Ann Ramos, Associate Director for External Programs
M.A. Linguistics/TESL, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

Ann has been working with and teaching English to International students for more than 25 years. Before coming to Alabama, she taught in university Intensive English programs in Illinois, Missouri and Niigata, Japan. She has lived in Japan and visited countries in Asia and Europe.

Laura Hebert, Academic Advisor
M.A. Teaching English as a Foreign Language, American University in Cairo, Egypt

Laura has been at the ELI for 16 years but has also taught ESL in Illinois and California.  She has 7 years of experience teaching abroad in Egypt, France and most recently Japan. As an undergraduate, Laura spent a year studying in France.

Kim Andrus
M.A. TESOL, Bowling Green State University

Kim is originally from Hagerman, Idaho. He has lived in Guatemala and is a fluent Spanish speaker. He has taught English in Ohio and Illinois, and he has been teaching at the ELI since 1999. Educational technology is Kim’s area of professional interest.

Allison Callahan
M.A. Applied Linguistics/TESOL, University of Alabama

Allison is a native of Alabama. She completed her first undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Commerce from the University of Alabama. Upon graduation, Allison worked in corporate sales for Kellogg’s. Prior to earning her Master’s at UA, she earned her second undergraduate degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Allison’s teaching experience includes being a high school teacher as well as teaching English to undergraduate students at UA and working as an ELI apprentice. She has traveled throughout Central and South America; and, she loves learning new languages, meeting new people, reading, and The Alabama Crimson Tide, especially Alabama Football.

Marci Daugherty
M.A. TESOL, Monterey Institute of International Studies

Marci has taught EFL overseas for 3 years in Hefei, Anhui, China and for 2 years in Liberec and Jablonec nad Nisou in the Czech Republic. She has also taught ESL in Texas and California.

Catherine Dockery
M.A. TESOL, University of Alabama

Catherine completed her master’s degree in May, 2006, and is proud to be a member of the ELI faculty. She has taught ESL to children, college students, and adults. She is especially interested in teaching English through Literature, but enjoys all aspects of ESL education.

Al Evans
M.A. TESOL, University of Alabama

Al has taught ESL for over 20 years and spent half of that teaching overseas in junior high schools, high schools, and universities. As a Peace Corps volunteer he worked in Nepal, and later was a language trainer for the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers. He began his teaching career in the middle schools of Hitachi, and later moved on to universities and intensive English programs. Al’s research interests include Computer Assisted Language Learning, digital media, extensive reading, brain-based learning, and flow theory. All of these shape his classrooms.

Interests in writing new materials, designing new activities, or applying newly learned concepts to courses usually mean you can find Al working on something interesting at his desk. At home, he is often seen with a hammer or shovel in his hand, and usually has either a movie or recipe on his mind. At the ELI, where Al has worked since 2008, students easily recognize him on warm Fridays when he wears Aloha shirts.

Bill Henderson
M.A. TESL, The University of Alabama

A native of Selma, Bill earned his BA in German Studies and his MA in TESL at the University of Alabama. He has taught at universities and in corporate settings in Korea and Hungary where he specialized in Business English and preparing students for overseas study.

Brad Hodges
M.A. Applied Linguistics/TESL, Georgia State University

Originally from North Carolina, Brad has lived, worked and studied in three French-speaking countries (France, Gabon, and Canada). His second language is French, and he enjoys learning about the syntax and cultural inferences of other languages. Before coming to the ELI, he taught in Gabon for three years, in a university ESL program in Atlanta, and in Canada during an exchange. He especially enjoys teaching essay organization, common academic vocabulary, and word- and sentence-level stress and other pronunciation issues.

Frannie James
M.A. TESOL, University of Alabama
M.S. Library and Information Studies, The University of Alabama

Frannie has been involved in International Education at The University of Alabama since 1990. For much of that time, she has been at the ELI. However, she has also taught first-year composition to UA students. And, she currently teaches Introduction to Global Studies (CIP 200) and Culture and Human Experience (IHP 105) at UA. Each of these courses focuses on fostering intercultural awareness in degree-seeking UA students, many of whom are international students. Her current role at the ELI is coordinating Culturally Speaking. This is a class in which degree-seeking UA students meet with small groups of ELI students twice a week for discussions focused on issues of culture.

Demetria Li
M.A. in TESOL, Mississippi College

Demetria Li has been involved in EFL/ESL since 1997, when her teaching career began with a China Teaching Fellowship in Beijing, China. After spending seven years teaching students of all levels and ages ranging from 2 to 60+, she returned to the U.S. to pursue a master’s degree in TESOL while simultaneously coordinating an Intensive English program. In 2010, Demetria’s continued interest in English education in developing countries led her to Kyrgyzstan, where she participated in the English Language Fellows program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Demetria loves learning about other cultures.

Julia Lindsey
M.A. TEFL, American University in Cairo

Julia spent her childhood between Italy and California. In 2008, she decided to change careers and moved to Egypt. She taught English at the British Council in Cairo, Egypt while she earned her CELTA certificate. Afterwards she worked in an elementary school for a year in Busan, South Korea. She then taught at the Intensive English Program at the American University in Cairo and completed her M.A. in TESOL in 2012.

Kelly McPherson
M.A. TESOL, University of Alabama

Kelly is originally from Nashville, TN. He taught for 2 years in Okinawa, Japan and has been teaching classes in Alabama since 2003. Kelly enjoys travelling and has visited 23 different countries.

Marc Metzler
M.A. TESOL, School for International Training

Marc Metzler is originally from Oshkosh, Wisconsin and has taught TESOL since 1999. He completed his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a major in English Literature, and he has a MA-TESOL from the School of International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont. Marc has taught TESOL extensively in universities throughout North Africa, Europe, and Southeast Asia. He also participated in two English Language Fellowships sponsored by the U.S. Department of State in Tunisia and Kazakhstan where he worked as a teacher trainer. At the ELI Marc enjoys teaching grammar and academic writing.

Emily Mitchell
M.A. Education/ESL, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Emily grew up in Brandon, Mississippi. After completing her undergraduate degree from The University of Alabama, she moved to Barcelona, Spain. Emily spent a year and a half teaching English to a group of medical research students and working as a bike tour guide for tourists from all over the world. She completed her MAEd/ESL at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2011. While working on her Master’s at UAB, Emily taught ESL to adult and university students and completed an internship at the English Language and Culture Institute. Besides teaching, Emily enjoys pop culture, traveling, playing sports and making music

Sarah Nowak
M.A. TESOL, Seattle Pacific University

Sarah enjoys teaching students of all ages and levels. Her overseas experience includes teaching English in Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea. She also taught seminars in global leadership and cross-cultural communication in the United States. Since receiving her MA-TESOL, she has worked exclusively in Intensive English programs at universities in Massachusetts and New Jersey. Sarah’s interests include music, history, linguistics, and travel.

Jay Robbins
M.A. TESOL, Boston University

Jay has been teaching at the ELI since 1987. He also taught English for one year in Pusan, Korea, and one year in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Jay enjoys reading, playing tennis, and learning about other cultures.

Drew Sanford
M.A. TESL, University of Memphis

Drew is originally from Dyersburg, Tennessee. While working on his Master’s in ESL, he taught at Intensive English for Internationals at The University of Memphis. He has also taught in France and the Czech Republic. Drew recently taught in Japan for five years. Drew speaks French, Japanese, and enjoys learning other languages. He also enjoys meeting people from other countries. He has traveled extensively throughout Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania for a total of 48 countries.

Jenica Smith
M.A. TESOL, University of Central FLorida

Jenica began teaching English at the University of Central Florida, where she earned her M.A. in TESOL. Since that beginning, she has taught English at Shantou University in China, trained teachers in Zambia as an English Language Fellow, and taught English to American and international students in Alabama. Jenica has also studied in France and worked in Canada. She enjoys bike rides, reading, and finding her way around foreign countries.

Catanya Stager
M.A. TESOL, Wright State University

Catanya grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and she received her undergraduate degree in English and Classics and her Master’s Degree in TESOL. She loves learning languages, and languages she knows include French and Ancient Greek. She is especially interested in thinking skills and teaching techniques.

Amy Taylor
M.A. Foreign Language Education/TESL, University of Texas at Austin

Originally from Missouri, Amy received her BA in English and her MA in TESL. She has been teaching English to international students since 2000. Her teaching experience in the U.S. includes teaching in Texas, Florida, and Alabama. She has also taught university students in Mexico and Taiwan.

David Taylor
M.A. TL – TESOL, The University of Southern Mississippi

David comes to the ELI after a year teaching at the Alabama Language Institute in Gadsden. He also taught ESL, Literature, Art and History for 3 years overseas in Ecuador, South America on the high school and college levels. He earned his master’s degree from USM in 2000. David is also an accomplished photographer. He has taught photography on the university level and has had numerous gallery shows of his images across the south. He enjoys the creative process, whether it is in the field of art or in the classroom.

Michael Townley
MA TESOL, University of Alabama

Michael earned his Bachelors in Linguistics and Legal Studies, and his Masters in TESOL from the University of Alabama. While studying in Japan, he discovered that he loved teaching English while doing so at Hiroshima University and privately. Michael has a particular interest in pronunciation training, critical thinking, academic writing methods, and the role of student attitude in the classroom. He has done research on the role of listening in pronunciation acquisition. Some of his other interests include studying racial and social interactions in the American South, listening to various kinds of music, and traveling.

Kendall Yates
M.A. TESOL, The University of Southern Mississippi

Kendall grew up in Selma, AL and completed her graduate degree in TESOL from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2008. Prior to graduate school, she spent a year teaching English in Beijing, China. Besides teaching, Kendall enjoys traveling to other countries and learning about different cultures.

Amanda Burroughs
Accounting Assistant

Wendy Grof
Accounting Assistant

Monica Hollie
Receptionist

Carol Weaver
Program Assistant

Vicky Wyatt
Student Services
Coordinator