Speakers

Michèle Braud is a World Languages Specialist at the Louisiana Department of Education where she, amongst many other things, serves as the Responsible Officer for the Louisiana International Associate Teacher program and supervises K – 12 Immersion programs in French, Mandarin and Spanish. She completed her post-graduate work at Louisiana State University receiving her Education Specialist Degree (Ed.S.) in World Language Education. Ms. Braud is a National Board Certified Teacher of French with twenty-five years of experience teaching diverse students in a wide variety of settings, including pre-school through university while also mentoring new teachers and teacher-candidates. She was distinguished as Teacher of the Year and Claes Nobel Educator and inducted into the Palmes Academiques. She served as President of the Louisiana Foreign Language Teachers’ Association, as the chair of various world language departments, and on district and state committees focused on language acquisition.

Nathalie Cohen  was born and raised in France. She graduated from Lyons University. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sciences of Education and a French Primary School Teaching Degree. Ms. Cohen has been teaching from 2005 and held several teaching positions in France from Pre-K to 5th grade. She is also a teacher's trainer  as an additional mission with a specialty dedicated to Foreign languages. From 2012 to 2015, she worked with the French international school Lycee Rochambeau in Rockville, MD. This experience abroad brought her to see all the power and benefits of  CLIL teaching and dual languages programs that she strongly believes in. She is very excited to have started a new experience as French Lead Teacher at Downtown Doral Charter Elementary School in Doral, Florida.

Patrick Colinet, 51, was born in Verdun in France. A graduate in biology and geology, he became a teacher in 1995. After his military service in Germany, he served as a reservist in a parachute regiment and commanded a combat company for 2 years. For several years, he was part of the French military pentathlon team. In 2007, he became former then principal of an elementary school in 2011 in Haute-Savoie. Acting as supervisor in January 2022, he joined the Jules Verne program Jules Verne and obtained a teaching position at the O’Malley school in Anchorage, Alaska in August 2022 where he works for the second year with grade 3 students.

French DLI teacher for the 1st grade, with various experiences in different levels of elementary school and in specialized education (17 years of experience). Graduated in teaching French as a second language, I have welcomed many foreign children in my 5th grade class for the last 8 years. I have also developed the teaching of English through other subjects in France.This year, I had the pleasure of teaching 1st grade in Edgemont elementary school in Utah! I am so glad to share this experience with colleagues during this training! 

Samirath Gnabode benefited from the Future Immersion Teacher Fellowship in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 while she was enrolled in the Bilingual Early Childhood Education master’s program at Hunter College, NY. Originally from Benin, Samirath moved to the United States in 2011. She was part of the French Heritage Language Program at her school and took part in a writing competition, where she wrote about Aimé Césaire and won the first prize which was a trip to France. She also served as a Teaching Assistant for schools of the French Heritage Language Program, and she currently works as a dual language immersion teacher at NYFACS in New York.

Nancy Hong, Ed.D. is the Director of Dual Language Immersion and Magnet Programs in the Glendale Unified School District where seven language options are offered: Armenian, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. She has been a principal, consultant, and teacher and has taught in the Master of Education program at both Loyola Marymount University and the University of Southern California. She has served on committees at the California Department of Education, one of which was to draft the California World Languages Standards. Dr. Hong received her Doctorate in Education from the University of Southern California where she wrote her dissertation on the principal’s role in dual language immersion programs. 

Pape Demba Kane is an experienced educator with a global perspective. After teaching in Senegal for three transformative years, he brought his passion for cross-cultural education to the United States. He joined the Elsie Whitlow Stokes community in 2019, where he dedicated his efforts to creating engaging and culturally relevant learning environments that empower students from diverse backgrounds with French as a catalyst tool.

Pape Demba Kane is no stranger to recognition for his exceptional teaching. In 2022, he received the prestigious Teacher of the Year award, a testament to his commitment to excellence in education. As an Instructional Coach now, he continues to inspire students and fellow educators alike with innovative approaches and unwavering dedication to fostering a love for learning.

Anne (Ph.D from the Ohio State University, 2003) is a Professor/Lecturer of French, directs the French Basic Language Program, and is also the French Bridge Curriculum Director and French Coordinator for the State of Utah. Prior to this, she served as the Dual Language Immersion Coordinator (2013-15) and then Coordinator of the Secondary French Dual Immersion Program until 2018. She has been recognized professionally on several occasions, to name a few Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques (2017), and the ACTFL Nelson Brooks Award (2012). She has co-authored some first and second-year textbooks (Cengage Learning). Anne is the Honorary Consul of France in Utah.

Paula Lettiere is the founding principal of Fort Greene Preparatory Academy. As a graduate of Pratt Institute, she is proud to have had the opportunity to open a school in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, NY. Principal Lettiere started her educational career in gifted and talented education and aimed to create a school that would set such high expectations for all students in a supportive environment. An educator for more than 20 years, Paula Lettiere began her career as a teacher of English/Language Arts at Philippa Schuyler Middle School School.  She was a founding teacher of the School for Human Rights, instructional coach, and later became Assistant Principal. She received her administrative certification through the New Leaders for New Schools program in 2008.  Prior to opening Fort Greene Preparatory Academy, she was on the founding team of Mott Hall Science and Technology in the Bronx as an administrator and instructional coach.  She has acted as a mentor to aspiring leaders and is currently a guest lecturer for the education department of Pratt Institute.

Xavier Moquet is the Education Attaché and US Director at the Educational Affairs Department of the French Embassy. A graduate of Sciences Po, Xavier has had various experiences in diplomacy and international cooperation specific to education. He has previously served as Director of Public Affairs and Francophone Culture at the Conseil Scolaire Francophone of British Columbia. Prior to this, he operated as Education Cooperation Attaché at the Embassy of France in Canada from 2015-2019. He has also been in charge of strategy and development at the Sino-European University of Technology in Shanghai.

Gregg Roberts is Director of DLI Alliance, Co-Chair of the French Dual Language Immersion Commission with the American Association of Teachers of French, and former Director for Dual Language Studies at American Councils for International Education in Washington D.C. He also has served as the Dual Language Innovation Coordinator Avant Assessment.  In addition he was the World Language & Dual Language Immersion (DLI) Specialist for the Utah State Board of Education. His work with the Utah Legislature and Governor’s office led to groundbreaking changes in the way world languages are viewed and funded within the state’s K-12 schools. The  K-12 program he designed with his team is being used as a model of innovative world-language education nationally and internationally.

Ève Ryan is Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. A graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, Dr. Ryan is an educational linguist working on issues at the intersection of language, linguistics, and education. Her primary area of research focuses on the bilingual development of early-elementary school children in French-English dual language immersion contexts. Some of her published research has appeared in the International Journal of Bilingualism, the Bilingual Research Journal, and the Journal of Language, Identity & Education.  

Dawn joined Avant Assessment as the Director for Professional Learning in 2019 after serving 16 years as the Coordinator for World Languages and Dual Language Immersion for Lexington School District One in Lexington, South Carolina, where she created a national award-winning, completely performance-based and proficiency-driven program. Dawn's experiences as an educator include teaching French (including teaching in French immersion), teaching graduate level courses for pedagogical methods and proficiency driven instructional practices in the language, and serving as an administrator at both the state and district levels. In her current role she enjoys working with programs in the US and abroad, providing support for educators through effective professional learning, and instructional and administrative coaching for world language and dual language immersion programs.

Valérie Thériez is a French Dual Language Teacher Trainer, Coordinator, and Curriculum Developer with Expertise France, and is currently based in Bâton-Rouge, Louisiana. For the past 36 years, she has taught students ages 2-13, kindergarten through 4th grade, in France and Louisiana. She has experience in immersion, French as a second language, and English as a second language. She is also a certified DELF examiner & corrector. She received the titles of *2011 LACUE Primary Teacher of the Year *2013 LFLTA Teacher of the Year *2013 Cecilia Primary Teacher of the year * 2013 Louisiana State Teacher of the Year. She was the first foreign language teacher to represent Louisiana at SCOLT, in 2014. She is the current president of LCIS and Region 3 Board Member & Social Media manager of LFLTA.

Dr. Virin Vedder is Coordinator of World Languages and Dual Language Immersion for Gwinnett County Public Schools just outside Atlanta, Georgia. In GCPS, the 183,000 enrolled students come from 200 different countries and speak 100 different languages.  He supports programs of study for eight different languages k-12 taught by over 400 teachers.  Prior to this tenure, Virin served in the same school district as a local school administrator in an elementary school that is now home to a French dual language program.  Virin received his Doctorate in Education from the University of Georgia, his M.S. in Geography from the University of Georgia, and Bachelor’s degrees in French and Geography from Ohio University.