IEP - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Department Chair, Professor of Applied Linguistics, and Director of International Relations and Strategic Planning for Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Amy S. Thompson (Ph.D., Second Language Studies, Michigan State University) will oversee all aspects of this project and serve as lead program coordinator. She is currently the Department Chair, Woodburn Professor of Applied Linguistics, Director of International Relations and Strategic Planning for Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at WVU, and ELLI co-director, and has experience with international students and programming at multiple universities and modalities.

Job Titles:

• Program Specialist
• Administrative Assistant for the Summer Fulbright Program

Dr. Lorena Ballester (Ph.D., Higher Education, WVU) will serve as an administrative assistant to help with budget and logistics. She serves as the program specialist for the Department of WLLL. She has over 10 years of experience in higher education working with the international student population. Dr. Lorena Ballester will serve as an administrative assistant for the Summer Fulbright Program to help with budget and logistics.

Dr. Susan Braidi (Ph.D., Linguistics University of Delaware) will serve as the curriculum co-lead. She is the academic co-director of ELLI and an associate professor of TESOL. She is on the Fulbright U.S. Student Program National Screening Committee for English Teaching Assistantships and was a Fulbright Junior Lecturer in the English Teacher Training Program in Italy. Dr. Braidi completed a B.A. degree in Spanish with a minor in Linguistics at Rutgers University, an M.A. in Teaching E.S.L./Applied Linguistics at Southern Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in Linguistics at the University of Delaware. Dr. Braidi's research interests are in Second Language Acquisition of grammar and vocabulary and second/foreign language pedagogy of grammar, reading, speaking, and vocabulary. She is also interested in Content-based, Standards-based, and Task-based instruction. She has given conference presentations on all of these topics and is the author of The Acquisition of Second Language Syntax. As a member of the M.A. TESOL faculty, she teaches courses in English as a Second Language (ESL) Methods, ESL Phonetics, ESL Linguistics, Second Language Reading, Applied Linguistics, and ESL Materials and Syllabus Design as well as an undergraduate introduction to linguistics. She also oversees the ESL language teaching practicum. In her teacher training, she combines theory with practice and fosters a research-based approach to instruction. Dr. Braidi is active in WVTESOL as a frequent board member and has served on the Fulbright U.S. Student Program National Screening Committee for English Teaching Assistantships. Dr. Braidi was a Fulbright Junior Lecturer in the English Teacher Training Program in Italy and is the recipient of both the Eberly College of Arts & Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award and the WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching.

Job Titles:

• Teaching Instructor, Events Coordinator, Academic Dishonesty Representative

Ms. Jennifer Simpson Ross (MA, TESOL/Linguistics, WVU) will serve as the co-curricular activities lead and will teach the Cross-Cultural Awareness course. She became ELLI events coordinator in 2019 and has taught many courses in the IEP, including American Culture, University Skills, and World Cultures.

Job Titles:

• Instructor

Ms. Lindsei Pereira da Silva (MA TESOL, WVU) will serve as the assistant coordinator of curriculum and will teach the Academic Skills and U.S. Academic Culture course and will oversee the curriculum as a whole. She serves as curriculum and assessment coordinator for the IEP and is also in charge of English proficiency waivers for graduate applicants at WVU.

Mr. Tracy Dingess (MA Linguistics - TESOL, WVU) will serve as the technology and host families lead and will teach the Academic Reading and Writing course. He has taught U.S. culture courses at Wuhan University, China. He teaches writing courses in ELLI and is responsible for electronic communications and the website.

Job Titles:

• Coordinator
• Instructor
• Specialist, Materials Coordinator

Ms. Kristen Williams (MA TESOL, WVU) will serve as program co-coordinator and instructor. She will coordinate the guest lectures in the afternoon Life at U.S. Universities course. She is a teaching instructor in ELLI with experience in all levels and core subjects offered in the IEP and academic writing in AMP. Kristen Williams is a Teaching Instructor in the Intensive English Program with experience in all levels and core subjects offered. She received her B.A. at West Virginia University in 2006 with a dual major in International Studies: The Americas and Spanish at that time, and a dual minor in History and TESOL. Upon graduation, Kristen began the M.A. TESOL program and started teaching in the IEP and the English Department. She received her M.A. in TESOL in 2008 and a certificate in university teaching in 2014. In addition to teaching at WVU, Kristen has served as the secretary and publisher liaison for WVTESOL.

Job Titles:

• Coordinator
• Events Coordinator
• Co - Coordinator
• Instructor, Special Programs Coordinator

Ms. Livia Cascao (MA TESOL, MA Curriculum and Instruction, WVU) will serve as the housing lead and will teach the Academic Listening and Speaking class. She has extensive experience with teaching and students' services in the U.S. and abroad. She has planned events for the IEP, co-developed the Accelerated Mountaineer Program, and coordinates special programs for ELLI. Livia Cascao started as the events coordinator in the Intensive English Program in 2007. In 2010 she started teaching as a GTA and soon became a part-time then a full-time instructor. Livia is a graduate from West Virginia University. She has earned an M.A in TESOL in 2012 and an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction in 2013. She has extensive experience with ESL teaching and students' services as she has worked directly with students while teaching in the US and abroad, planning events for the IEP, and as the president of the Brazilian Student Association. In the classroom, she creates a unique program which integrates American Culture through activities and allows students to explore their creativity and use critical thinking.