Board Member Profiles

President
David Chiesa

Dr. David L. Chiesa is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Language and Literacy Department at the University of Georgia and serves as the English as a Second Official Language (ESOL) Endorsement, TESOL Minor, and Online TESOL Certificate Coordinator in the TESOL and World Language Education Program. Prior to coming to UGA in Fall 2019, he was the English Language and Testing Specialist for the Ministry of Public Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and had served in various roles overseas for the U.S. Department of State’s Office of English Language Programs in Japan, Mongolia, Mainland China, and Uzbekistan. Dr. Chiesa’s research examines the intersections of instructional design and language teacher development, while maintaining a strong tie between research and practice. He utilizes different research traditions in applied linguistics, such as naturalistic inquiry and psychometric research, to address issues in language assessment/testing, assessment literacy of teachers, and second language writing.

1st Vice President
Susan Mann

Susan Mann serves as the Literacy Coach at Rome High School in the Rome City School District. Susan earned her bachelor's degree in Art Education at Berry College. After three years of teaching, she pursued her master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction at Berry College, where she focused on strategies to enhance reading comprehension for students diagnosed with dyslexia. The teaching strategies she found to be the most effective were those that were common practice in the ESOL classroom. This insite inspired a career shift, and in 2019, she took on the role of an ESOL co-Teacher. In 2022 Susan completed her Tier 1 Leadership Certificate through the University of West Georgia and in 2024 student took on the position as Literacy Coach at Rome High School where she works to support teachers in reaching all students.

2nd Vice President
Anna Yang

Dr. Anna Yang is an instructional coach for the Multilingual Learner Program Office in Gwinnett County Public Schools. Now in her 20th year in education, she has extensive experience supporting multilingual learners through teacher coaching, professional learning, and policy advocacy. Previously, she served as the project coordinator and de facto instructor for an NPD grant through the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), which endorsed teachers in ESOL. She also taught middle and high school social studies, integrating language support for multilingual learners.

She holds a B.S. in Secondary Education: History from Toccoa Falls College, where she minored in TESOL, an M.Ed. in TESOL from the University of Georgia, and a Ph.D. in TESOL from the University of Georgia.

Treasurer
Alisa Leckie

Dr. Alisa Leckie is a Professor at Georgia Southern University and Assistant Dean for Partnerships and Outreach. Her work focuses on the education of culturally and linguistically diverse students and adolescent literacy. Currently she is studying meaningful discipline-specific academic language development and the impact of earning ESOL endorsements on the professional practice of K-12 teachers. She is also working with local school districts to help them address the growing numbers of English learners in their classrooms through collaborative coaching and the modification of materials and assessments for emergent English learners. Prior to moving to Georgia, Alisa taught Language Arts, Spanish Language Arts and ESL for 18 years at a middle school in southern Arizona.

Secretary
Benjamin Bradshaw

Benjamin Bradshaw is the Lead ESOL Teacher and an Instructional Coach at Summerour Middle School in Gwinnett County. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Middlebury Language Schools, and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in School Improvement at the University of West Georgia. His research interests include the process and impact of scheduling decisions on Multilingual Learners and instructional strategies that increase ML engagement.

Ben seeks to support students and educators as they work together to achieve both multilingualism and multiliteracy while pursuing their own interests and goals.

2nd Year Member-at-Large
Maria H Gillentine

Maria Helena Gillentine is the Compliance Coordinator for the Multilingual Learner Program Office in Gwinnett County Public Schools. She has been an educator for 32 years, beginning as a Bilingual Education teacher in California. Her passion is to work with Multilingual learners and their families, and she is committed to student development and the learning experience. Having grown up bilingual, her goal is to support teachers and influence best practices that are essential to emerging bilingual/multilingual students and beneficial for all. She moved to Georgia in 2004 and raised three children, earned an MA in Business at Shorter University, and her Ed.S. in Educational Leadership with an emphasis on Curriculum and Instruction.

2nd Year Member-at-Large
Nihal Kote

Nihal Khote is an Associate Professor of TESOL in the Inclusive Education Department in Kennesaw State University, GA. His research explores the cultural and linguistic dynamics that constrain or enable the academic achievement of multilingual students in the US and on connecting these issues to advocacy and sound curricular practice. His work investigates the implementation of culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogies like systemic functional linguistics and translanguaging to advance the literacy and language development of multilingual learners. He is currently working on a year-long project with a 5th grade ESOL science teacher to implement standards-based content and language curriculum to support English learners in Columbia County, GA. Prior to his university position, he was an ESOL language arts teacher for 13 years in a high school in Dalton, GA.

2nd Year Member-at-Large
Jennifer Pendergrass

Jennifer Pendergrass is the ESOL Instructional Coach for Floyd County Schools. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Deaf education at Ball State University, her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction at University of Phoenix, her ESOL endorsement at Northwest Georgia RESA, and her doctorate in teacher leadership at Walden University. Jennifer published her doctoral thesis, “Increasing the Vocabulary Acquisition Rate for Third Grade English Learners” in 2017. GATESOL Journal published her manuscript, “Cultivating Respectful Classroom Discourse in Trump’s America” in 2017 as well. She was selected by the Conferences Professional Council (CPC) of TESOL International to be the Poster Sessions Team Leader for the 2019 TESOL International Convention & English Language Expo. Jennifer served two years as GATESOL Regional Liaison for Regions 1 and 2. She also served as Secretary in 2018 and 2nd Vice President in 2019 on the Executive Board of GATESOL.

1st Year Member-at-Large
Amy Archer

Amy Archer is an EIP teacher at Birney Elementary School in Cobb County School District (CCSD). Prior to her current role, she taught Dual Language Immersion (DLI) for seven years. During her experience in DLI, she served as the team lead at her local school and for DLI English teachers within the district. After school, she serves as the site director for LaAmistad, a program provided by a non-profit organization that teaches English to Latinx students and families.

Amy received her bachelor’s degree in elementary and special education with a minor in Spanish from the University of South Alabama. She holds an M.Ed. in TESOL from Auburn University, and an Ed.S. in Language and Literacy with a concentration in TESOL from the University of Georgia.

1st Year Member-at-Large
Terence Burger

Terence Burger is the ESOL Lead teacher at Smitha Middle School in Marietta, GA. He has taught ESOL Social Studies, Reading, and ELA at the middle and high school levels in Pennsylvania and Georgia for over fifteen years. For the past two years, Terence has been an instructor with MetroRESA, teaching the culture class of the ESOL endorsement.

Terence received his bachelor’s in social studies education from Penn State University in 2009. He also received his M. Ed in TESOL from Kennesaw State University in 2018. This year, Terence will be on the Newsletter and Dr. Elizabeth Webb Professional Learning Series committees of GATESOL.

1st Year Member-at-Large

Rochelle Emamifar

Rochelle Cricchio-Emamifar has been an educator for English for Speakers of other languages for over 25 years. Throughout her career, she has worked as a K-5 teacher, a K-12 Homebound teacher, an Early Intervention Program teacher, and an ESOL teacher. She has actively provided effective instruction, collaborated with colleagues, and promoted family engagement for multilingual learners. My skills and experiences have deepened my understanding of the diverse needs of Multilingual learners and reinforced my commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for both students and educators. 

Rochelle received her bachelor’s in early childhood education with an English as a Second Language certification in Texas. She then earned her master's in reading through Walden University. She also earned her Ed.S. in Instructional Technology and Educational Leadership Tier I certification at Kennesaw State University. She continues to grow and lead as an educator by earning many endorsements in gifted education and reading instruction (LETRS).

1st Year Member-at-Large
Gerakie Marie Kossonou

Geraki Marie Kossonou, Ed.D., is the lead ESOL Instructional Specialist for Clayton County Public Schools and a Metro RESA ESOL Endorsement instructor dedicated to helping multilingual learners succeed. She provides coaching and professional development for educators, focusing on strategies such as the SIOP model, differentiation, culturally relevant education, and co-teaching. She presented at various conferences such as SETESOL and SIOP.

Past President
Elizabeth Webb

Elizabeth Webb is the Supervisor for ESOL and Title III for the Cobb County School District. A Georgia native who has worked in public education for 30 years, Dr. Webb has taught English and German, served as the director for the non-profit organization Friends of Goethe, and at the Georgia Department of Education. She also directed the English Learner Program for Gwinnett County Public Schools for 9 years, before moving to her present position of leadership with the Cobb County School District.

Dr. Webb believes passionately in the importance of professional engagement, professional learning, and advocacy. She has served on the GATESOL Board as a Member-At-Large, Secretary, First Vice-president, and most recently President. She now serves in an advisory capacity as our Past president.

Dr. Webb holds a B.A. degree from Agnes Scott College, an M.A. from West Georgia College, and earned her Doctorate in School Improvement from the University of West Georgia in 2018.

GATESOL Journal Co-Editor
Alex Reyes

Dr. Alexandra J. Reyes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Middle Grades and Secondary Education in the College of Education at Georgia Southern University. She serves as the TCLD (Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse students) M.Ed. program director and the English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Endorsement coordinator. Prior to earning her Ph.D. in Education (Culture, Curriculum, and Change) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2018, Dr. Reyes taught middle and high school in Connecticut and Arizona. Her experiences teaching Spanish, AVID elective, Student Government, and various Language Exploratory and test preparation courses in multiple contexts informed her commitment to providing culturally and linguistically responsive educational experiences to students in P-12 schools and beyond.

Dr. Reyes prepares pre-service and in-service teachers to work with culturally and linguistically diverse students, and to integrate arts and literature across the curriculum. She draws on her diverse experiences working in P-12 education, non-profit organizations, and higher education to direct her service and scholarly interests. These interests focus on the intersections of language, culture, and identity, and how they inform learning experiences for bi/multilingual communities in informal and formal education settings. Dr. Reyes is also interested in arts integration pedagogies and methodologies, particularly as means to lowering barriers for students from linguistically and culturally marginalized backgrounds.