Meet Our Director
Melissa Topacio Long has over 15 years of experience in global and experiential education. In 2014, she founded ImprintEd Abroad, which crafts immersive educational programming in Morocco and strives to create authentic student experiences through activities and dialogue with locals. Melissa approaches study abroad programming as an opportunity to maximize intercultural exchange as well as to encourage the development of empathy and leadership skills in both participating students and their local hosts.
Melissa’s introduction to study abroad was during a high school summer program in France, and she later spent a semester in France while earning her B.A. in English from Lewis and Clark College. She went on to lead high school and university programs in France. From 2011 to 2013, she worked as resident director for a U.S. Department of State program for high school students in Marrakech, Morocco. During this time, Melissa completed her M.A. in International Education through the School for International Training, focusing her research on the impact that hosting American students had on Moroccan host siblings.
In April 2017, she sailed with Semester at Sea from Ghana to Morocco as an Interport Lecturer, speaking to the shipboard community about Moroccan culture and current events. In July 2017, Melissa taught entrepreneurial leadership at the African Leadership Academy’s Global Scholars Program.
Melissa's ancestors came from the Philippines and Europe, and she grew up on the land of the Coastal Salish and Lummi people. She has lived in France and Morocco as well as traveled, studied, and worked on five continents. She speaks English, French, and Spanish and is learning Moroccan Arabic.
Meet Current and Past Program Leaders and Cultural Facilitators
Latifa
A program leader with ImprintEd Abroad since 2024, one of Latifa’s favorite experiences to share with students is a visit to the hammam, the traditional Moroccan bathhouse. The hammam is more than just a place to get clean – it’s a social and cultural ritual that allows people to gather, relax, and purify. A visit to the hammam offers a unique view into Moroccan daily life, traditional beauty practices, and the importance of community in Moroccan culture.
Latifa is from a village named Idoutanan, near Agadir. She graduated with an economics degree from Ibn Zohr University in Agadir in 2022. She enjoys sports, Taekwondo, and traveling. She also loves spending time with animals, and values sharing her Amazigh with visitors. She believes that culture can connect people in an incredible way, and there is always a lot to learn from it. The Amazigh have a rich history, language, and traditions that shape Moroccan identity.
Latifa launched her own clothing brand in 2023 and produces several clothing collections each year. When she’s not managing her clothing brand or facilitating cultural exchange, she also teaches Tashelhit (the Amazigh language) and manages an English language center.
Oussama
Oussama is a dedicated English teacher with the Moroccan Ministry of Education in Tangier. He was born and raised in the southern Moroccan town of Zagora and moved to Rabat, where he earned a B.A. in English Studies from the Faculty of Letters and a vocational B.A. in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from the Faculty of Education.
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In his work with Imprinted Abroad, Oussama is dedicated to students growth as they discover Moroccan culture; and as a lifelong learner, he seeks opportunities for his own learning and growth as he exchanges with students. He is proud of his work to facilitate intercultural understanding and to help foreign visitors adapt smoothly to life in Morocco. Oussama is driven to building meaningful human connections, foster understanding across cultures, and creating an environment in which learning and personal growth happen naturally.
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Additionally, music is a vital part of Oussama’s life and he plays
the guitar and the oud.
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Hajare
Hajare believes in putting the issues of minorities at the heart of cultural development, and in forwarding the causes of these communities through media representation. With a background in media studies and journalism, she attempts to highlight women's struggles in Morocco between society, culture and the law. In 2015, Hajare worked for the Women's Engagement Network, which was the result of a partnership between the Hillary Rodham Clinton Centre for Women's Empowerment and the Middle Eastern Partnership Initiative; in this role she facilitated online training and workshops for semi-literate rural women's cooperatives in the Atlas region.
Hajare earned her Bachelor's degree in Communication Studies and Gender Studies from Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane. She has published many articles on Morocco and was a journalist intern at Maghreb Arab Press and the Moroccan House of Representatives. She will pursue her Masters degree in Documentary at Liverpool John Moores University beginning in 2019.
