egle moccoaro: president
Egle is an associate professor of Italian linguistics at the Masaryk University of Brno, Czech Republic. She has a PhD in Linguistics (2007) and another one in Second Language Acquisition (2019) from the University of Palermo. For 10 years, she taught Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at this university, with which she still collaborates closely in various research and teaching projects at the School of Italian Language for Foreigners (ItaStra). In Palermo, she also organised the 14th LESLLA symposium (2018). Her current research focuses on various aspects of morphosyntax of ancient and contemporary Italo-Romance and Sicilian and the development of morphosyntax in L2 Italian, with a specific focus on learners with limited literacy in the context of migration. Here in Brno, she leads a course on Languages and Migrations and she’s involved in various projects on similar topics, in Czechia and abroad. In 2020, she published The development of L2 Italian morphosyntax in adult learners with limited literacy (Palermo).
Kaatje dalderop: vice president
Kaatje Dalderop has served the LESLLA field in various roles: as a volunteer tutor, a teacher, developer, teacher trainer, advisor, and researcher. She holds an MA in Applied Linguistics and is currently working on her Ph.D. investigating language learning strategies in the LESLLA field in the Netherlands. Her research looks into language learning strategies as part of learner experiences and reflections as well as strategies in teaching practices. Kaatje works as a freelancer with a main focus on Dutch as a second language and literacy.
FERNANDA MINUZ: PAST president
Fernanda Minuz began working with LESLLA students in 1992 when she was appointed by the Municipality of Bologna (Italy) to reorganise the L2 programme for adult immigrants. Since then, she has been active in the LESLLA field as a researcher, author and teacher trainer. She has participated in Italian, European, and international projects on L2 teaching. Fernanda co-authored Literacy And Second Language Learning for the Linguistic Integration of Adult Migrants. A reference guide (with J. Kuvers, R. Naeb, K. Schramm, L. Rocca) and papers on heritage languages in teaching to LESLLA learners (with I. Cheffy, B. Haznedar, K. Miles, J. Kreeft Peyton, M. Young-Scholten, T. Wall). She attended and presented at the LESLLA symposia in Granada, Portland, Palermo, Pittsburgh and participated in the development of the Heritage Language Resources Hub on the LESLLA website.
NIKKI COOPER-ROBBINS: SECRETARY
Niki has a B.Ed and an MA in Applied Linguistics. The MA piqued her interest in socio-linguistics and the importance of holistic, inclusive pedagogies. Niki is a PhD student researching the displacement realities of refugee background youth. This combines three passions: multilingualism, refugee education, and creative methodology.
During her 25-year career as a K-12 international school English Language Learning Coordinator, she developed an interest in identity construction and student autonomy. Advocacy work followed by way of parent, teacher and student education at a school, local, national, and international level. Supporting emergent multilingual learners’needs and using art to guide learning motivate her.
ginger kosobucki: assistant SECRETARY
Ginger Kosobucki is the English Learning Director at Immigrant Welcome Center in Indianapolis, IN, where her work focuses on connecting immigrants to English learning opportunities. A special focus of her work is the development of the Pathway to Literacy program, geared towards adult ELLs with interrupted formal education. She has worked with a team of educators to conduct research, develop curriculum and assessment, provide teacher training, and support classroom instruction for LESLLA learners. She believes that every immigrant deserves access to language learning from their starting points, to thrive in their new culture.
mariet schiepers: communications director
Mariet Schiepers is director of the Centre for Language and Education, a multidisciplinary centre of expertise on language, education, and society at KU Leuven. Her research focuses on (second) language acquisition, literacy, and technology-mediated language learning, with a particular emphasis on LESLLA learners. Mariet has led several innovative research and development projects that bridge academia and practice. She coordinated the development of NedBox, a task-based digital platform that helps second language learners practice Dutch through authentic and engaging content, which has reached over a million users. Additionally, she co-supervised a project that explored effective blended learning strategies for LESLLA-learners and resulted in practical guidelines for adult educators. Mariet also co-developed a multilingual literacy test for asylum seekers, a groundbreaking tool that assesses literacy skills in ten different languages commonly spoken by migrants in Belgium. Mariet is dedicated to transforming research into practical solutions that enhance educational opportunities for LESLLA learners.
jemima rillera kempster: assistant communications director
Jemima Rillera Kempster currently serves as an Academic Tutor and Course Coordinator for pre-service teacher education with the School of Education, University of Queensland, Australia. Jemima is also a PhD student at UQ. Her research examines how educational experiences shape language learning among adult migrant English learners, particularly focusing on their identity development and sense of belonging. Jemima brings extensive experience teaching adult migrants in Adelaide and Brisbane (2005, 2011-2021). She completed a Master of Educational Studies in Literacy (UQ, 2020) to support her teaching approaches for LESLLA learners. Jemima enjoys exploring creative and culturally responsive ways to support adult migrants' language learning and literacy skills, including through digital poetry.
Xavier Munoz: menbership director
Xavier (he/him) is the Director of Academic Programs and Student Services at the English Empowerment Center in Virginia, USA where he oversees ESOL, family literacy, and workforce readiness programming for LESLLA and other adult learners of immigrant or refugee background. He began working with LESLLA learners in 2012 as an AmeriCorps volunteer. Since then, he has worked in adult education as a teacher, teacher educator, and program manager. He holds an MA in TESOL from the School for International Training and an SIT TESOL Certificate. He presented at the LESLLA Symposium in Pittsburgh (2019).
He is active in TESOL, adult education, and educational technology. Recently he peer-reviewed the Using Multilingual Approaches to Support English Language Acquisition spotlight for the Enhancing Access for Refugees and New Americans initiative. And he has co-facilitated and participated in numerous EdTech Maker Spaces to evaluate, curate, and create open educational resources for adult education.
Sangita Thapa: assistant membership director
Sangita Thapa comes from a community in Nepal with more than sixty ethnic groups and 123 languages, including dialects. After moving to Canada, English became her second language. She has good and bitter memories of being an immigrant. She experienced struggles learning English, and she saw many other students struggling with this too, especially adults who are not literate in their native languages.
Since then, Sangita has worked with LESLLA learners in a variety of roles in multilingual, multicultural contexts. She began LESLLA work in 2019, when she conducted a community needs assessment for a biliteracy program in Calgary. Her role then included the development of a home language literacy assessment tool and the piloting of a biliteracy class in Nepali and English. Now back in Nepal, she serves on the board of trustees for the Arunima Educational Foundation and the Arunima Charity Foundation.
veronique fortier: publications director
Véronique, PhD in Linguistics, is a professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal in Canada. She is involved in both undergraduate and graduate programs in Second Language Education. It is only in 2018 that she started working with LESLLA students and that she found her niche as a researcher and teacher trainer. Desiring to bridge her expertise in Instructed Second Language Acquisition with the realities of LESLLA students, she has collaborated on various research projects aimed at assisting teachers in implementing new teaching practices tailored to LESLLA learners' ways of learning (e.g., input-based tasks, presented at the LESLLA coffee break in November 2023). Additionally, she conducted a large-scale government-funded research project that will lead to the development of a teaching framework for LESLLA learners in Quebec. She presented her work at the LESLLA symposium in 2019 (Pittsburgh), 2022 (Tucson), and 2023 (Barcelona).
heather B. finn: assistant publications director
Heather B. Finn is a professor of ESL and Linguistics at Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York. She has a Ph.D. in TESOL and an M.A. in International Educational Development, and her work with LESLLA learners began in 2006, when she volunteered with an ESL program for survivors of torture and conducted research on how prior trauma affects English literacy acquisition. Her research has continued to focus on language and literacy learning among adult immigrant and refugee students, including how educational policies influence literacy teaching and learning, and she is especially interested in writing instruction for LESLLA learners. Heather’s recent research has been published in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, TESOL Quarterly, and the Journal of Second Language Writing. In addition to her academic work, she continues to volunteer with the immigrant and refugee community in New York City as a workshop facilitator, teacher, and tutor.
kate van roekel: treasurer
Kate, MA in Education, is the Teacher Training Coordinator for the English Language Acquisition for Adults (ELAA) program of Literacy Connects, a non-profit organization in Tucson, Arizona, USA. In this role, she trains and supports the volunteers who teach Literacy Connects’ free community-based English classes for adult immigrants and refugees. Kate served as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Chad (04-06) and Mauritania (06-07). The experience of living and working in new cultures where she needed to learn to speak and read the language sparked her interest in adult education.
She received her M.A. in Language, Reading, and Culture from the University of Arizona College of Education in 2010 and taught in the Intensive English and Teacher Training programs of the University of Arizona’s Center for English as a Second Language for six years before joining Literacy Connects. Her interests include teacher training, working with students with limited or interrupted formal education, and advocating for English language learners at the local, state, and federal levels.