Kaatje dalderop: 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 has recently completed her Ph.D. which investigated 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.

gabriela jessome: vice president

Gabriela’s lifelong commitment to learning began after experiencing firsthand the transformative power of language learning, she dedicated her career to supporting adult emergent readers and multilingual learners. With over 11 years as a Literacy and CLB instructor and more than 25 years in education, Gabriela is a strong advocate for equitable, culturally responsive literacy programming. As Language Programs Manager at ASSIST Community Services Centre, she leads initiatives that include Literacy classes from Foundation L to CLB 4L, a Women Only Program, as well as regular CLB and ELL streams. Her leadership, shaped by her service as ATESL President Elect, President, and Past President, is grounded in compassion, collaboration, and creative problem-solving. Outside work, she enjoys dancing, crocheting, camping and time with family.

egle mocciaro: PAST 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).

ginger kosobucki: 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.

ryane willis: treasurer

Ryane teaches English as a Second Language at the College of Continuing Education within the San Diego Community College District. She teaches refugees, immigrants, and asylees in her low-beginning class. Also, using I-BEST models, she collaborates with the nursing assistant program and helps students transition from ESL to career training. She has one master’s in Global Affairs and another master’s in TESOL. She serves as an executive committee member of her local teacher’s union, works on the PTA at her daughter’s school, and is a member of the Digital Leadership Academy in California through OTAN.

heather B. finn: 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. Her research has been published in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, TESOL Quarterly, and the Journal of Second Language Writing.

Jonneke prins: membership director

Jonneke obtained an MA in History at Utrecht University (1982) and in Dutch as a Second Language and Intercultural Communication at Tilburg University (2006). Jonneke was a teacher for LESLLA students at a community college in Breda from 1989 unto 2020. From 2012 she supported as a team coordinator her colleagues in planning programs for LESLLA students to make a good start in their life after immigration in the Netherlands. By following master studies Dutch as a Second Language and Intercultural Communication at Tilburg University her expertise had been deepened and increased. In 2008, Jeanne Kurvers introduced her to the LESLLA organization. Jonneke attended several LESLLA symposia (2008, 2010, 2014, 2018) and recently in Barcelona (2023) and Québec City (2025). In 2023–2024, Jonneke previously held a position on the LESLLA board as Director of Communications. LESLLA has inspired Jonneke throughout her career by sharing expertise on the learning processes of adult migrant students with little or interrupted formal education and by providing examples of good educational programs in the field.

louise shepperd: assistant membership director

Louise is a postdoctoral researcher at Radboud University in the Netherlands, currently working on topics related to mental health and language acquisition in migration contexts. She has been involved with the LESLLA community for over a decade, participating in her first LESLLA symposium in Jyväskylä in 2012, during her Bachelors. Since then, she has attended LESLLA conferences in Granada, Palermo and online. She has also taught in a variety of LESLLA contexts in the UK and pursued ways to include underrepresented language learners in psycholinguistic research. Louise holds an MSc in Developmental Psycholinguistics, MA in Social Research and PhD in Applied Linguistics. During her PhD at the University of York, she created and now maintains the LESLLA research database. Louise has also been involved in the Newcastle University Simply Stories project, creating accessible fiction for adult emerging readers, as well as EU speak professional development modules.

jemima rillera kempster: communications director

Jemima Rillera Kempster currently serves as an academic tutor in Initial Teacher Education programs with the School of Education at The University of Queensland, Australia. Jemima’s recently completed doctoral 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 (2005-2006) and Brisbane (2011-2021). She also completed a Master of Educational Studies in Literacy at The University of Queensland (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.

mhd ghaith alturjman: assistant communications director

Mhd Ghaith Alturjman is a Syrian linguist and educator based in Budapest, Hungary. He holds a BA in English Studiesfrom Damascus University and an MA in Applied Linguistics from Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), where he is currently pursuing a PhD in Applied Linguistics. His doctoral research focuses on the use of eye-tracking technology to investigate reading literacy and metacognitive strategy use among adult learners in English-medium higher education. At ELTE, Ghaith lectures in Academic Writing within the Department of Applied Linguistics and contributes to research on reading and learning strategies in multilingual contexts. He also works as an English Instructor and IELTS Specialist at the British Council Hungary, and is Co-convenor of the European Educational Research Association (EERA) Learning and Education Network. He holds a TESOL Certificate from Arizona State University and currently serves as the DOSZ Ambassador of Syrian PhD Students in Hungary. His professional interests include English for Academic Purposes, constructivist and social learning, immigrant and adult education, social and emotional learning, and the integration of technology in language instruction.

Thank you to past board members for your dedication to LESLLA!

Fernanda Minuz, Past President 2024-2025

Theresa Wall, Past President 2022-2023

Andrea Echelberger, Past President 2021-2022

Rola Naeb, Past President 2020-2021

Patsy Egan, Past President 2018-2020

Enas Filimban - Team Membership and Communications 2021-2024

Véronique Fortier, Team Publications 2024-2025

Stefanie Harsch - Oria, Team Publications 2023-2024

Maricel Santos, Team Publications 2021-2023

Nicole Pettitt, Team Publications 2019-2022

Mariet Schiepers, Teams Communications 2024-2025

Jonneke Prins, Team Communications 2023-2024

Annemarie Nuwenhoud, Team Communications 2021-2023

Rai Farrelly, Team Communications  2018-2021

Kate van Roekel, Team Treasurer, 2024-2025

Katie Donoviel, Team Treasurer, 2022-2024

Sara Haghighi, Team Treasurer 2020-2022

Naeema Hann, Team Treasurer 2020-2021

Lisa Gonzalves, Team Treasurer 2018-2020

Niki Cooper-Robbins, Team Secretary, 2024-2025

Colleen Brice, Team Secretary, 2022-2024

Monica Leong, Team Secretary 2020-2022

Taina Tammelin-Laine, Team Secretary 2020-2021

Jenna Altherr Flores, Team Secretary 2018-2020