Tina Kozlowski, Ed.D.

Tina is currently the Administrator of Language Acquisition for Warren Consolidated Schools (with nearly 4,000 active ELs) and a member of the MDE Title III Advisory Council. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and her Master’s degree in Foreign Language Education with an English as a Second Language Endorsement from Wayne State University. In 2017, Tina completed her Doctorate of Education from the University of Michigan-Dearborn with a focus on professional development for English Learners and culturally responsive teaching. She has taught K-12 students and recently taught in higher education for students working toward their ESL endorsement. Tina is excited to be part of the MITESOL team! You can contact Tina at president@mitesol.org

Liz is in her 14th year as the EL/Title III Coordinator and a secondary ESL teacher for the Ypsilanti Community Schools. Her interest in teaching ESL started with an internship at Ypsilanti High School during college, and after earning her MA TESOL from Eastern Michigan in 2005, was thrilled to return there. Liz is bilingual in English and Spanish. She has lived in the Dominican Republic and spent time in a variety of other countries, which has given her a great love and appreciation for learning about and working with people from cultures throughout the world. She can be reached at

president-elect@mitesol.org 

Ildi Porter-Szucs

Ildi Porter-Szucs is Associate Professor of ESL and TESOL Advisor at Eastern Michigan University. She earned an M.Ed. at Temple University and a Ph.D. at Michigan State University. In the past, Ildi has served the Michigan TESOL community as Treasurer, Secretary, and Newsletter Co-Editor. She is looking forward to serving in her new role. You can reach her at past-president@mitesol.org.

Jennifer Majorana

Jennifer Majorana is currently a Senior ESL Specialist in the Saginaw Valley State University English Language Program. Specializing in teaching reading and vocabulary, Jennifer chairs the ELP's reading committee and recently spearheaded a major curriculum revision for the five reading classes in the program. She has been a member of MITESOL since 2014, earning her B.A. in Linguistics and Music from the University of Iowa and her M.A. TESOL from Michigan State University. In her spare time, she enjoys riding her bike, reading, playing board games, and playing piano. Email Jennifer at treasurer@mitesol.org

Jacqueline Tomaszewski completed her BA degree with a major in Psychology at Michigan State University. She began a career in social work and continues to maintain a SW license. She studied at Oakland University to earn her MA in Elementary Teaching in 2012. She completed the ESL endorsement at Oakland University in 2016. She currently teaches middle school ELD classes in the West Bloomfield School District. In her free time, Jackie enjoys reading, traveling, walking, and going up north with her family.

Colleen Brice

Colleen Brice is associate professor in the Department of English at Grand Valley State University, where she teaches courses in Applied Linguistics, TESOL, and ESL writing for undergraduate and graduate students. Her research interests include issues in second language writing, teacher education, and LESLLA (low-educated second language and literacy acquisition). Her work has appeared in the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, International Journal of English Studies, TESOL Journal, and Language.

Contact Colleen at historian@mitesol.org

Jennifer is currently a K-5 ESL teacher in the West Bloomfield district. She did her undergraduate studies in Elementary Education at Western Michigan University, Masters in Reading and Language Arts and most recently an ESL Endorsement at Oakland University. She was part of the MDE Train the Trainers for Language and Literacy Strategies in 2015. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, shopping, swimming and traveling. She’s looking forward to being a part of the MITESOL board as the Conference Exhibitor Manager.
 

Josie Gruber has been passionate about helping people from other countries feel welcome in the place they now call home since she spent a year abroad 18 years ago. With a BA in Portuguese from Ohio State University, she earned her MA in TESOL from Eastern Michigan University in 2017. Having recently relocated to Oberlin, Ohio, Josie continues to follow her passion in a number of ways. She serves on the Boards of MITESOL and Ohio TESOL. She also attends TESOL affiliate conferences to stay connected with peers in her field.

Matthew is currently studying Japanese business, language, and culture, with a minor in TESOL. He has always enjoyed helping and teaching others. He is teaching ESL, Japanese, and other subjects at Koby Learning Group. He is also working with Koby as a business manager and another PR firm as an intern to further learn about PR and marketing. He is working with non-profits and for-profits in and outside of school, including, but not limited to, Circle K International, EMU Japanese Association, JETTAA, etc. He has always been interested in deeper, psychological topics and studies; as well as most other social sciences. Eventually, he would like to pursue a graduate degree in Psycho-linguistics.  He would like to be part of something bigger than himself, and being able to work with a non-profit team with similar interest is an invaluable experience to reach that goal. 

     Julie is currently completing her Master’s degree in Teaching Elementary Education with an ESL Endorsement at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. She substitute teaches a wide range of students, and volunteer tutors adult ESL students through the Oakland Literacy Council located in Bloomfield Township. She also volunteers tutoring students on literacy instruction at a school in Pontiac, Michigan.

     By contrast, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business with a Human Resource Minor from Oakland University. After getting real-life experience working for The Big Three automotive original equipment manufacturers in Purchasing, Business IT, and HR for IT, she went back to school for her life-long passion of teaching. She is eager to bring practical experiences from her background to best serve ELL individuals, and continue to be a lifelong learner of teaching English as a second language.

After receiving her M.A. in TESOL from Eastern Michigan University in 2014, Clarissa has been teaching adults in various settings including language schools and community colleges. She began volunteering as the co-editor of the MITESOL Messages newsletter at the beginning of 2017. Email Clarissa at newsletter-editor1@mitesol.org 

Jessica is a 2013 Eastern Michigan graduate of the TESOL program. Prior to her M.A., she received her B.A. from Michigan State University in English and Film Studies. Currently, Jessica is an ESL instructor, specializing in academic writing. Jessica will begin working toward her doctorate shortly, in educational technology. Email Jessica at newsletter-editor2@mitesol.org

Katie Coleman

Katie Coleman is a lecturer at the University of Michigan’s English Language Institute, where she teaches English for Academic Purposes to matriculated international graduate students. She also works part-time as an ELT Associate Editor at the University of Michigan Press and a freelance item writer for Michigan Language Assessment. She received her MA TESOL from Eastern Michigan University in 2012, and her undergraduate degrees in French and Psychology from Penn State University. You can reach her at membership@mitesol.org 

Pamela first joined MITESOL in the early nineties, and found the organization to be a professional development lifeline as she was transitioning from foreign language teaching to ESL teaching. After working with an adult literacy and ESL organization for a decade, she completed a Masters in TESOL at EMU, and began teaching English for Academic and Specific Purposes at the University of Michigan ELI, where she continues to teach and learn today. Her current interests include technology-enhanced learning, individualizing language learning, the common ground between English for Academic purposes and English for Specific purposes, teacher education, and community engagement.Pamela served as MITESOL's ESP SIG leader for a short stint, then became the organization's listserv manager until 2018 when she joined the MITESOL Journal editorial team. Pamela can be reached at journal-editor1@mitesol.org 

Dan is an Assistant Professor of English at Grand Valley State University where he teaches courses in applied linguistics. He has taught ESL/EFL and trained English teachers in Arizona, Hawaii, Thailand, Japan, and Chile. His research interests include second language acquisition, second language writing for academic purposes, meta-analysis and research synthesis, and second language teaching methodology. He has published his research in TESOL Quarterly, the Journal of Second Language Writing, Second Language Research, and Language Teaching Research. He has also served as a reviewer for Language Learning, TESOL Quarterly, the Modern Language Journal, Language Teaching Research, and System, and he is excited to join as as a coeditor for the new MITESOL Journal. Email Dan at 
journal-editor2@mitesol.org

Kay is Professor of Writing at Grand Valley State University. Her scholarship focuses on issues related to the teaching of writing to adult multilingual writers, and she has taught multilingual writers in mainstream English courses in California, North Carolina, New York, and at GVSU. She is author or co-editor of three books, including, most recently, Teaching U.S-Educated Multilingual Writers: Pedagogical Practices from and for the Classroom (with Mark Roberge and Margi Wald, U of Michigan Press). She has published her scholarship in TESOL Quarterly, the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, and College Composition and Communication, as well as in several other journals and edited volumes. She has served as reviewer for the Journal of Second Language Writing, TESOL Quarterly, and the National Council of Teachers of English. She served MITESOL as co-editor of their annual MITESOL Conference Proceedings publication and looks forward to being a part of the new MITESOL Journal. Kay can be contacted via email at journal-editor3@mitesol.org

Collin currently teaches ESL to adult refugees and immigrants in the Adult & Bilingual Ed. Department of the Lansing School District. A Texas native, Collin has spent the past twenty years working as instructor, academic director, student advisor, and programs coordinator both domestically and abroad in numerous countries. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin, M.A. TESOL from California State University Los Angeles, and is currently completing his Ed.D. in Education Policy, Organization & Leadership: Bilingual/ESL Education at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Collin's research and presentations include Phonetics as it relates to Sociolinguistics and Acculturation, immersion language learning, and music in the classroom. He can be reached at adult-ed-sig@mitesol.org 

Allie Piippo, MA TESOL

Allie has been teaching English to speakers of other languages, both in the US and abroad (in Turkey and Japan), since 2002. She holds an MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration from Eastern Michigan University, and a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan. She also holds a certificate in Developing an Online Teaching Program from TESOL, International, and has been developing and teaching online English courses since 2017. Always willing to try new things, she has consistently been an early adopter of educational technology and is continuously looking for ways to enhance quality English language instruction with pedagogically sound technology integration.

Cynthia Macknish has experience teaching various levels from elementary and secondary to undergraduate and graduate levels in Singapore, China, the Bahamas, and Canada. Currently, she enjoys teaching ESL and TESOL at Eastern Michigan University (EMU). Her research interests include second language teaching and learning, language assessment, EAP, and critical reading and writing. Cynthia is happy to be the Post-secondary SIG leader for MITESOL, through which she is meeting and learning from many interesting people. Email Cynthia at post-secondary-sig@mitesol.org

Anthony is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan-Flint, and is fresh to the world of English language instruction. He has presented and volunteered at multiple MITESOL conferences, and has spent hundreds of hours as a volunteer English language instructor. He looks forward to expanding his education and experience as MITESOL's Professional Development SIG Leader. Email Anthony at pd-sig@mitesol.org

Sharon Umlor has taught adult English language learners in Grand Rapids Community College's Adult Education Program since 2012. She has an M.Ed. in TESOL from Grand Valley State University and extensive experience teaching English at the secondary level to a diverse group of learners in the West Michigan area. Issues of special interest to her include academic writing fluency, curriculum design, and ease of access to community information and services for all English language learners.

Rachael Wenskay is a K-5 ESL Teacher in the Lamphere School District and a member of the Oakland Schools ESL/Title III Professional Development Leadership Team. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Western Michigan University, a Master’s degree in Teaching Reading and Language Arts from Oakland University, and an ESL Endorsement from Wayne State University. Throughout her 19 year career, she has also worked as an elementary classroom teacher, K-5 Title I Reading Specialist, and briefly taught 7-8 ELA. She considers herself a lifelong learner, and loves sharing strategies with other teachers.