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.

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. Using multimedia and technology in the classroom are Kim’s areas 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.

Laura Hebert
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.

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.

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.

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

Amy Piper
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.

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.

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.

Lauren Waters
M.A. Applied Linguistic, Georgia State University

Originally from Carrollton, Georgia, Lauren received her MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. While at GSU, Lauren worked as an ESL tutor and a graduate teaching assistant in the Intensive English Program. Her research interests include interrogatives in conversational grammar, third language acquisition, and pronunciation.

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

Monica Hollie
Receptionist

Carol Weaver
Program Assistant

Vicky Wyatt
Student Services
Coordinator