Alis currently works as a Primary EAL teacher at Bangkok Patana School, Thailand.  While working in Romania, the US, Thailand and Vietnam, she has been actively involved in making the EAL programs better and stronger. She believes that good co-teaching is highly effective and has a positive impact on all students in the classroom. 

Alis has been an active ELLSA member since 2013 and joined the ELLSA Board in 2017. 

Jon works as a an IB MYP Language Acquisition English / EAL Support teacher at the International School of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. He has worked with mostly emergent multilingual students from early years up to 6th grade and especially strives to ignite a love of reading and writing in what can be a very challenging new language for his pupils. A passionate language learner, Jon can often be found with his students trading language discoveries and pushing the boundaries of current linguistic knowledge! 

A tech tinkerer, Jon manages the ELLSA website, and posts on FB, Instagram, and LinkedIn for the ELLSA board. Jon also publishes the (semi)quarterly newsletters for ELLSA.

Nicola currently works as a middle and high school English Language Acquisition teacher at the International School of the Sacred Heart in Tokyo. She began her career in the Republic of Ireland and has since developed her practice across a range of international school contexts in India and Japan. Nicola taught several mainstream secondary school subjects, including French and German, before stepping into middle leadership roles as a language acquisition and student support specialist. A SENIA-certified educator, she is deeply committed to advancing inclusive practices and championing multilingualism and learner diversity in international school communities.

Branden Watts joins the ELLSA board as Communications Coordinator, bringing over a decade of experience as a classroom teacher and dedicated education blogger. Deeply rooted in the "nuts and bolts" of the classroom, Branden is passionate about how educators connect and share pedagogical ideas in the digital age. By leveraging his expertise in platforms like WordPress, Instagram, and MailChimp, he focuses on bridging instructional practice with effective outreach, ensuring ELLSA provides valuable content that supports members and engages the broader global teaching community.

Darcy is a life-long teacher who is currently a Primary EAL teacher at Shekou International School in Shenzhen, China. Prior to Shenzhen, she taught in Bangkok, Thailand for nine years and New York City, USA for seven. She is a big proponent of co-teaching and inclusive practices, and loves watching students hone their English literacy skills.

An educator with 18 years of experience in the classroom and curriculum and teacher leadership, Iryna Zhurenko currently serves as a Head of EAL at the International School of Beijing. She holds educational qualifications in English Language and World Literature, Educational Psychology and Educational Leadership. Being quadrilingual, she is passionate about working with multilingual learners and strives to elevate the embrace of multilingualism throughout the school community. Iryna is an ELLSA Chapter Coordinator in Beijing, China and is the Conference Chair on the ELLSA Board for #ELLSA2025

Lindsay Manzella has been teaching multilingual learners for over 20 years. She recently joined Saigon South International School in HCMC as a Grade 5 EAL teacher after working in the middle school divisions at NIST International School in Bangkok, the American International School of Budapest, and International College in Beirut. Lindsay is passionate about EAL teacher leadership, collaboration, and building equitable learning systems for multilingual students through culturally responsive pedagogy, translanguaging, and advocacy.