NYS TESOL SIGs

The Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and the Regions are the heart of NYS TESOL. Together, these communities provide the means to ensure greater participation of individual membership in our professional organization.

Goals of the SIGs:
As microcosms of NYS TESOL, the SIGs adhere to the goals of the association as identified in the NYS TESOL Constitution:

  • To provide professional development, participation and leadership;
  • To provide for study and research;
  • To disseminate information relevant to the organization;
  • To work cooperatively toward the improvement of instruction in all programs which seek to provide students with an opportunity to acquire English language skills and proficiency, whether they can be carried out in monolingual or bilingual modes of instruction;
  • To promote empathy and respect for the native culture and language of all students of English, whether they are learning in a bilingual or monolingual context.


NYS TESOL SIG Leaders 2023-2024

Lesley Painter Farrell is our Director of SIGs

Contact Lesley at sigs@nystesol.org















Adult Education SIG Leadership Team

Contact them at  esladult@nystesol.org











Elke Stappert

Fatma Ghailan



Anti-Racist Action SIG Leadership Team

Contact them at ara@nystesol.org

JPB Gerald

Alexis Cavaluzzi

Dana Calve


Claire Fisher

Timothy Fora



Applied Linguistics SIG Leadership Team

Contact them at appliedlinguistics@nystesol.org





Yu Jung Han



Yana Shifrina-Piljovin

Dina Marie B. Delias



 Bilingual/Dual Language SIG Leadership Team

Contact them at bilingual@nystesol.org

Yanira Stoker


Jian Liu


Andrea Diaz




Elementary Education SIG Leadership Team

Contact them at elementary@nystesol.org

Susan Calix


Adriana DiScipio



Brigitte Pittarelli





Higher Education SIG Leadership Team

Contact them at highered@nystesol.org

Paul Shively


Cesar Alejandro Galindo




Secondary Education SIG Leadership Team

Contact them at secondary@nystesol.org

Stephanie Chiu


Sandra Vargas

Tinglei Huang



Special Education SIG Leadership Team

Contact them at specialeducation@nystesol.org

Jamie Scripps

Chelsea Ann Stinton



Teacher Education SIG Leadership Team

Contact them at teachereducation@nystesol.org

Seonhee Cho


Beth Clark-Gareca




Technology-Enhanced Language Learning SIG Leadership Team

Contact them at techlearning@nystesol.org

Farah Akbar

Amany Alkhayat