Staff
Marina Travayiakis
Senior Director, Office of Academic Programs
As Senior Director of the Office of Academic Programs, Dr. Marina Travayiakis provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for all of Fletcher’s degree and certificate programs, including mid-career, online, and dual degree offerings. She leads a team that manages program delivery, academic advising, and academic partnerships, ensuring programs remain rigorous, innovative, and responsive to evolving student needs. She is responsible for leading Fletcher’s program revisions and new program development, guiding initiatives from conception through university approval and implementation across the school. She works to continually enhance program quality and prepare students for global leadership.
Immediately prior to her current role, Dr. Travayiakis served as Director of Academic Programs Administration, where she oversaw specialized degree programs, including the LLM, MA in Transatlantic Affairs, Specialized MA in International Affairs, and the State Department Fellows program. She managed program operations and budgets and contributed to strategic review planning. Previously, she served as Strategic Initiatives Officer and Executive Staff Officer/Chief of Staff at Fletcher, where she led cross-functional teams, guided operational planning, and launched new programs. She also held leadership roles at the Henry J. Leir Institute for Human Security, overseeing research programs and administrative operations.
In her early career, Dr. Travayiakis conducted international policy research at the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis and worked in healthcare investment banking at C.E. Unterberg, Towbin, and ABN AMRO. She holds a PhD and MALD from The Fletcher School and a BA in Economics from Boston College.
Piper Howard
Executive Master of Arts in International Relations Associate Director
piper.howard@tufts.edu
Piper M. Howard is the Senior Associate Director of Online Programs at The Fletcher School, overseeing the school’s two online, mid-career master’s programs: the Executive Master of Arts in International Affairs Online and the Executive Master of International Business Online. In this role, she provides strategic leadership and operational management for both programs, with responsibility for all programmatic, academic, financial, and student experience functions. Her work includes oversight of curriculum delivery, faculty engagement, budget planning, student support, and the continuous evaluation and enhancement of the programs.
Piper joined Fletcher in January 2022 as Associate Director of the program, managing the day-to-day operations and supporting academic, alumni, and student-related initiatives.
Prior to joining Fletcher, Piper spent seven years at the Harvard Alumni Association, most recently as Assistant Director of the Harvard Alumni Travels program. There, she managed faculty recruitment and engagement, and oversaw international travel programs, vendors, and events.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management with a minor in Marketing and Communications from Eastern Connecticut State University, where she was a member of the women’s basketball team.
