STAFF BIOS
Alissa Rutkowski | Manager of Communications, Policy, and Operations, JNCL-NCLIS
Ms. Rutkowski is the Manager of Communications, Policy, and Operations at JNCL-NCLIS. In addition to developing reports on federal and state policy, organizing and executing JNCL's annual Language Advocacy Day, and managing external communications, Rutkowski supervises daily operations and financial management, and fulfills the role of staff liaison for all active committees. She also works closely with JNCL President, Amanda Seewald, to support the Board of Directors’ strategic planning efforts.
Previously, Rutkowski gained experience in educational programming and organizational operations as a Program and Evaluation Intern at Planet Word Museum in Washington, D.C. During her undergraduate studies, Rutkowski was employed as a Student Research Assistant to conduct and present research on interactional linguistics.
Rutkowski is a graduate of Saginaw Valley State University in University Center, Michigan, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with supporting minors in Communication, French, and English. She spent semester in Pau, France where she studied French and intercultural communication, and assisted teaching English to early college students. She was selected as a member of the leadership-focused Roberts Fellowship Program, which concluded her undergraduate degree with a second study abroad to multiple Asian countries as a delegate for the university.
Since her initial experience abroad, she has traveled to over 20 countries and continues to seek opportunities that will cultivate her interest in world languages and international affairs. She can be reached at arutkowski@languagepolicy.org
PARTNER BIOS
Jon Bernstein | Director of Government Relations, JNCL-NCLIS
Bernstein's 25 years of Washington, DC experience began during he tenure as a Legislative Fellow for Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), working on immigration, crime, intellectual property and judiciary issues. His education advocacy career commenced when he became Legislative Counsel for The Lightspan Partnership, an educational software company. Bernstein went on to lobby for the National Education Association and the Federal Communications Commission. In 2005, Bernstein founded his own government relations firm, Bernstein Strategy Group, and has worked for high-profile clients like Apple, the American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA), and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).
Today, Bernstein works closely with many of the major K-12 education associations as co-chair of both the Education and Libraries Networks Coalition (EdLiNC) and the Homework Gap Big Tent Coalition, and as Executive Director of the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training (NCTET). Since 2016, Bernstein and his firm have helped organize and run NAFSA: Association of International Educators’s Advocacy Day and he is working currently on developing NAFSA’s first Virtual Advocacy Day for 2021. He also helps lead the Principals Group, an informal coalition which focuses on professional development funding and related issues. Bernstein’s accomplishments include his work to help establish and expand funding for the federal E-Rate program, which provides schools and libraries with $4 billion in annual discounts on broadband and Wi-Fi services, and to preserve funding for the Every Student Succeeds Act’s Title II (professional development) and Title IV (flexible block grant) programs in the face of the Trump Administration’s efforts to eliminate them.
BOARD BIOS
Jayne Abrate, Ph.D. | Executive Director, American Association of Teachers of French (AATF)
Dr. Jayne Abrate has been the Executive Director of the American Association of Teachers of French since 1997. She holds a Ph.D. in French literature from Purdue University and taught at the university level in Missouri for 15 years before becoming Executive Director. She holds the rank of Commandeur in the French Ordre des Palmes académiques, the rank of Chevalier in the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and is the recipient of the 2006 ACTFL Nelson Brooks Award for the Teaching of Culture and the 2014 Central States Conference Founders Award. She is a Past-President of JNCL/NCLIS.
Greg Barfield, Ed.D. | Vice President for Advocacy, Foreign Language Association of Georgia (FLAG)
Dr. Barfield received his B.A. (1979) at the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, and Ed.D. (1994) at the University of Georgia. Dr. Barfield taught French in the Cobb County School District from 1983-2004 and served as department chair at two high schools from 1998-2004. In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Barfield served as Adjunct Instructor of French at DeKalb Community College (1991-1993) and Adjunct Assistant Professor of French and Foreign Language Education at Kennesaw State University (1994-2002). In October 2004, Dr. Barfield left the classroom to continue his career in World Language and ESOL curriculum and instruction administration. Since then, he has supervised programs in Cobb and Fulton Counties and at the Georgia Department of Education. Dr. Barfield has held various leadership positions, including President of the Foreign Language Association of Georgia and President of the Georgia Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French. He received the Fostering Partnerships Award from the Foreign Language Association of Georgia and the Outstanding Administrator Award from the Georgia Chinese Language Educators. In addition, he was awarded both the Chevalier and Officer des Palmes Académiques by the French Ministry of Education.
Since 2012, Dr. Barfield has been one of the leaders in Georgia in promoting dual language immersion programs and is often asked to provide support to dual language immersion schools and to provide training for immersion teachers. In his position as Dual Language Immersion Program Specialist for the Cobb County School District, he supervises 11 DLI programs.
Howard Berman | Executive Director, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
Howie’s undergraduate and graduate studies in Spanish and Middle Eastern Studies in combination with his extensive association experience, including more than 17 years of association management for several professional organizations have prepared him optimally for his new position as Executive Director of ACTFL.
Howie has served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of ACTFL for the past three years, and previously had served as its Director of Membership and Administration.
Arthur Chou | Founder Managing Director, Academic Learning Company
Arthur Chou is a social entrepreneur. He advocates the biliteracy and dual language school movement to promote education equity for English Learner students, encourage multilingualism and prepare every student to become a global citizen.
Arthur Chou is the founder and managing director for Academic Learning Company, LLC which operates SealofBiliteracy.org, DualLanguageSchools.org and Velázquez Press. Arthur has helped more than 30 states establishing their state Seal of Biliteracy and build an online community for dual language school educators, parents and administrators.
He is the publisher of Velázquez Press, which published the oldest and largest Spanish and English dictionary based in the United States. Velázquez Press is the preeminent authority of academic language and authentic biliteracy and has sponsored 30,000+ Biliteracy recognition medals for the Seal of Biliteracy movement.
Arthur backpacked in South America in his 20’s and learned Spanish during his travels. Besides Spanish and English, Arthur speaks 4 other languages and has traveled all 50 states and 50+ countries.
John Carlino | Executive Director, NYSAFLT
John Carlino has been the NYSAFLT representative to JNCL-NCLIS since the early 2000s. He has served several terms on the JNCL-NCLIS board and two terms as an at-large member of the executive committee. Mr. Carlino is the executive director of NYSAFLT and also serves as the executive director of the Northeast Conference (NECTFL). Mr. Carlino is a former high school teacher of German and French. He is currently a part-time lecturer at Buffalo State College, where he coordinates a student teacher exchange with a teacher preparation institute near Stuttgart. He also supervises student teachers in world languages through SUNY Geneseo.
Dan Davidson | President Emeritus, American Councils
Dr. Davidson (Ph.D., Slavic Languages, Harvard University) is Senior Academic Advisor and President Emeritus of American Councils for International Education (Washington, D. C.) and Emeritus Professor of Russian and Second Language Acquisition, Myra T. Cooley Lectureship, Bryn Mawr College. He is author/editor of 24 books and 67 scholarly articles focused primarily on Russian, second language acquisition and international education development, including an on-going series of empirical studies of advanced-level acquisition of Arabic, Chinese and Russian languages/cultures within the overseas immersion context. His most recent study, “Transformative language learning in the overseas immersion environment: Mapping the relationship between language proficiency and intercultural development” will appear in Transformative Language Learning and Teaching, (eds. Leaver, Davidson and Campbell), Cambridge University Press, in 2020.
Davidson was named in 2015 to the Commission on Languages, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is an elected foreign member of the Russian Academy of Education, the Ukrainian Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, Vice-President of the International Association of Teachers of Russian (MAPRIAL), and past chair of the College Board World Languages Advisory Committee, the Joint National Committee for Languages, and the Alliance for International Education Exchange. Davidson is co-founder of the American Councils for International Education and served as US co-chair of the Soros Foundation Transformation of the Humanities and Social Sciences Programs in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, as well as on the working groups of the US-Russia and US-Polish Bilateral Presidential Commissions on Innovation/Higher Education.
Linda Egnatz | Executive Director, Global Seal of Biliteracy
Linda Egnatz is most known for her role as national cheerleader for the Seal of Bilteracy which recognizes language learners for their proficiency in two languages. Her support for the movement began in our own state of Illinois where she testified on its behalf as a 2013 Golden Apple Teacher of Excellence Award Winner. When ACTFL named her the 2014 National Language Teacher of the Year, she used the title to expand her advocacy for language learners and supported other states working to adopt a State Seal. She is truly grateful to ACTFL for the opportunity to raise awareness about the value of language learning. In 2015, she served on the ACTFL/NCSSFL/TESOL/NABE collaborative committee that designed the National Guidelines for the Seal of Biliteracy. Egnatz is now the Executive Director of the Global Seal of Biliteracy, a program designed to fill in the opportunity gap for those bilinguals of any age who don’t qualify for a state seal but want to celebrate and certify their language skills. Followers of @miprofeAP on social media will recognize the hashtag #2bilit2quit; meaning that “when students succeed, language program retention increases.”
Egnatz is Nationally Board Certified and has taught all levels of Spanish, including AP Spanish Language and Spanish Literature. She is a Past President of the Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and currently serves ICTFL as Advocacy Chair and Webmaster. She is a member of the Joint National Council on Languages (JNCL-NCLIS) Board, the ACTFL Professional Learning Committee and the Pulsera Project Education Committee. A frequent conference speaker, she embraces opportunities to coach teachers on moving their students toward higher levels of language proficiency. Egnatz has a B.A. in Romance Language Education and holds an M.A. in Spanish Literature from Purdue University.
Giovanni Donatelli | Managing Partner, The Language Group
Giovanni Donatelli is founder of The Language Group, an award winning language services company located in Virginia Beach, VA. Giovanni founded the company in 1999, and is now one of the leading Language Services Companies in the country.
Mr. Donatelli has served on the board of directors of the Association of Language Companies from 2010 - 2016. He has been a guest speaker on language access issues to numerous organizations around the country. Mr. Donatelli is regarded as a foremost leader in language access issues. A native of Pescara, Italy, Mr. Donatelli received his MBA from the College of William and Mary and received his BS in Finance from Virginia Tech.
Richard Gordon | President, CulturaLink LLC
Richard Gordon is the co-founder and has served as President of CulturaLink since its inception. He is responsible for the operations of CulturaLink, the staffing of its training and language services and is involved in the ongoing development and vision for the company. He has more than 20 years of business experience, beginning his career in retail management and moving into finance and information technology before founding his own staffing business.
Through that work and his personal experiences in recruiting and staffing, Richard became interested in and passionate about the workforce challenges faced by many businesses as a result of the fast-paced, cultural diversification of the United States.
Maya Goodall | Senior Director, EL Curriculum Rosetta Stone
Maya Goodall, Senior Director of EL Curriculum at Rosetta Stone, has worked in education for over 20 years, teaching both nationally and internationally. Maya has a rich professional background that includes teaching in the classroom, coaching, training, and implementing and designing curriculum with measurable outcomes. She founded Lingual Learning, a curriculum company dedicated to helping students become confidently bilingual. Maya speaks three languages and holds an M.Ed. and MA in applied linguistics.
Christopher Gwin | Executive Director, National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations (NFMLTA)
Christopher Gwin is celebrating 30 years of teaching German, which means he started the year the wall separating east and west fell. He retired from full time public school teaching two years ago and now teaches part-time as a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, part-time at Haddonfield High School in NJ and part-time at iCademy Middle East in Dubai, UAE. Additionally, he supervises exchange students living with U.S. families for EF and is an active member of the AATG. Chris also sits on the board of directors of NECTFL and is the Executive Director of the NFMLTA.
Anne Nerenz, Ph.D. | Executive Director of the Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (CSCTFL)
Anne Nerenz (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin,1979) directs the teacher certification program in world languages, teaches the elementary and secondary world language methods classes, and supervises student teachers at Eastern Michigan University. She also serves as Editor of ACTFL's scholarly research journal, Foreign Language Annals, and recently assumed the position of Executive Director of the Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. A former middle school and high school French teacher, Anne is the recipient of the ACTFL-NYSAFLT Anthony Papalia Award, CSCTFL's Founders' Award, the Michigan Foreign Language Association's Barbara Ort-Smith Award, and the Sauk Praire High School Teacher of the Year Award.
Kristin Quinlan | CEO, Certified Languages International
Kristin Quinlan serves as CEO of Certified Languages International, a U.S. based on-demand telephone and video remote interpreting company founded in 1996. Kristin joined the company in 1999, rising to CEO in 2006. A recognized leader known for approaching business with a unique blend of industry-wide collaboration and “bottom up” management style, she’s led CLI to be named seven times to the Fortune 500/5000 list of America’s fastest growing companies and named third among leading telephone interpreting companies worldwide.
Kristin’s commitment to the language industry earned her a position on the Association of Language Companies’ (ALC) Executive Board of Directors (2010-2014). She was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for 7000 Languages, a nonprofit that connects endangered language groups with free tools and technology to preserve their languages.
Outside of industry leadership, Kristin is an Advisory Board member for the ALS Association, a former board member of the National Charity League, Pacific Crest Outward Bound, and The Junior League. She also lends her time volunteering with many local nonprofits.
Kristin has a BA in English Literature from the University of Oregon.
Fernando Rubio | Professor of Spanish Linguistics, University of Utah
Fernando Rubio is Professor of Spanish Linguistics at the University of Utah, where he is also Director of the Second Language Teaching and Research Center (a Title VI National Language Resource Center). He serves or has served on a number of professional organizations for the past two decades including the Utah Foreign Language Association, The Modern Language Association, The College Board and ACTFL. He is currently President Elect of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations.
Professor Rubio has published several books and numerous articles and book chapters on issues related to second language acquisition, proficiency assessment, and technology-enhanced language teaching.
Amanda Seewald, M.Ed. | MARACAS Language Programs / Learning Kaleidoscope Educational Consulting
Amanda Seewald is the owner of MARACAS Language Programs and Learning Kaleidoscope Educational Consulting. She is the author of the MARACAS curriculum and the upcoming MARACAS La Clase del Mundo easy reader series.
Amanda has been teaching children, coaching educators, and developing curricula for over 20 years. Her expertise is in multilingual/multicultural curriculum and instruction, focused on early language learning as well as dual language immersion education. Amanda works with educators and schools across the country as well as in Europe to develop meaningful language programs founded in globally engaged curricula and strong interactive instruction. Amanda is a regular presenter at national, regional, and state conferences.
As an advocate for language education, Amanda has been actively involved with JNCL-NCLIS as the official delegate for the Foreign Language Educators of New Jersey (FLENJ) and as a small business member. In New Jersey as well as at the federal level, Amanda works with legislative offices to garner support for legislation and funding. Her advocacy led to the signing of the N.J. Seal of Biliteracy into law in 2016 and to the development of pending legislation for dual language immersion grants.
Amanda is the Immediate Past President of FLENJ and President-elect of JNCL-NCLIS. She is the N.J. State Representative for the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL) and has also served on the board of the Northeast Conference for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL). Most recently, Amanda joined the Board of Directors for the Pulsera Project to develop their education committee. Amanda is a speaker of Spanish, French, and Japanese.
To learn more about Learning Kaleidoscope or MARACAS visit www.maracas123.com, on Facebook @learningkaleidoscope, or Twitter @maracas123.
Michael Shaughnessy | Executive Director, AATG
Michael Shaughnessy (Mike) is the Executive Director of the American Association of Teachers of German. He leads a team to support and improve German education in the United States. Combining a passion for educational technology and German studies, Dr. Shaughnessy has developed a track record of innovation over twenty years in the classroom. His portfolio includes language learning software development, distance-learning course management, graduate program administration, data-visualization projects, private-entity & government-sponsored partnership development, faculty-led international education, and data-based decision making for higher education to name a few. He has a passion for German-American studies and is an expert on the German-speaking immigrant communities of Pittsburgh, PA.
He can be reached directly at mike@aatg.org
Duarte Silva, Ph.D. | Delegate, California Language Teachers' Association (CLTA)
Dr. Duarte Silva continues to serve as Executive Director Emeritus of the California World Language Project (CWLP) in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. The Project, designed to strengthen and enhance professional learning opportunities for California's language educators, currently has seven regional sites at campuses of the California State University, independent colleges and universities, as well as the University of California. As the founding Executive Director, Dr. Silva was responsible for providing leadership to the Project’s programs statewide, as well as, for overseeing the evaluating of the programs outcomes implemented in each of CWLP regional sites.
Dr. Silva currently serves on the Advocacy Committee of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the Global Seal of Biliteracy Advisor Board, the Foreign Language Annals and STARTALK Editorial Boards and is the California Language Teachers’ Association (CLTA) delegate to the Joint National Committee for Languages, (JNCL).
As a former member of the California Curriculum Commission, Dr. Silva, chaired the World Language Subject Matter Committee and was a member of several other committees that advise the State Board of Education on a variety of language related issues. In his capacity as Commissioner, and of CWLP’s Executive Director, he has chaired several state adoptions of instructional materials for World Language and English Language Development students, and oversaw the development of criteria for the role of technology in supporting the teaching of languages. He was appointed by the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction to serve as a member of the Professional Development English Learner Advisory Committee, and by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) as a member of its English Language Development Credential Panel and served as Chair of the Recruitment and Retention Committee for Language Educators for the New Vision in Action Project that proposed the establishment of ACTFL’s National Teacher of the Year.
Dr. Silva holds a doctorate degree in international and multicultural education and has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals in the areas of world language education. Second Language Acquisition, Chinese Dual-Immersion Program and professional learning for language educators.
Ryan Smith | Past President, Professional Language Association of Nevada (PLAN)
A former teacher of Spanish, Ryan Smith is currently an Assistant Principal of Vaughn Middle School in the Washoe County School District. Previously, Ryan was the Career & Technical Education Program Coordinator, AVID District Director, and World Languages Program Coordinator in WCSD, located in the Reno/Lake Tahoe region of Northern Nevada. Ryan is also the Past President of PLAN (Professional Language Association of Nevada), Nevada’s 2015 World Languages Teacher of the Year, and most recently NADSFL (National Association of District Supervisors of Foreign Languages) 2018 Supervisor of the Year. Ryan advocated and led the statewide implementation of the Seal of Biliteracy in Nevada. He also served on the committee to rewrite and implement the Nevada Academic Content Standards for World Languages. Ryan is extremely involved in world languages on a local, regional, and national level by being a part of NADSFL, ACTFL, NCSSFL, and a member of the first LILL (Leadership Initiative for Language Learning) cohort, which he now assists in the development and facilitation.
Sheri Spaine Long, Ph.D. | Executive Director of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP)
Sheri Spaine Long (Ph.D. UCLA) is the Executive Director of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP). Formerly a faculty member, department chair, and study abroad program director, Sheri rose to the rank of Professor of Spanish at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and was appointed Distinguished Visiting Professor at the United States Air Force Academy. Most recently, Sheri served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Languages and Culture Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Sheri began her Spanish-teaching career at Northwest Junior High School in Coralville, Iowa.
Sheri is a specialist in language teaching and learning. Sheri has consulted on related issues for colleges and universities, The College Board, publishers in language education, and public and independent K-12 schools.
Sheri has published more than 80 articles, chapters, and reviews and as well as twelve textbooks for Spanish teaching. She served as Editor of Hispania – A journal devoted to the teaching of Spanish and Portuguese, the scholarly journal of the AATSP, and also held the position of Editor-in-Chief of Foreign Language Annals published by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). She received the prestigious Steiner Award for Leadership in Foreign Language Education from ACTFL in 2009.
Caitilin Walsh | Chair of Education & Pedagogy Committee, American Translators Association (ATA)
Caitilin Walsh is an ATA-Certified French-English translator who delights in producing publication-quality translations for the computer industry and food lovers alike. A graduate of Willamette University (OR) and the Université de Strasbourg (France), and a past-President of the American Translators Association, she currently chairs the ATA Education & Pedagogy Committee. She brings her strong opinions on professionalism as an instructor of Ethics and Business Practices at the Translation and Interpreting Institute at Bellevue College, and to the T&I Advisory Committee for the Puget Sound Skills Center (both in Washington State). When not at her computer, she can be found pursuing creative endeavors from orchestra to the kitchen. She can be emailed at cwalsh@nwlink.com, and you can follow her on Twitter @caitilinwalsh.
Megan Whalon | Director of Advocacy, Texas Foreign Language Association (TFLA)
Director of Advocacy for the Texas Foreign Language Association. She is a Spanish and French teacher at CAST Tech High School in San Antonio ISD. She is an Emerging Leader for the Leadership Initiative for Language Learning (LILL). Megan was a Senior Fellow for Teach Plus, an educational policy fellowship through which she wrote op-eds and spoke with policymakers.She was named CAST Tech Teacher of the Year for the 2017-2018 school. She graduated from State University of New York College at Brockport with a BA in French and Spanish and received her M.Ed from Texas State in Secondary Education.
Santiago Wood, Ph.D. | Executive Director, National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE)
Dr. Santiago Wood is the Executive Director for the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) in the greater metropolitan area of Washington, DC. Since 1972 NABE is the exclusive national professional organization devoted to representing Bilingual and Dual Language Learners and Bilingual Education professionals. NABE has affiliates in more than 20 states and 3 overseas affiliates in China, Spain and Mexico that collectively work with many education leaders and policymakers to represent Bilingual and Dual Language Learners, teachers, parents, paraprofessionals, administrators, professors, advocates, researchers, board members, corporate partners and 18 special interest Groups (SIG’s); focusing on effective pedagogy, research and practice related to bilingual education and Dual Language Instruction.
Edward Zarrow, Ph.D. | Advocacy Chair, National Committee for Latin and Greek (NCLG)
Dr. Edward "Ted" Zarrow earned his Ph.D. in Classics and Ancient History from Yale in 2007, and he is currently in his 12th year teaching Latin at Westwood High School in Westwood, MA. He is currently the Advocacy Coordinator for the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association, (MaFLA), Advocacy Chair for the National Committee for Latin and Greek (NCLG), and the Massachusetts representative to the National Council of State Supervisors of Foreign Languages (NCSSFL). He has won numerous teaching awards for his unorthodox approaches to teaching language, history, & culture, and he is regarded as a national language advocate. He was the ACTFL 2016 National Language Teacher of the Year.
TMMG STAFF BIOS
Maggie Clay Love
Maggie Clay Love brings 35 years of nonprofit management and development experience to the TMMG team. She spent her first 20+ years actively and successfully involved in resource development and nonprofit management, including 11 years as Vice President for the American Heart Association and five years as the Chief Development Officer for the North Carolina Symphony. With strong experience in developing and implementing fundraising strategies and philanthropic partnerships, she knows that successful nonprofit organizations are more sustainable when they think and plan strategically, ensuring that they are maximizing their existing resources and opportunities.
As an independent consultant for the past 13 years, Love focuses on the key elements of organizational capacity building – working with nonprofit boards and staff to identify, address and remedy core infrastructure challenges that may impede long-term sustainability. She knows that building strategic fundraising plans is critical to overall organizational stability. Capacity building areas of expertise include comprehensive organizational assessment; mission and vision alignment; strategic and tactical planning; and Board and staff leadership development and governance. When working with organizations on developing strategic fundraising plans, she also offers expertise in the areas of fundraising basics and best practices, including individual cultivation, relationship development and stewardship.
Love hol