ITBE SIG Chairs
ITBE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS (SIGS) CHAIRS
Illinois TESOL-BE's Board also consists of Officers and Elected and Appointed Board Members.
For more information on each Board position, view Illinois TESOL-BE's Constitution and Bylaws webpages.
For more information on each Board position, view Illinois TESOL-BE's Constitution and Bylaws webpages.
ADULT EDUCATION
Joseph Hester
Adult Education SIG Chair
Contact: adultsig@itbe.org
Joseph Hester is an Adult Education ESL Instructor at the College of Lake County. He completed his MA in Linguistics / TESOL at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2005 under the supervision of Elliot Judd. In addition to teaching ESL, he has served ESL programs in a variety of roles including as a manager of ESL faculty, assessment, tutoring, and resources. He is dedicated to serving and assisting in the development of ESL students, instructors, and the TESOL profession. He has served on the ITBE Board since 2018 as Awards Chair and Adult Ed SIG Chair. In his free time, he loves spending time with his family, exercising, and listening to audiobooks.
Contact: adultsig@itbe.org
Joseph Hester is an Adult Education ESL Instructor at the College of Lake County. He completed his MA in Linguistics / TESOL at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2005 under the supervision of Elliot Judd. In addition to teaching ESL, he has served ESL programs in a variety of roles including as a manager of ESL faculty, assessment, tutoring, and resources. He is dedicated to serving and assisting in the development of ESL students, instructors, and the TESOL profession. He has served on the ITBE Board since 2018 as Awards Chair and Adult Ed SIG Chair. In his free time, he loves spending time with his family, exercising, and listening to audiobooks.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Ishmael Neequaye
Higher Education SIG Co-Chair
Contact: highsig@itbe.org
Ishmael Neequaye is a native of Jamestown, a suburb in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. He has a background in English Education at the undergraduate and master’s levels from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana from 2017 - 2023. He holds a teaching license in secondary education from the Ghana National Teaching Council and has taught ESL at the secondary and tertiary levels in Ghana since 2015. His research interests are vocabulary studies, curriculum studies, second language assessment, and teacher education. Currently, he serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and Consultant Mentor in the Writing Program at Illinois State University. Aside from that, he is a member of the College of Arts and Sciences Council and the Graduate Student Advisory Council. Outside of ISU, he serves on the ITBE Board as a Co-Chair of the Higher Education SIG and is also a member of the TESOL International Association.
Contact: highsig@itbe.org
Ishmael Neequaye is a native of Jamestown, a suburb in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. He has a background in English Education at the undergraduate and master’s levels from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana from 2017 - 2023. He holds a teaching license in secondary education from the Ghana National Teaching Council and has taught ESL at the secondary and tertiary levels in Ghana since 2015. His research interests are vocabulary studies, curriculum studies, second language assessment, and teacher education. Currently, he serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and Consultant Mentor in the Writing Program at Illinois State University. Aside from that, he is a member of the College of Arts and Sciences Council and the Graduate Student Advisory Council. Outside of ISU, he serves on the ITBE Board as a Co-Chair of the Higher Education SIG and is also a member of the TESOL International Association.
Michael Wannah
Higher Education SIG Co-Chair
Contact: highsig@itbe.org
Dr. Michael Wannah is an Associate Professor of Education in the Department of Education Studies and the coordinator of ESL and Bilingual Education at Chicago State University. Dr. Wannah also taught ESL, Bilingual Education, TESOL, Curriculum and Instructions, and Foundations of Education courses at Concordia University Chicago. Dr. Wannah is a lifelong educator and serves as the Vice President of the Liberian Studies Association. He enjoys spending time with my family and friends, reading, writing, watching sports, cooking, listening to all kinds of music, deejaying and just joling around. Dr. Wannah obtained his Undergraduate Degree from the Urban Pontifical University in Rome, He received a Master and a Ph.D. in Education from Loyola University, Chicago. He also received a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with Advanced Professional Specialization and an ESL certificate from National Louis University.
Contact: highsig@itbe.org
Dr. Michael Wannah is an Associate Professor of Education in the Department of Education Studies and the coordinator of ESL and Bilingual Education at Chicago State University. Dr. Wannah also taught ESL, Bilingual Education, TESOL, Curriculum and Instructions, and Foundations of Education courses at Concordia University Chicago. Dr. Wannah is a lifelong educator and serves as the Vice President of the Liberian Studies Association. He enjoys spending time with my family and friends, reading, writing, watching sports, cooking, listening to all kinds of music, deejaying and just joling around. Dr. Wannah obtained his Undergraduate Degree from the Urban Pontifical University in Rome, He received a Master and a Ph.D. in Education from Loyola University, Chicago. He also received a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with Advanced Professional Specialization and an ESL certificate from National Louis University.
SECONDARY EDUCATION
Lila Birchfield
Secondary Education SIG Co-Chair
Contact: secondarysig@itbe.org
Lila Birchfield earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Spanish/Secondary Education from Millikin University in 1977. She began her teaching career at St. Viator High School in
Arlington Heights. While at St. Viator, she became the ESL tutor for the religious sisters who
worked for the Clerics of St. Viator. That experience sparked her interest in teaching ESL which led her to earn a Master of Arts in Linguistics with an endorsement in ESL from Northeastern Illinois University in 1984. In the same year, she began teaching at Glenbard North High School where she taught world languages and ESL classes, eventually being appointed the ESL Coordinator. After her retirement from Glenbard North in 2010, she continued to work with high school students. In the summers of 2011 and 2012, she traveled to Nowy Sacz, Poland to teach in the Young Talents Summer School, a project sponsored by the European Union through National Louis University and its sister university Wyzsza Szkola Biznesu. Additionally, she has taught teacher certification classes in Curriculum and Instruction at National Louis University and a reading course to international students at Roosevelt University. As an independent tutor, she provides academic support for struggling students and enrichment activities for talented students. She has been teaching English Language Acquisition classes at Harper College since 2004 and has served as the Secondary Interest Group Chair for ITBE since 2010.
Contact: secondarysig@itbe.org
Lila Birchfield earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Spanish/Secondary Education from Millikin University in 1977. She began her teaching career at St. Viator High School in
Arlington Heights. While at St. Viator, she became the ESL tutor for the religious sisters who
worked for the Clerics of St. Viator. That experience sparked her interest in teaching ESL which led her to earn a Master of Arts in Linguistics with an endorsement in ESL from Northeastern Illinois University in 1984. In the same year, she began teaching at Glenbard North High School where she taught world languages and ESL classes, eventually being appointed the ESL Coordinator. After her retirement from Glenbard North in 2010, she continued to work with high school students. In the summers of 2011 and 2012, she traveled to Nowy Sacz, Poland to teach in the Young Talents Summer School, a project sponsored by the European Union through National Louis University and its sister university Wyzsza Szkola Biznesu. Additionally, she has taught teacher certification classes in Curriculum and Instruction at National Louis University and a reading course to international students at Roosevelt University. As an independent tutor, she provides academic support for struggling students and enrichment activities for talented students. She has been teaching English Language Acquisition classes at Harper College since 2004 and has served as the Secondary Interest Group Chair for ITBE since 2010.
Jerry Kim
Secondary Education SIG Co-Chair
Contact: secondarysig@itbe.org
Jerry Kim is entering his 16th year as a high school English and Multilingual educator. He currently teaches high school students English at Niles Township High School District 219. Prior to coming to his current district, he taught in other school districts around the Chicagoland area suburbs, as well as in central Illinois. Jerry earned his Bachelor of Science in Instructional Technology and Telecommunications from Western Illinois University in 2001. After working in the corporate sector as a training coordinator, he taught martial arts (which he had done since high school). He then completed his English teaching certification, ESL endorsement, and eventually received his Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from National-Louis University. In his free time, Jerry enjoys traveling with his wife and 3-year-old son, weightlifting, playing the drums, dabbling in tech, and is constantly searching for the best Korean food outside of his home country of South Korea.
Kelly Caplan
Secondary Education SIG Co-Chair
Contact: secondarysig@itbe.org
Kelly Caplan is a professional educator with over 10 years of experience tutoring secondary mathematics and 5 years of experience teaching in the higher education field. In 2011, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She then taught Mathematics at the College of Lake County for 5 years. In 2019, she began working as a Mathematics Tutor and Peer Tutors Club Sponsor at a suburban high school. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching with Endorsements in Secondary Mathematics and ESL from National Louis University. She is passionate about helping multilingual learners find their voice in the education system, and soon, in a classroom of her own.
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
Vacant
Elementary Education SIG Chair
Contact: elemsig@itbe.org
Contact: elemsig@itbe.org
Connect with us: