NNETESOL’s executive board officers are President, President-Elect, Past President, Secretary, Treasurer, Publishers’ Liaison, Web Master, and six Regional Representatives: two representing each state of the tri-state association. The executive Board is a group of volunteers who serve from one to three years and meet several times a year to implement policy matters, conduct the daily business of the association, produce conferences and oversee its work.
2011 – 2012 Executive Board
President (term 2011-2012)
James Whiting – jcwhiting@mail.plymouth.edu
James Whiting is an Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and the Coordinator of the TESOL M.Ed. program at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire. He has an M.A. in TESOL from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from New York University. He has over two decades of experience in TESOL as a teacher and teacher-trainer. He taught English language learners in Spain and then at the City University of New York for a decade. He has trained English language teachers overseas in Kaliningrad, Russia as a Senior Fellow in the State Department’s Office of English Language Programs, and as a Fulbright Scholar in Panama. He holds a K-12 ESOL license in Vermont.
President-Elect (term 2011-2012)
Kirsten Kollgaard – kkollgaard@gmail.com
Kirsten Kollgaard is an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher at JFK Elementary School in Winooski, Vermont. She has also taught ESL and reading at the middle school level and has taught work skills English to adults in the Burlington area. She holds a masters degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont. An avid traveler, she has taught English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Korea and Colombia and she enjoys working with families from all around the world.
Past President (term 2011-2012)
Shelly Chasse-Johndro – shelly.chasse@maine.edu
Shelly Chasse-Johndro is the Associate Director for a Title III grant from the US Department of Education operated through the University of Maine and teaches English as a Second Language (ESL) endorsement courses for pre- and in-service teachers. She earned a Bachelors of Science from the University of Maine at Farmington, a Master of Education and ESL endorsement from the University of Maine. Shelly serves as a member of the Maine Department of Education Bias and Sensitivity Committee. As a trainer-the-trainer through the University of Maine’s Diversity Leadership Institute (UMDLI); Shelly cultivates opportunities to understand, appreciate, support and strengthen the diversity of the community. She is also the lead individual of the Mathematics in TESOL forum for educators interested in the effects of language acquisition, instructional strategies, and culture in the teaching and learning of mathematics concepts.
Secretary (no term limit)
Vacant
The Secretary is responsible for recording, retaining and disseminating the minutes of all meetings; keeping records of the association, including all official documents and correspondence; shall handle official correspondence as delegated by the President. Along with the President-Elect will preside over meetings in the absence of the President.
Treasurer (no term limit)
Vacant
The treasurer shall be responsible for recording, maintaining, monitoring and conducting the financial business of the association; and presents a financial report at each Executive Board meeting and the annual business meeting. Other written budget reports may be required as directed by the President or Executive Board.
Webmaster (no term limit)
Beth Evans – tofubeth@yahoo.com
Beth Evans is an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher at a K-5 elementary school in Burlington, Vermont. She is a trainer for Content and Language Integration as a Means of Bridging Success (CLIMBS), a program to introduce mainstream teachers to World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) standards and tools. She also is the coordinator for the Raffles and Awards booth at TESOL 2012.
Publisher’s Liaison (no term limit)
Karen Boxell – kboxell@winnacunnet.org
Karen has been teaching ESOL students at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, NH for the past ten years. Prior to that she had taught ESOL in Casablanca, Morocco; Taegu, South Korea; and at the Anglo Continental Language School in Cambridge, MA. She has Communications degree from Northeastern University in Boston, MA, and a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Literacy from Leslie University in Cambridge, MA. She is very involved in ESOL professional organizations which support the needs of ESOL teachers and their students across the tri-state area, and wherever else they are found. She lives in Newburyport, MA with her husband, Bob, and cat, Buster.
Maine Regional Representative (term 2011-2014)
Alexander Lapidus – alapidus@usm.maine.edu
Alexander Lapidus holds a Ph.D. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and Composition. He is an English as a Second Language teacher-scholar and specializes in applied linguistics, the theory and pedagogy of multiliteracies, and cross-cultural communication. He has taught English as a Second Language in the US and overseas.
Maine Regional Representative (term 2009-2012)
Ina Demers – Edemers467@roadrunner.com
Ina Demers is a Chinese/Indonesian, now American educator, who immigrated to Maine in 1974 and is currently employed by the Portland Public Schools. In 2007 she initiated, developed, and still oversees a voluntary program to assist adults in Portland learn English at the Whole Foods Market. Collaborating with one of the University of Southern Maine (USM) professors, she has designed a Service Learning program and recruits volunteers for this program. Her community involvement also includes, but not limited to, serving as Board member and Secretary of the Cumberland County Cooperative Extension in conjunction with UMaine Cooperative Extension focusing on educating newcomers on issues of physical and mental health, nutrition, and agriculture. She also uses her Eastern artistic skill of Origami to help K-8 students learn Mathematics.
New Hampshire Representative (term 2011-2012)
Karen Goyette – karenjgoyette@hotmail.com
Karen Goyette is the ESOL Program Director for the Hudson School District. She also teaches as an adjunct for Plymouth State University, focusing on courses for pre- and in-service teachers. She earned a Bachelors of Arts from Hiram College and a Master of Arts in English / Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language from Colorado State University. Karen has worked with all age levels and abilities of English Language Learners; she has worked with ELLs in private and public institutions of secondary education, refugees, and ELLs in grades 1- 12. In her free time, Karen loves to travel, play the violin, and play the piano.
New Hampshire Representative (term 2009-2012)
Debra St. Lawrence – dstlawrence@windhamsd.org
Debra St. Lawrence is the English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Coordinator for the Windham and Pelham Schhool Districts in southern New Hampshire. She oversees five tutors and the ESOL programs in seven schools. She holds a Master’s in TESOL with K-12 certification and a Bachelor’s in Spanish with secondary certification. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Educational leadership and learning.
Vermont Representative (term 2010-2013)
Anne Wright Shank – awrightshank@cssu.org
Anne Wright Shank is an English Language Learner teacher at Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg, Vermont. She is a recent graduate of the MATESOL program at St. Micheal’s College in Colchester, Vermont. She first taught EFL at Paya Mengrai High School in Chieng Rai, Thailand as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Vermont Representative (term 2011-2014)
Vacant
The Regional Representatives are responsible for ensuring communication with the members in each state respectively, and are to serve as liaison between respective state members and the association. Regional Representatives are charged with promoting membership in their states and presenting a collaboratively written state report to the Executive Board at each board meeting. They are charged with helping the association to better serve the members in their state. They are also responsible for organizing and presenting a spring gathering in their respective states, with the assistance of other board members residing in their state and volunteers from the membership list.