an educational consultant for Fortune 500 companies. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Master's in Computer Science from MIT. Ashish is a frequent speaker at educational conferences and has been featured in publications such as EdTech Magazine, Learning & Development Today, and TechCrunch. He's passionate about the intersection of technology and human potential, believing that the right tools can unlock extraordinary learning outcomes for everyone. Under his leadership, EDMO has grown to serve over 100,000 learners globally and has partnerships with leading educational institutions and corporations. Ashish continues to drive innovation in personalized learning, adaptive assessment, and educational analytics.
Key Achievements:
1. Founded EDMO in 2019, now serving 100,000+ learners globally
2. Named 'EdTech Innovator of the Year' by Learning Technology Awards 2023
3. Featured speaker at Global Education Summit 2024
4. Published researcher in educational technology and learning analytics
5. Advisor to multiple EdTech startups and educational initiatives