FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JNCL-NCLIS WELCOMES 2022 ELECTED OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
WASHINGTON, D.C, December 30, 2021 -- The Joint National Committee for Languages and the National Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS) today announced the 2022 Officers and the addition of five newly-elected board members.
Officers
President: Amanda Seewald, MARACAS
President-Elect: Linda Egnatz, Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ICTFL)
Treasurer: Giovanni Donatelli, The Language Group
Secretary: Howie Berman, ACTFL
At-Large Executive Committee Members: John Carlino, New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers (NYSAFLT) and Greg Barfield, Foreign Language Association of Georgia (FLAG)
President-Elect
Linda Egnatz, Ph.D., Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ICTFL)
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.”
Term-Completing Board Members
Leslie Baldwin, Ed.D., Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT)
Dr. Leslie Baldwin is the World Languages Director for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in Winston-Salem, NC and the Executive Director of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching. Dr. Baldwin received her doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she is also an adjunct instructor. She is the author of Keys to the Classroom (2nd edition), a handbook for beginning World Language educators. Dr. Baldwin is a frequent presenter at state, regional, and national conferences on a wide range of topics related to language instruction and language immersion programs. She is passionate about facilitating meaningful learning experiences for students and educators.
Todd Bowen, Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (CSCTFL)
A 35 year veteran of the World Language classroom, Todd Bowen taught all levels of French before becoming an administrator for world languages at the secondary level. In one district he developed and coordinated a FLAP grant to begin a Chinese immersion program that is still highly successful. He currently serves as the Director of World Languages of Niles Township High School District 219 in Skokie, Illinois. Todd has been actively involved in the Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages twenty years including representing Illinois at JNCL-NCLIS for several years and in various leadership positions on the Board of Directors. Todd served on the ACTFL Board of Directors where he was treasurer and coordinated the development and implementation of the Leadership Initiative of Language Learning (LILL). Todd has served two stints on the Board of Directors of the Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. He currently is serving as the Co-Interim Executive Director for Business and Finance for CSCTFL.
Newly Elected Board Members 2022
Norah Jones, Fluency, LLC.
A linguist, historian, and anthropologist by background, Norah Lulich Jones has been presenting, training, and educating in various languages and in language as a human phenomenon for over 40 years. Through her company, Fluency Consulting LLC, Norah has coached winning speech-arts teams, trained presenters and speakers, and taught hundreds of people, young and old, not only new languages but the critical skills of communicating clearly to others in speech and writing. Norah is also a certified Gallup Strengths coach. She’s known for her motivating, empowering presentations and workshops, and for building up individuals and teams to success and vigor. Her focus on and respect for others, combined with her energy and skills, have brought her awards for excellence and service in business and in the world language educational and publishing fields.
Pablo Muirhead, Wisconsin Association for Foreign Language Teachers (WAFLT)
A laser focus on advocacy informs the many hats that Pablo wears. In addition to his role as the Chair of the Associate of Arts & Science Programs at Milwaukee Area Technical College, he also serves as the ACTFL Treasurer and is a member of his local school board. These similar, yet distinct, positions overlap and inform one another. He has been invited to testify to committees on education in the Wisconsin State Legislature and has built strong relationships with his local and state elected officials. He has also helped lead the last two Wisconsin delegations at JNCL during Advocacy Days.
Jeanmarie Rouhier-Willoughby, Kentucky World Language Association (KYWLA)
In her role as KWLA president, Professor Rouhier-Willoughby has made advocacy her focus. She is currently laying the groundwork to have language education included in the Career and Technical Education pathways in Kentucky public schools. Of particular import in this effort is the role that international companies play in the Kentucky economy (with roughly 80,000 jobs from Japanese companies and an additional 30,000 due to German companies). Given this important fact, she intends to work with the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce on this effort to expand the CTE pathways. Her work in language and cultural advocacy led to the Arts and Sciences Distinguished Service/Engagement Award in spring 2021.
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About JNCL-NCLIS:
Established in 1972, the Joint National Committee for Languages (JNCL) and the National Council for Languages and International Studies (NCLIS) unites a national network of leading organizations and businesses comprised of over 300,000 language professionals to advocate for equitable language learning opportunities. Our mission is to ensure that Americans have the opportunity to learn English and at least one other language.
Contact: info@languagepolicy.org