Laura Hancock is a world traveler and a professional communicator as well as an educator. An EFL specialist, she has worked as an English teacher in Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, the Republic of Georgia, and the Ukraine. She also served in the US Peace Corps as an English Teacher from 2008-2010 in Kyrgyzstan. Stateside, she has worked in New York City; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles, California; and now Ypsilanti, Michigan in a variety of education-based positions, including ESL, basic literacy, cooking lessons for children, English-language summer camps for Italian students visiting NYC, and nature-based curriculum development for the Orange County Hiking Club.
Laura holds a BA in Government and East Asian Languages and Literatures (focus Japan) from Smith College, a Professional Writing certificate from the University of Washington, and a CELTA. She is currently a Peace Corps Coverdell Fellow at Eastern Michigan University as an MA TESOL candidate, where she teaches ESL Freshman Comp and interns with Washtenaw Literacy. She also works with the Institute of Reading Development, teaching classes to all ages: from phonics for kindergartners to critical reading classes at the University of Akron and Rutgers. Additionally, she has extensive experience in copywriting, SEO, and marketing as she used to be a partner in a start-up content writing company. She speaks Japanese, Russian, and is currently learning German. She would be happy to tell you what she does in her free time, but is not familiar with the concept. You can reach Laura at communications@mitesol.org.