Faculty & Staff: The Center for Language Education & Development

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Faculty & Staff

The faculty and staff of the Center for Language Education and Development (CLED) are selected for their specific skills in cross-cultural communication, interest in international students, and sensitivity to the needs of students and scholars as they live and study in a new cultural environment.

CLED faculty hold graduate degrees in TESL or related fields and have many years of teaching experience in the United States and abroad.  They are committed to providing outstanding classroom instruction using a variety of  teaching methods and technologies to assure that students can achieve their  learning goals.

Administration

Deanna Wormuth

Director, Center for Language Education and Development
Director, English as a Foreign Language Program

M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction, Texas A&M University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 2002

Ms. Wormuth has held administrative and instructional positions in the field of ESL for thirty years.  Before coming to Georgetown, she served as EFL program director at Towson University and at Texas A&M University.  In 1989, she supervised the development of the Texas A&M University Branch campus in Koriyama, Japan.  Ms. Wormuth has taught all ESL subject areas and levels; however the majority of her teaching has focused on the skills of writing, reading, and speaking for graduate and undergraduate students, visiting scholars, and researchers.  She has also conducted teacher training workshops in Chile, Japan, and Taiwan.

Ms. Wormuth is a former member of the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA) and she is a frequent presenter at TESOL and NAFSA conferences as well as the co-author of three texts on the teaching of writing.  She enjoys working with students from diverse backgrounds and cultures who, as members of the EFL community, contribute to our global cross-cultural understanding.

Christa Hansen

Director, Special Programs and Program Development

 M.A. in Applied Linguistics, University of Kansas
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 2005

Ms. Hansen has worked on standardized test development and curriculum and program design in the field of ESL for almost twenty years. Prior to joining the GU faculty, she developed and directed programs and assessments at the University of Oregon and the University of Kansas. She enjoys working with institutional partners from diverse backgrounds and cultures to identify and address their evaluation, training and curricular needs. She has developed over 30 customized programs ranging from distance delivery teacher training to university preparatory programs to professional training.  Ms. Hansen presents frequently at TESOL, NAFSA and international testing conferences. She has conducted teacher training and assessment training workshops in the U.S. and Taiwan. Her publications include articles on listening comprehension and testing issues in the Cambridge Applied Linguistics Series, Language Testing, and NAFSA publications.  She is a former Chair of the Recruitment, Admissions, and Preparation Knowledge Community of NAFSA and she is a site reviewer for the Commission for English Language Program Accreditation (CEA).

 Full-Time Faculty

Donette Artenie
Senior Instructor
Lab Coordinator

M.A. in Linguistics, Ohio University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 2000


Donette Artenie’s professional interests include computer-assisted language learning (CALL), content-based learning, and English for academic purposes. In addition to teaching EFL courses, Ms. Artenie is the Coordinator of EFL Labs. Prior to joining the Georgetown faculty, she taught in the intensive English programs at Ohio State University and Ohio University. She has also taught English and trained teachers in Romania, where she was a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer, and she has done teacher training in Togo, West Africa.

Brenda Bearden

Instructor


M.S. in Applied Linguistics, Georgetown University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 1999


Brenda Bearden taught English at Arizona State University, University of Colorado, Frankfurt International School, American University, and George Washington University prior to joining the GU faculty. She also spent fifteen years managing or consulting for industrial training operations in Fortune 500 companies. Here at GU, she focuses primarily on teaching business communication courses: face-to-face, online, and via satellite broadcast or videotape. In addition, she has trained teachers of English in the Georgetown University/Sungkyunkwan University TESOL program in Korea and at St. Joseph University in Lebanon. In her leisure time, she likes traveling, skiing, golfing and gardening.

Sigrun Biesenbach-Lucas

Instructor

PhD in Applied Linguistics, Georgetown University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 2006

Dr. Biesenbach-Lucas has extensive teaching experience and has has taught English as a Second Language (ESL) as well as Linguistics at Georgetown University and at George Washington University. Before joining the CLED-EFL faculty at Georgetown in 2006, she taught in the TESOL Teacher Training Program at American University. In 2006, she was recognized as a World Teacher Honoree for outstanding teaching by TESOL.  Dr. Biesenbach-Lucas has conducted extensive research, focusing on how technology, specifically email, affects language use and pragmatic differences between native and non-native speakers of English in student-professor interaction.  She is a member in several professional/academic organizations, among them TESOL and AAAL, and she is the Local Chair of the 2008 AAAL Convention, to be held in Washington, D.C.  Dr. Biesenbach-Lucas has presented at numerous international, national, and local conferences and has published in Language Learning & Technology, Computer Assisted Language Learning, and the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, among others. She is the Reviews Editor and a Member of the Editorial Board at Language Learning & Technology, a peer-reviewed academic journal, as well as a site reviewer for the Commission for English Language Program Accreditation (CEA).

Brooke Cashman

Instructor


M.A. in TESOL, The American University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 2006


Before coming to Georgetown, Brooke Cashman taught at the Johns Hopkins University Intensive English Program and served in the U.S. Peace Corps in the Philippines, where she designed and implemented teacher-training programs. She currently works in the Intensive English Program, as well as the English for Heritage Language Speakers Program, a National Security Education Program-sponsored course that teaches high-level English and professional job skills to future government employees. Her professional interests include high-level learners, teacher-training, pronunciation and cross-cultural communication.

Catharine Hannay

Instructor

M.A. TESL, American University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 2001


Before coming to Georgetown, Catharine Hannay taught in the intensive English programs at American University and George Washington University. From September 2002 until February 2004, Ms. Hannay served as Academic Coordinator of the Georgetown University – Osaka International University Intensive English Program in Osaka, Japan.  She frequently teaches in the advanced level of the EFL program focusing on writing development.

Mandy Kama

Senior Instructor
Academic Coordinator

M.A. Speech Pathology, Louisiana State University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 1988

Mandy Kama holds an M.A. in Speech Pathology from Louisiana State University and taught in the EFL program at L.S.U. for 18 years before moving to Washington, D.C. After teaching two years at The University of Maryland, she came to Georgetown University where she has been for 19 years.  Ms. Kama has taught at all levels of the EFL program and has designed pronunciation workshops for enrolled students. She is the Academic Coordinator for the Intensive EFL Program as well as the program's two summer programs.

Bennett Lindauer

Instructor

Master of Arts in Teaching, Georgetown University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 1981

In his many years at Georgetown University, Bennett Lindauer has taught on campus and in several off-campus Georgetown programs in China, the Philippines, and South Korea. He has also worked on standardized EFL test development and curriculum and program design. Mr. Lindauer has engaged in professional consultancies in many countries around the world including Colombia and Turkey.  In the summer of 2005, he taught in Georgetown/s intensive EFL Teacher Training Certificate Program. Adedicated teacher who derives much satisfaction from classroom teaching, he has taught at many levels of the EFL program. 

William Little

Instructor

M.A. Bi-lingual - Bicultural Studues, University of Texas, San Antonio
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 2006


Before joining the faculty at Georgetown, William Little taught several years overseas at Tokyo Foreign Language College and Bilkent University in Turkey, as well as teaching in the United States at the University of Houston, Downtown and the University of Maryland. He also has spent time writing grants and consulting universities with international programs in China. At GU, he teaches in all skills in all of the levels, with a particular focus on reading, pronunciation and communication courses. William is also active in special projects and developing programs for international clients on campus and overseas. When he is not working on some English project, William enjoys tennis, swimming and all kinds of outdoor activities, traveling, reading and discovering new ethnic restaurants.

Monica Maxwell-Paegle

Assistant Professor

PhD in Linguistics, Georgetown University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 1981

Dr. Monica A. Maxwell-Paegle is an Assistant Professor in the Center for Language Education and Development and a member of the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics of Georgetown College.  Her teaching career began as a Peace Corps volunteer in the West African country of Liberia.
Professor Maxwell-Paegle teaches courses to matriculating undergraduate and graduate international students. In her work, Dr. Maxwell-Paegle has focused on applying the principles of linguistics to language teaching and learning and is an advocate for foreign language programs in American schools. She has observed and analyzed successful foreign language programs in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany; she ahs presented numerous workshops for foreign language teachers both here in the US and abroad in France, Germany, Switzerland, Panama, and Taiwan.

Nancy Overman

Senior Instructor

M.Ed. in TESL, Boston University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 1986

Nancy Overman received her B.A. from Earlham College and her M.Ed. from Boston University. She also holds SEITAR’s Certificate in Intercultural Training. Her areas of special interests include business English and argument-based writing for GU’s foreign freshmen. She often uses online material for reading, discussion, grammar, and business topics. She has made numerous presentations at TESOL and at other local and international conferences, focusing on ways to create EFL lessons and materials that provide real-world readings and tasks for students at all levels. In addition to teaching at GU using web-based materials, she has taught Business English courses online and via satellite. In addition to her work at Georgetown,  she has taught in France, in Japan, in Boston at Boston University and Harvard University, and has conducted teaching training in Hunan, China.

Candith Pallandre
Senior Instructor

M.A. in French, Middlebury College
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 1996

Since Candith Pallandre came to Georgetown University, she has taught in several levels of the program and served as both the faculty language lab coordinator and the curriculum coordinator.  One of her main interests has been integrating technology in the classroom.  Ms. Pallandre lived in France for seveal years and worked in interpretation and translation.   She is currently on leave from the EFL program working as the writing lab coordinator at Georgetown's campus in Qatar.

Carol Romett
Senior Instructor


M.A. in Linguistics, University of Pittsburgh
Graduate Certificates in TESOL and ESP/EST
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 1987


Carol Romett has more than twenty years of experience in international education, including teaching in university intensive English programs, in adult basic education for refugees, and in teacher and professional preparation programs in the U.S., Mexico, Japan, Korea, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, and Lebanon. Her particular interests include curriculum development, teacher education, and teaching English for academic and professional preparation in business, sciences and technology. Born in Washington, D.C., she delights in showing visitors the many attractions in, around, and above this capital city.

Jennifer Uhler
CLED Instructor

M.A. TESOL, Monterey Institute of International Studies

Prior to joining the faculty at Georgetown, Jennifer Uhler worked as an English Language Fellow at the University of Tartu in Estonia where she developed an English program for university faculty. Ms. Uhler's teaching experience includes work as an English Language Specialist in Austria, teacher education with the Korean National University of Education at the University of Montana, a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship in Romania, teaching in the intensive English program at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, bilingual elementary school instruction in Guadalajara, Mexico, and service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Slovakia. Her professional interests include teacher education, content-based instruction, and curriculum design.


Heather Weger

Instructor

Ph.D in Applied Linguistics, Georgetown University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 2007

Ms. Weger's teaching interests are conversational strategies for succeeding professionally and academically, grammar in context, and writing for academic purposes. Her research interests include individual differences and SLA, identity construction in the adult learner, and teacher training.  She has published several articles and presented her research at numerous national conferences. Her service experience includes coordinating the Georgetown University Roundtable on Languages and Linguistics (GURT 2005) with Dr. Heidi Byrnes and assisting Georgetown’s Office of international Programs on the Title VI National Study on Assessment of Student Learning Abroad. She holds an MAT in TESOL and Bilingual Education from Georgetown and a MA in Education from the University of Oklahoma.

Adjunct Faculty

Martin Barclay

Adjunct Instructor

M.Sc in African Studies, Edinburgh University
Cambridge RSA Delta Diploma
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 2006

Before coming to Georgetown, Martin Barclay had been teaching ESL overseas.  During the last twelve years, he has worked in developing countries such as Hungary in central Europe, Eritrea in the Horn of Africa and Haiti in the Caribbean. During that time, he has worked for international educational organizations such as the British Council and International House, national educational ministries, and non-profit educational programs such as VSO and the Soros foundation. Aside from classroom instruction in high schools and universities, he has led teacher training workshops, helped run regional conferences and set up educational projects for resource poor regions. Currently, he is also working as the examiner trainer for the IELTS English proficiency test on the US East Coast.

Renee Feather

Adjunct Instructor

M.A. TESOL, American University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 1996


Renee Feather has been an instructor at Georgetown’s Center for Language Education and Development since 1996. Teaching primarily at the advanced level, she also advises students on their college applications. She earned her M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from American University and has experience in the Georgetown/Sungkyunkwan teacher training program in South Korea. Renee also serves on the Board of Directors at Language ETC, a non-profit language school serving the immigrant community of Washington D.C. and has been a Board member of WATESOL from 2004-2007. She is a frequent presenter at both regional and national TESOL conferences.

Alison Leithner

Adjunct Instructor

M.A. TESOL, American University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 2006


Allison joined Georgetown after receiving her Masters in TESOL from American University in Washington, D.C. She has taught all proficiency levels in the EFL program, but has spent the most time teaching in the Advanced and High-Intermediate levels. In spring 2009, she will teach in the English for Heritage Language Speakers Program in CLED. Alison grew up in New York City and spent much of her childhood abroad in Europe, which sparked her interest in working in an international setting. Currently, Alison co-edits the WATESOL quarterly newsletter.

Myra Shulman

Adjunct Instructor

M.A. in English, American University
Certificate in TESL, American University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 1998

Myra Shulman has more than thirty years of experience in international education.  She has been awarded two Fulbright Fellowships, one to Brazil in 2000 and one to Jordan-Israel in 2001. Since 1991, Ms. Shulman has written and published many textbooks for international students, including Selected Readings in Business, Journeys through Literature, Cultures in Contrast, Thinking Critically, In Focus: Strategies for Academic Writers, and In Focus; Strategies for Business Writers.

Ms. Shulman specializes in courses at the advanced level in reading, writing, and research and cross-cultural communication.  She has done extensive training for government agencies and private corporations in communications skills, such as Professional Writing, Effective Listening and Memory Development, and Time Management.

Lily Sorenson

Adjunct Instructor

M.A. in TESL, Brigham Young University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 2007

Lily Sorenson has just recently begun teaching in the EFL program. Currently, she is teaching in the intermediate level of the program. She has taught English as a second language at a number of universities including Harvard, Northeastern, Boston, and Brigham Young. At Harvard University, in addition to teaching, she also worked on the committee that wrote and compiled the readers used in the classroom. At Northeastern University, she was the Assistant Director of International Academic Programs where she helped in the development of a new program. She loves to travel and has taught English to young children in China. She has experience in teaching all different levels and subjects as well as business English. She is interested in curriculum and program development, and the use of technology in the classroom.

William Stout

Adjunct Instructor

M.A. Linguistics, Surrey University
Joined the Georgetown Faculty in 2006

Bill Stout has taught at Georgetown University since the summer of 2006.  He currently teaches "Finding Work in the International Marketplace", grammar, and intermediate electives.  He has taught at various levels to adults, including community based programs, with emphases in both academic and workplace English.  He planned, wrote and directed a TEFL certificate program to train new teachers of English,  edited and contributed to various publications, and supervised curricular development, particularly in the area of testing.  He is also a certified IELTS examiner. 

Administrative Staff

Megan Adcock

Administrative Assistant, Special Programs

B.A. in Biology, Bennington College
Joined the Special Programs Staff in 2007

Megan is the contact person for Special Programs students and program coordinators at our partner institutions. She is available to assist students with questions and concerns about program requirements, the application process, scheduling, and course technology. Before coming to Georgetown, Megan worked as a Peace Corps Community Health Volunteer in Togo, West Africa. She has also lived and worked abroad in Russia, Turkey and Saint Lucia, and traveled all over Africa, Europe and North America.

Lynn Alexander

Director of Admissions

M.A. in International Education, George Washington University

Joined the EFL Program Staff in Fall 2008

Lynn Alexander is the Director of Admissions for the EFL program. Lynn is responsible for processing all incoming student applications including immigration documentation. She serves as the department advisor on immigration regulations. Lynn has been working in the field of EFL/ESL for over seven years. She has experience teaching EFL in Italy and here in Washington, DC. Most recently, she served as the director of the Virginia campus of LADO International College.

Camilla Durfee

Program Assistant and Office Manager

B.A. in Art, Skidmore College
Joined the EFL Program Staff in 2001

Camilla Durfee works with students when they inquire about the EFL program and after they have enrolled.  Students come to her to make appointments with their instructors, to get additional information about the program, and to learn more about Washington, D.C.   She has served as the Director of Volunteer Services for a non-profit organization and has worked in sales management.  In addition to her interests in travel and painting, she is a member of a Potomac River competitive rowing team that has won several national and international awards.

Kara Figueredo

Academic Coordinator of Special Programs

M.Ed. TESOL, University  of Maryland College Park

Joined the Special Programs Staff in 2008

As Academic Coordinator of Special Programs, Kara Figueredo oversees the faculty of on-site Georgetown Special Programs.  She also participates in the recruitment, selection, and orientation of candidates for the State Department-sponsored English Language Fellow Program and in the pre- and post-TESOL Convention workshops for international educators.  Ms. Figueredo brings more than 15 years of experience in English language teaching and educational leadership combined, including faculty supervision, program development, curriculum and materials design, marketing and student recruitment, teacher training, and advocacy for immigrant learners.  Her professional and research interests include multilingual education and critical-feminist pedagogy. 

Katie Gallivan

Student Services Coordinator

B.A. in Communications, Boston College
Joined the EFL Program Staff in Fall 2008
   

Katie Gallivan is the Student Services Coordinator for students in the EFL Program.  She works to enhance students’ experience outside of the classroom by assisting with housing and planning trips for the Access DC program. She also writes a weekly newsletter for students that details upcoming events and other important information, and hosts an international coffee hour for students each week. Before joining the EFL Program at Georgetown, Katie was a student at Boston College where she spent a semester studying and traveling abroad in Europe.                     

Maria Mariani

EHLS Program Manager, Special Programs

M.S. in Spanish Linguistics, Georgetown University
Joined the EHLS Program Staff in 2006

Maria Mariani is the Program Manager for the English for Heritage Language Speakers Program (EHLS) where she is responsible for progam management and recruitment.  She also serves on the admissions committee and acts as liaison for federal agencies.  Prior to her work with EHLS, Ms. Mariani was an Adjunct Instructor in the EFL program.  She has taught ESL at University of California at Berkeley and the University of San Francisco.   Ms. Mariani began her career as a computational linguist, and she was one of a group of six linguists from Georgetown University who developed the first spell-check system for the IBM corporation.

Cate Pousson

Assistant Director for Administration

B.A. in Comparative History of Ideas, University of Washington, Seattle
Joined the EFL Program Staff in September 2008

Cate Pousson is the Assistant Director for Administration and is responsible for budget and financial management. Before coming to Georgetown last October, Cate worked for 15 years at the University of Washington, where she held a variety of administrative positions.  In her free time she enjoys gardening, playing with her grandchildren, and exploring the wonderful museums and gardens of Washington, DC.

Ai-Hui Tan

Assistant Director, Special Programs

M.A. in Communication, Culture and Technology, Georgetown University
Joined the Special Programs Staff in 2002

Ai-Hui Tan is the Assistant Director of Special Programs, in charge of program management and budget processes. She works with Christa Hansen on the development of partnerships with U.S. and international institutions. Before joining CLED, Ms. Tan was Assistant to Dean Emeritus James E Alatis at Georgetown’s International Language Programs and Research unit. Ms. Tan moved to the United States from Singapore where she had worked in broadcasting and taught writing to media design students.


CLED · Georgetown University · Washington, DC 20057 · ph 202.687.4400