KEYNOTE & FEATURED SPEAKERS

Keynote Speaker (AM): Dr. Debra Suarez

Join Dr. Debra Suarez, a noted TESOL leader, as she unpacks core tenets of Transformational Leadership theory, with a focus on the components of “inspirational motivation” and “idealized influence.” Why is transformational leadership a useful framework for TESOL and multilingual educational contexts? How can ESL and bilingual education teachers develop these leadership skills to impact change for their students? This presentation will also offer specific strategies that teachers can use to practice their own transformative leadership skills to effect change in their classrooms and schools, with their students and with their fellow teachers. The presentation will include conclude with examples of Transformational Leadership in-Action from ELT and bilingual contexts around the country, and around the globe.

Featured Speaker (PM): Dr. Ayanna Cooper

Ayanna Cooper, EdD, is a consultant, writer, U.S. Department of State English Language Specialist alumna, and is currently serving on the Board of Directors for TESOL International Association. She is the author of several publications including And Justice for ELs: A Leader’s Guide to Creating and Sustaining Equitable Schools, Black Immigrants in the United States (co-edited) and serves as Language Magazine’s Pass the Mic Series editor.

In her presentation titled "The Miseducation of Multilingual Learners; Regrounding in Their Civil Rights". Dr. Ayanna will be discussing how multilingual students bring rich cultural and linguistic diversity to their school communities, including how the civil rights mandates can be used by educators to self-assess their depth of knowledge, and redress so that students' social and academic trajectories are in place.