2020 Candidates for Executive Board

Candidates for the 2021 Executive Board Elections are presented here!  We thank each one of these NYS TESOL colleagues for being willing to step forward for the greater good.  Please do them and us the honor of casting your vote and engage with the future of our organization. Elections will be open for an extended period this year to allow for the Covid-19 extraordinary circumstances.  Instructions for voting:

• Log in to your account (just email website@nystesol.org if you need help!)
• Click on the Member Menu and then the Engagement tab
• Click on Elections
• Vote!

President-Elect

Maureen
Edmonds

Maureen previously served on the NYS TESOL Executive board for three years, first as the membership chair, then as VP Annual Conference for the 2016 NYS TESOL Conference in Syracuse. After NYS TESOL, Maureen administered a major international language conference at Syracuse University (IAWE 2017), and then undertook a career redirection toward elementary and secondary education.

Maureen returns to NYS TESOL with experience in many of the areas NYS TESOL serves. She understands the reality of teaching English overseas through her work with Samsung Electronics and Tompkins Cortland Community College. She has particular expertise in US University ESOL instruction from her nearly ten years teaching academic English at Syracuse University. From 2017 to the present, Maureen has developed her young-learner skill set as a full time ENL teacher in the Syracuse City School District. 

COVID-19 has highlighted serious gaps in access for our ELL population. This time could truly be transformative as educators ponder how to retool their instruction to meet the needs of learners in the new normal of life post-Coronavirus. Maureen is excited by the possibility of serving NYS TESOL again as they spearhead initiatives to advocate, advance and enrich TESOL education for all ELLs statewide. 

Ching-Ching
Lin

Ching-Ching Lin obtained her B.A. in philosophy from National University of Chengchi, Taiwan, her M.A. in philosophy from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and an Ed.D. in pedagogy and philosophy from Montclair State University.

Ching-Ching's educational career spans 19 years in a variety of capacities. She began her classroom teaching career as a NYC social studies teacher and has taught ESL at secondary and tertiary levels. These positions enabled her to gain invaluable experience working with culturally and linguistically diverse students. Currently, she instructs courses at Touro College in TESOL and Bilingual Education. As an academic she actively publishes on issues relating to TESOL teaching and learning. Her research interests mainly focus on engaging diversity as a strategic action plan for social change.

Involvement in NYS TESOL as a member since 2015 has led her to various leadership positions, as Director of Regions, VP Conference, VP Membership and currently as Director of SIGs. Internationally, she serves as Editor of Bilingual Basics and as a member of the Research Professional Council at TESOL Int'l. She is humbled and honored to have this opportunity to run for President-Elect of NYS TESOL and will continue to work hard to further its mission in creating a broader vision of cultural and linguistic diversity. 

VP Advocacy

Emily
Burnett

Emily Burnett is an advocate for collaborative learning, intentional development, and active listening among other more systemic aims and movements. A passionate cheerleader for both gaining and valuing diversity of experience, Emily has served the field of education for the past five years from the lens of ESOL educator and program administrator in the non-profit sector, ESP educator at the university level, and developer of materials and curricula for various government-funded and private programs.

Most recently, Emily has transitioned into the role of Product Coordinator at NeuroLeadership Institute, where she has focused on gaining skill and expertise in adult learning theory and the application of cognitive science in developing learning programs and creating brain-friendly professional communities.

For the past year and a half, Emily has served as Co-Chair of the Adult Education SIG at NYS TESOL. The driving force has been collaboration with her co-chairs towards a vision of a community of educators empowered to both identify and solve for needs amongst themselves. In parallel with that work, Emily has explored the role of the teacher in advocacy, and the ways that advocacy can be brought to the individual to better serve the whole. She is grateful for the nomination. 

George
Geist

George Geist is the ENL coordinator at I.S.141, in Astoria Queens. He took classes at the Instituto Cervantes in Manhattan, and as his demography switched to Arabic speaking students, he sought help from the local mosque down the block from his school and began learning Arabic there, which then turned into taking classes at a local language school in Brooklyn for several months. He is a member of his union's ENL task force, where he routinely collaborates with like-minded advocates, and has even presented to the New York state Regents Board on several occasions to propose changes to CR-Part 154. Two years ago, he was selected to be a teacher leader fellow in the AFT's Teacher Leader program. He created a project to highlight the importance of giving access to language scholarships to ENL teachers to help them learn the languages of their students. He has been active with the New York City council to pick up his proposal. The year after, he was asked to be the Co-Facilitator of the AFT Teacher Leader program, where he helped a new cohort of teacher leaders and guided them on their projects for ten months. He is also a member of the Executive Board of the largest teacher union in the United States, the United Federation of Teachers. George is a passionate advocate and activist for his MLL students and will make an excellent Vice President of Advocacy for NYSTESOL.

JPB
Gerald

JPB Gerald is a doctoral student at CUNY - Hunter College. His research focuses on the intersection of racial and linguistic discrimination, particularly the construction of whiteness among educators. He has worked in TESOL since 2008, beginning with a two-year stint in South Korea, and continuing through the MA TESOL program at the New School and several different positions inside and outside of the field. He hosts a podcast on racism, language, and whiteness called Unstandardized English, and you can find his #hottakes on Twitter @JPBGerald.  JPB Gerald is currently an Editor of Identity and Liberation for the NYS TESOL publication Mosaic.  He is also the Chair of this year's Doctoral Student Forum for the NYS TESOL 50th Annual Conference.  He has a wife and an infant son and as such hasn't slept in a while.

Chelsea
Stinson

Chelsea Stinson (BS TESOL, MS Inclusive Ed., CAS Disability Studies) is a PhD candidate in Special Education and serves as adjunct faculty at SUNY Cortland and Syracuse University. A former K-12 ENL teacher and current learning specialist for the NYSED Office of Special Education Partnership, Ms. Stinson has a strong background in school- and community-based advocacy related to the needs of the teachers, paraprofessionals, pre-service teachers, children, and families through her professional work and research. She specializes in supporting multiple marginalized communities, including students with disabilities and refugee/migrant populations. At the community level, Ms. Stinson works with local refugee/migrant groups to ensure access to culturally responsive educational experiences for children and families, as well as resources regarding educational rights and policy. At the school level, she provides professional learning around language, disability, literacy, and culturally sustaining practice for school staff and administrators, emphasizing the provision of wrap-around services and education to support the entire family in accessing school spaces and experiences. At the regional and state level, she collaborates with regional partnership centers through the Office of Special Education to provide resources and support for districts serving diverse learners. More information about her research can be found at https://syr.academia.edu/ChelseaStinson.

Martha
Young

Martha Young is a secondary English and English as a New Language teacher for the Newburgh Enlarged City School District. She also serves as the lead English teacher at Newburgh Free Academy (Main Campus). Her major professional and academic interest is in curriculum development, classroom research and teacher education; she is an adjunct instructor at SUNY New Paltz and a seminar facilitator with the NYSUT Education and Learning Trust (ELT). 

Creating spaces for educators and learners to share what they know has allowed her to stretch bridges and establish links between people and resources. Yet, changing demographics, advances in language learning research, and revisions to the New York State Learning Standards and assessments require teacher leaders to consider approaching the education of multilingual learners from an advocacy perspective in addition to focusing on English learner education from an instructional stance. To lead in this new environment requires skills teachers seek to develop in students: a willingness to take appropriate risks and to make use of existing resources. The desire to make a positive difference beyond the scope of her classroom for teachers and multilingual learners in New York State gives impetus to Martha Young's nomination for VP Advocacy. 

VP Communications

Amany
Alkhayat

Amany was the Director of Online Communications, NYS TESOL, in 2019. Shes also the founder and chair of the new SIG, Technology Enhanced Language Learning. She's a research assistant at the Gizmo EdTech lab at TC, Columbia University. Her first MA was in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. She will start her doctoral degree in Instructional Technology, Fall 2020. Being a StartEd Tech member made her aware of all current challenges that face K-12 schools and ways to address that. She is currently working on a tech design project joining a team of tech designers to address issues in remote-learning during Covid19 and ways to make learning more accessible, constructive, active and interactive. 

Sheila
Damato

Sheila Damato has more than ten years of experience working with culturally and linguistically diverse students as a Social Studies and ESL teacher at NYC public middle schools. She has also worked as an Adult ESL teacher at the Brooklyn Adult Learning Center. Sheila holds a B.S. in Adolescent Education with a concentration in Social Studies from St. Johns University and an M.A. in TESOL from Hunter College. Currently she is an adjunct instructor at the TESOL program at Hunter College. She has also served as co-chair of Membership Recruitment for NYS TESOL. As VP of Communication she hopes to expand the reach of NYS TESOL through social media as well as engage members in the creation and distribution of the NYS TESOL Mosaic and Journal. 

Lesley
Painter-Farrell

Lesley Painter-Farrell has worked in the field of English language teaching for over thirty years. During that time, she has worked as a teacher of English, a teacher trainer, a director, and a manager of a variety of different programs in a variety of contexts. 
For a few years, Lesley has served as the coordinator for IATEFL's ESOL Special Interest Group. Her involvement with IATEFL began because as a passionate teacher she relished the opportunity of working with other like-minded professionals. This involvement subsequently led her to seeking out how she could become involved in NYS TESOL. For the last 6 months, Lesley has been the Director of Online Professional Development for NYS TESOL, and during that time has had the opportunity to work on webinars, various events, meet wonderfully supportive colleagues, and most recently begin a NYS TESOL blog. 
Lesley's experiences in IATEFL and NYS TESOL have made it very clear to her how vital being a part of a community is. It connects teachers, and provides opportunities for learning, collaboration, and creativity. At this particular moment in time, this has never been more evident. With little support teachers had to move classes online due to COVID-19. The community rallied, supported by NYS TESOL, and rose to the challenge.  It has been wonderful to witness.
Lesley is running for NYS TESOL Vice President of Communications to help support teachers, and the much-respected organization NYS TESOL. Lesley's plan would be to work on providing webinars well after COVID-19, to leverage the webinars to provide content for the blog and the other publications, and to ensure that social media provides all teachers access to what is happening in the field and in our area.

Sophia
Panagos

Sophia Panagos has over 10 years of experience working as a special education teacher and general education teacher in a rural district in Middle Village and Jamaica, New York.  She has been an active member serving on her school's ELA & Math vertical teams and working closely with her colleagues in the grade level team meetings. She has worked with various students with different needs and on various grade levels. She is a team player and collaborates well with her colleagues and administrators. Sophia is passionate about helping all her students to become successful and meet their academic goals. Sophia is also an ESL adjunct professor at Five Towns College in Dix Hills, NY. During the week, she is a Greek dance teacher to primary and elementary students and a Greek school teacher on Saturday mornings to a group of second grade students. She holds a B.A. in Child Study and English from St. Joseph's College and an M.S. in Literacy Education from Dowling College. She holds a TEFL certification from BridgeTEFL. Currently, she is finishing her second master's degree in TESOL education from Grand Canyon University which will be completed by May 2020. Sophia lives on Long Island with her parents and two sisters. 

Sophia wishes to take on a leadership role for NYS TESOL because she possesses strong communication skills which will be needed for the VP communications position. In her position, she hopes to make many connections with other members and be able to reach out to prospective ESL teachers who would gain so much from joining as members of NYS TESOL. She feels that she could create and build on the ways to expose this organization's purpose and the great takeaways in becoming a life-long member of this organization. 

VP Finance

Shawnna

Shawnna Sweet is a dedicated educator who brings a variety of experience in education and business. Currently, Shawnna is a professional development specialist with the Mid-West Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network (RBERN). In this role, she works with schools across 72 districts to advance educational outcomes of English Language Learners. She facilitates professional development opportunities, such as workshops and conferences, instructional support, and online learning. Her areas of expertise include the NYS Seal of Biliteracy, Graduation Requirements, Teacher Preparation and Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education. Additionally, Shawnna is a part-time instructor of TESOL at Nazareth College and is pursuing School Building Leader and School District Leader certifications in the Educational Leadership Program University of Rochester's Warner School of Education. As a member of NYS TESOL, Shawnna has presented at several conferences and served on the planning committee and tech team for the 2020 Applied Linguistic Winter Conference. She provided webinars to support teachers with online instruction when schools closed due to COVID-19. Shawnna recently join the Buffalo/Rochester region co-chair team. A first generation American, Shawnna grew up in her family's stores and restaurants, working in many different capacities. As a general manager, she supervised daily operations of the business, including finances, inventory, purchasing, human resources, and payroll. With all of these experiences, Shawnna is prepared for the role of Vice President of Finance. She would be honored to have the opportunity to support the NYS TESOL organization, its community of educators, and ultimately the students they serve across the state. 

Conference Chair-Elect

Yasmeen
Coaxum

Yasmeen left the NYC corporate scene, where she often organized events in her role as a Publishing Assistant at magazines such as People, InStyle, Essence, and Movieline. She then used her talents to help others communicate their thoughts, visions and ideas to the world through the unifying language of English. The power of global language skills suddenly opens a universe of possibilities to help shape the economy on a worldwide scale. This is the core of Business English, which, along with Academic English, is her specialty. Upon returning from Spain, where after 10 years of teaching in the States and in 4 countries abroad she obtained her Masters in Applied Linguistics, she immediately attended TESOL workshops and conferences, presenting at three of them in the first quarter of this year. Conferences are where we connect, share, and create memories with our professional family. Therefore, it is important to cultivate a dynamic atmosphere, fostering a sense of community and professionalism, making us feel proud to be part of this unique industry. She is enthusiastic about using her talents and dedication to this field to enhance the annual conference experience for NYS TESOL members and beyond.

Xiaochen
Du

The nominee started to get involved in the NYS TESOL community last year by volunteering at the conference. Beginning this January, she joined the NYS TESOL Newsletter (Mosaic) team as the editor for the Research in Brief column and has been working with the chief editor on the upcoming publications. While working with NYS TESOL leaders and members, the nominee has truly enjoyed learning from others and contributing to the growth of this community. She hopes to further learn from the current leaders who are actively advocating for enriched conversations in NYS TESOL. As a bilingual educator and researcher, she hopes to further include voices from immigrant students, bi/multilingual learners, doctoral fellows, and bi/multilingual researchers to the discussion of TESOL education through the annual conference platform. 

Sonal
Patel-Sheth

Sonal has experience working with English Language Learners for over a decade and has held leadership roles in various school districts.  She strives to support learning at all levels, for both students and professionals.  She truly understands the "true struggles" of ELLs as she has her own journey as a language learner in this country. Her network of Westchester school districts and ties of the international schools can bring great strength to our organization. 

Tammy
Schillinger

Dr. Tammy Schillinger has her BS in Psychology, her Master's in Elementary Education and her doctorate in ECE. She is certified in ECE, Elementary and TESOL. She has been a teacher for the past 18 years in an urban school in upstate NY. Over the past 18 years she has taught 2nd grade and 3rd grade. She is currently an ENL teacher in an urban school district and an adjunct professor at a college in upstate NY. (She teaches teachers). She enjoys working with the ELL population and helping them acclimate to the school culture, as well as supporting them in their academic endeavors. The foundation of her educational philosophy is rooted in the beliefs of developing future leaders (her ELL students) and future teachers (her college students). Her focus is to participate in best practices that are evidence based and to encourage student learning and development. She believes in the importance of understanding the connections between education and the social and cultural factors within education that impact learning and development. The importance of understanding that students come from diverse backgrounds and the influence of these factors on academic achievement is a crucial issue that always needs to be a focal point for educators.