Meet Our Faculty and Staff
Most IECP English language school instructors have graduate degrees in the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages or a related field. Most have lived in other countries and learned other languages themselves. They are highly experienced in cross-cultural learning, and they understand the cultural adjustments the students have to make. All IECP instructors are active in professional organizations and attend conferences to learn about what is new in teaching and helping students.
The staff members at the IECP are qualified professionals with considerable training and experience in working with international students. Our staff is committed to providing high-quality student services.
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 Li-Ting "Lydia" Shen, Instructorlus152@psu.edu Read about Lydia |
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 Rebecca "Becky" Tang, Instructorrjt202@psu.edu Read about Becky |
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Gena Kost, Instructor |
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Jessica Arends, Instructor 
Jack O'Keefe, Instructor
Maryanne "Danielle" Bragaw, Instructor
Matthew Pierce, Interim Director
Stacie Chandler, Staff Assistant
Jim Runner, Instructor
Angela Dornbusch, Interim Coordinator for Student Advising/Affairs
Ross Fenske, Instructor
Linda Wesley, Interim Coordinator for Curriculum/Academics
Nikki Mattson, Instructor
Jessica Arends, Instructor
I have been teaching since 1999, when I completed my bachelor of arts degree in English from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, I studied great works such as the Bhagavad Gita and Tao Te Ching. This love of Eastern literature inspired me to travel and teach English in countries such as Japan, India, and Australia. What I discovered while teaching such diverse students is that teaching is impossible without learning. The teacher engages on a journey along with the student, and the two learn through their interactions with each other and with the world. I also realized that learning a language gives you a unique chance to learn not only about other cultures and people, but also about yourself. Inspired to continue teaching and learning, I then returned to the states to earn my master's in education from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Since then I have taught world literature, the English language, service-learning and civic engagement courses as well as teacher training at the university level.
In 2007 I was delighted to join IECP. In class we practice academic vocabulary and vital reading skills to best prepare our students for university courses. We also discuss current events, interview native English speakers, and research social issues. The highlight of teaching at IECP is that while I work to support students in their academic and language learning, my students continue to teach me about the world.
Contact: jha10@psu.edu
Maryanne "Danielle" Bragaw, Instructor
My earliest memories of teaching English as a second language are from second grade. I grew up in a very diverse suburb of Washington, D.C., where there were large immigrant populations. It didn't bother any of the kids that we didn't speak the same language. We would communicate through signs and laughter like most kids do. As a native English speaker, I remember teaching my friends words and phrases, as they came up, in play and class work.
During my freshman year in high school, when the opportunity arose for me to participate in the new Russian program, I didn't think twice about joining. Before I was done with high school, I had studied German and Russian and had travelled to Germany and Russia with student exchange programs.
I continued studying German and Russian in college (with a semester of self-directed study in Turkish). Once again I travelled to Germany on a student exchange scholarship. Shortly after arriving home, I decided that I loved learning languages, but that I really wanted to use my understanding of languages to get into the field of TESOL. In 1996 I received double B.A.'s in German Language and Literature and Russian Language and Literature. Within a year of graduating I was off to the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, to study TESOL.
Since graduating with an M.A. in TESOL, I have taught public school ESOL in the D.C. metropolitan area and Austin, Texas. During my time as a public school teacher, I wrote curriculum, mentored new teachers, and attended and presented professional development sessions on best practices in ESOL.
I moved to State College with my husband and son in the fall of 2008 and I have been teaching at the IECP ever since. The camaraderie and energy among the staff, faculty, and students have made my time here dynamic and enjoyable, two qualities of teaching for which I have always hoped. I continue to learn more about the world (and myself) as I do what I can to help students reach their goals in coming here.
Contact: mdb25@psu.edu
Stacie Chandler, Staff Assistant
One thing you can say about my life is that it has never been dull!
Things started out rather normally — I was born in Queens, New York, and grew up in Princeton, New Jersey. But since the day I left to study journalism at Northwestern University outside Chicago, change has been a constant companion. I wish I could say I've had adventures visiting and living in foreign lands as so many of my IECP colleagues have, but — aside from trips to the Caribbean, Canada, France, Ireland, and Rome — I've spent my adult life hopscotching across the United States.
During my junior year of college, I did a newspaper internship in Dubuque, Iowa. That summer I spent three months on an archaeological dig in Kampsville, Illinois. The next summer I married my college sweetheart, Curt, and moved to Pueblo, Colorado. Since then we have lived in Ogden, Utah; Cleveland Heights, Ohio; Pittsburgh; and, finally, Philipsburg, Pennsylvania.
Our moves have always been sparked by Curt's new jobs. In each new place, I cast about and eventually found a job and threw myself into a new town, new home, and new friends. I've worked as the press secretary for a Congressional candidate, a newspaper copy editor, a picture framer, a newspaper promotions assistant director, the director of a newspapers in education program, a home share specialist, director of a youth ice hockey league, a library clerk, a newspaper editor, the director of communications for a nonprofit community development corporation, a legal assistant, and a bookseller.
In addition to picking up new skills, new tastes, new experiences, and new friends from all the places we lived, we acquired four very special souvenirs — our children: Toby (from Colorado), Molly (from Utah), and Vince and Madeline (from Ohio). Growing up, the entire family was active in Boy and Girl Scouts, with lots of hiking and camping. All four children played ice hockey, which isn't really a sport, but a lifestyle. As our family grew, we needed more space and so a favorite family pastime was purchasing beautiful, big, old houses that needed vision and a lot of hard work and turning them into welcoming homes filled with love and laughter.
I have many happy memories of everywhere I have lived. I have found magical and unique qualities in every region of the country. I love people and learning about new things and have always thrived in environments that are high-energy, unpredictable, people-oriented, and deadline-driven. That's what I love about the IECP — the opportunity to meet so many warm and wonderful students from all over the world. I am also very fond of tasting all their favorite dishes from home and trying their recipes in my own kitchen!
Contact: slc44@psu.edu
Angela Dornbusch, Interim Coordinator for Student Advising/Affairs
I was shocked the first time I realized that I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Shocked, I guess, because I had already been doing it for years without really being aware of it. What began as a means of making my fascination with travel a reality has surprisingly become my career — the means have suddenly become more important than the end. My purpose in traveling was not to move from country to country in a whirlwind tour but instead to be able to live in the countries I visited; teaching allowed me to do that. In Tonga, my job title was "fai'ako ngaue 'ofa," which translates to "teacher who works for love." This was true in more ways than one, since as a Peace Corps volunteer, I worked without pay; more importantly, as a teacher, I was able to be a part of the community because of the important role I served. In my mind, I was teaching in order to be loved, or at least to be accepted as, if not one of them, an ally. At the same time, not wanting to give up my American-ness, I often felt lost, floating between worlds, not knowing where I belonged; teaching was my connection to the community in which I lived, helping me to learn about the language, the culture, the people.
Since my first teaching experience on that small tropical island, I have traveled extensively throughout Asia, Oceania, and Europe, teaching English to speakers of other languages in a variety of settings, from multinational students in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, to persons ranging in age from 4 to 64 in southern Taiwan. Although it took several years, thousands of air miles, and many different teaching environments, I eventually came to the startling realization: I was no longer "teaching to travel" but instead "traveling to teach." I was, in fact, a teacher. Once I had come to that realization, I spent six years turning my passion into a career, first as a student and later as a faculty member at San Francisco State University, where I received an M.A. in English (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and graduate certificates in teaching postsecondary reading and the teaching of composition, and taught English to multilingual pre-academic and university students.
Today I am happy to be teaching English with the IECP of Penn State. I love my career as a teacher of ESL because I am given the opportunity to work with language learners who are facing many of the same obstacles that I struggled with during my first days, weeks, months in a new country — wanting to keep old friends but also make new ones; to learn about the new culture of which they are now a part, but not forget where they came from; and to learn something that will take them further in life, but not give up their dignity in doing so. In teaching English to speakers of other languages, I strive to help my students make that connection between becoming who they want to be, without giving up who they are. I welcome all of you to the IECP at Penn State and look forward to joining you on your newest adventure!
Contact: ajd24@psu.edu
Ross Fenske, Instructor
I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to teach and travel in a number of different places around the world, as well as here in the United States. My career in teaching ESL/EFL began in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
After graduating from Rollins College in Florida, I decided to travel for about six weeks. My original plan was to visit several countries in the southeast region of Asia and then return to the United States to look for work. However, I was so intrigued by the beauty and exquisiteness of Thailand that I wanted to stay, and the only way I could do that was to teach English, so I did. Before I knew it, my six-week holiday became a five-year adventure. I taught for four years at Chiang Mai University and for one year at a conversation school in Japan.
After these experiences I felt that I had found my calling: teaching English to international students. To do this properly, I needed to further my education, and I returned to the United States to seek a master's degree in English, specializing in TESL. Upon getting my master's from Oklahoma State University, I returned to Japan and taught in a small town just outside of Kyoto for two years. I then returned once again to the United States and began my current job at Penn State.
Living in a foreign country can be an incredible journey. Learning something new, like a language, only enhances the experience. This is true no matter how old or young you are, and simply deciding you want to learn is only the first step; however, it is up to you to get the most from your "adventure." Learning a language may not always be an easy path to follow, as you need to attend your classes and fully engage yourself in them, not to mention doing ALL of your homework! Remember too that learning also takes place outside the classroom. Go out and meet new friends, get involved in different clubs and activities, watch TV, and listen to the radio. Interact with native English speakers whenever and however you can. The more you involve yourself with the real world, the more helpful your classroom instruction will be. So, as I have continually stressed with all of my students, practice, practice, practice! And don't be afraid of making misteaks ... oops ... mistakes.
Contact: rmf160@psu.edu
Nikki Mattson, Instructor
I can vividly remember sitting in my small efficiency apartment in Strasbourg, France, during my junior semester abroad, diligently tallying my class credits in preparation to return to the States to graduate with a French major and an English minor. As I thought more about what type of career path my degree could lead to, I searched through a vocational pamphlet and stopped at a section, "Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)." That is when it hit me — TESOL was the career that would allow me to combine my passion for language learning, teaching, learning about other cultures, international travel and cuisine, and even dancing and drama, on occasion.
So, upon the completion of my undergraduate studies, I pursued my M.A. in linguistics and TESOL certification at the University of South Carolina (USC). I also had the opportunity to teach intensive English at USC, both while I was completing my course work and after I graduated from the program. Most recently I gained more international experience by working as an English Language Instructor for secondary school students at Lycée Marc Bloch in Strasbourg, France.
As for now, I am very excited to be a part of the IECP team! I am also happy to be back in central Pennsylvania, as I spent my high school and college years in Hollidaysburg and Harrisburg, respectively. In my free time I enjoy the outdoors, reading, cooking, and visiting with my family, my two cats, and friends. I hope that you will also enjoy central Pennsylvania, and that your time in State College will be productive and fulfilling!
Contact: nla12@psu.edu
Jack O'Keefe, Instructor
I come from a small family: mother, father, and one brother, who is one year younger than I am. I was born in Germany, where my father was serving in the U.S. Army, but I spent only the first eight weeks of my life there. I grew up in Michigan, and then I went to college in Florida (my undergraduate degree is in history from Florida State University) and South Carolina before I moved to Hawaii in 1985, where I spent most of my adult life.
After I moved to Hawaii, I worked in Waikiki for a couple of years, and then I went back to school, at the University of Hawaii (UH), to get a master's degree in teaching English as a Second Language. Shortly before I graduated from UH, I started teaching at Hawaii Pacific University (HPU). I taught ESL at HPU for eighteen years, until the school unexpectedly closed its ESL program.
I like to travel. I always wish that I made more money, so I could travel more! Still, I have been to many places. I've been to Canada many times, and to Mexico and Brazil twice. I've also been to Ireland (the land of my grandparents) twice. In the South Pacific, I've been to Samoa, and in Asia, I've been to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. In the United States I've been to more than half of the states, and in the Aloha State, I lived on Oahu, and have been to all of the other touristed islands: Kauai, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and the Big Island of Hawaii.
I also like collecting, including books about Canada and Ireland, as well as about my Catholic faith. I collect music, too, and I especially like international music. I have music from all over the world: Canada, Ireland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Angola, Senegal, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and a few other countries that I can't remember! I also love to watch movies, especially dramas. I don't like the typical loud, action-packed or juvenile Hollywood movie. Among my favorite movies are Korean ones — over the last several years, Korea has produced many very good films.
I like sports, too. My favorite sport is hockey. (In North America, hockey means ice hockey, not field hockey — but I like that sport, too.) I also like soccer. I used to play it almost every day when I was a teenager. In addition to watching the Premier League and La Liga in season, I always watch the World Cup every four years. I watched all sixty-four games of the 2006 World Cup (Germany), as well as all sixty-four games of the 2002 World Cup (Japan/Korea). (I didn't teach during those summers to make sure that I could watch all of the games!) I used to follow Formula I auto racing closely — for a few years in a row, I attended the United States and Canadian Grand Prix races, but I haven't been to a race recently. I also like to watch the summer and winter Olympics on TV, as well as the Tour de France bicycle race every summer.
My faith is of utmost importance to me, and is the center of my life. I am always happy to talk about it with anyone who asks. Learning is also important to me. I feel it is important to learn every day (by reading, listening, and following the news) because people should always try to advance themselves. Also important to me is trying one's best. If people try their best, then they can be satisfied with themselves, even if they don't always succeed.
Contact: jfo10@psu.edu
Matthew Pierce, Interim Director
I was born and raised in Auburn, a small city in central New York State. My family and I moved to South Florida in 1978 when I was 14. I lived in Miami for fifteen years, and then in Ft Lauderdale until August 2009. I have traveled to many interesting places around the world. I lived in Seoul, South Korea, for a short time, teaching English at Si-sa-yong-o-sa English Language School in the Chongno-gu section of Seoul. Teaching in a culture different from my own taught me a lot about what my international students go through when they move to the United States. I learned how to live in a culture that was different from my own, which gave me the experience of how different people live in another part of the world. I have also traveled to Canada, England, Germany, and Italy. Meeting new people and having new life experiences in different cultures and countries is a great way to live one's life. My best advice is to go to a new country where you don't know the language. Take a train trip and explore your destination. I found that when I started talking to the people, even when I couldn't speak the local language, I learned so much from that experience. I met great people, ate wonderful food, and have memories that will stay with me for my whole life. This is one of the most helpful pieces of advice I can give anyone moving to a new country.
I moved to central Pennsylvania in August 2009 to start teaching at the Intensive English Communication Program at Penn State. Before moving to Pennsylvania, I taught at Broward Community College in Fort Lauderdale for twelve years. My students came primarily from the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. In addition to my teaching responsibilities, I coordinated the English for Academic Purposes program for four years. I worked closely with the other campuses to expand the program from seven to fourteen separate courses, establish an exit-from-the-program exam, and integrate the learning labs on all the campuses.
Now at Penn State, I am looking forward to enhancing my experience through interactions with my colleagues and support staff, and by teaching students and learning as much from them as they learn from me. I hope we can share our knowledge and wisdom to help one another grow into the best people we can be.
Contact: mgp11@psu.edu
Jim Runner, Instructor
I have been with IECP for many years, and I have seen many students come through our English program. Learning a new language takes hard work, but IECP students meet new friends and work together with other students. They find that living in a new country and studying language is a great adventure and can also be fun. I am happy to have seen so many students meet the challenge of learning a new language, and become so good at English that they can study at an American university. That is a great accomplishment, and one of which you will be proud!
A teacher's job is to help when help is needed. That is actually much of the pleasure of being a teacher. We like to be there at the time you need us. When you leave the IECP with the English that you need for taking your next step, we feel that we are a part of your success.
I enjoy art, music, and poetry. I did graduate work in linguistics, and my undergraduate studies were in biology. For me, these subjects relate to each other. Science is a logical way to uncover relationships in the physical world, and the arts provide ways to uncover and express our own feelings and opinions. I find that both the arts and the sciences provide insight into language learning. We expect language to be logical. We expect our university studies to make sense. We also need to be able to reach into ourselves and know our own thoughts. Through language, we find ways to express ideas about life, logically and personally.
The energy of a city is an amazing thing, but it is also good to know the quiet of the woods. My wife and I have chosen to live in the woods, on the side of a small Pennsylvania mountain. We see animals every day, often deer, and sometimes a bear. It has taken several years of work, but we have built our own house. I enjoy working with my hands and seeing the results. Building a house is similar to learning a language or earning a university degree. We persevere, taking many small steps. Some are difficult, some are easy, and in the end they add up to another big and important step in life.
Contact: jmr11@psu.edu
Li-Ting "Lydia" Shen, Instructor
When I was young, I had the chance to study abroad, away from my home, Taiwan, in Malaysia and Vietnam. I was in international schools and was asked to attend ESL classes during English and social studies class hours. I had wonderful ESL teachers who helped me through the tough first semesters and into the mainstream courses. Believe it or not, that was when I thought maybe being an ESL teacher would be COOL.
I finished my high school and university educations in Taiwan. I applied for grad school in MATESL (Master of Arts in Teaching English as Second Language) at Penn State, and they accepted me. One year after entering the program, I started teaching part-time at the IECP. This was the beginning of my ESL teaching life. IECP is such a wonderful place to work in because of all the resources and support that come from Ann, the director, and the faculty. I would think that IECP is a nice place to study English too. I often thought to myself, what if I could be a student here? Wouldn't that be nice? Being half a student and half a teacher at that time, I realized that being a student could be a happy job.
I graduated from the MATESL program in May 2008. I decided to continue to work in the IECP mainly for two reasons: I like my job, and I love State College. Teaching English is not teaching a subject. Teaching English is teaching "life," which a lot of people outside our circle can't understand, because English is an essential part of survival skill if you want to study in an English-speaking country. As for State College, most city people would say that State College is the world's most boring place to be, and I think they are right. It's not a place where you can find lots of excitement or thrills, but it is a place where you can easily find peace. On the weekends my friends and I find our own entertainment. In winters we snowboard; in summers we play sports outdoors. I think the fun in life lies in oneself. The most important thing is that State College is definitely a nice place to be a student. The people here are kind to international students, and the faculty and staff at the IECP will warm your heart.
Having studied abroad myself, I would like to say that perhaps it was the best steps I have taken in my life. It is a whole new experience in every perspective of life. I hope you will have the chance to enjoy this too.
Contact: lus152@psu.edu
Rebecca "Becky" Tang, Instructor
I teach English to speakers of other languages because I really enjoy experiences beyond my own suburban American cultural background in Hamburg, New York. I first experienced meeting people from other cultures as a high school student, when I participated in service projects in Canada, Russia, and Australia; my eyes were opened, and my heart was deeply touched by the unique traditions, customs, and history of the people I met in each location, along with their universal desire to learn and develop as people, nations, and a global community. Later, attracted by the diversity of Chicago, I studied world religions and theology (B.A.) at Wheaton College and linguistics/TESOL (M.A.) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Additional experiences in my college and university years — tutoring immigrants from South Asia in English, studying abroad in the Middle East, teaching English for a summer in Thailand, and developing programs for international students in the United States — expanded my world view significantly, even before I began my formal career in teaching English to speakers of other languages at DePaul University's English Language Academy (ELA). After three years at the ELA, I lived for three years in my husband's native Taipei, Taiwan, teaching English in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at National Taiwan University and studying Mandarin before moving to State College and joining the IECP at Penn State. Now, having taught English to speakers of other languages from more than thirty nations in the United States and in Asia, I can see that empowering diverse students to reach their own goals, while fostering a wider global understanding, is my professional passion. I also believe that teaching and learning from students from around the world continues to be one of the most personally enriching experiences of my life. I am thrilled to be able to do so in beautiful central Pennsylvania on the Penn State IECP team.
Contact: rjt202@psu.edu
Linda Wesley, Interim Coordinator for Curriculum/Academics
I still remember the first day that I entered my first Spanish class in eighth grade — I was so excited! The idea that I was going to be able to communicate in a second language thrilled me. This passion continued throughout high school and college — and continues today.
When I went to college, I decided to study photojournalism and Spanish at Western Kentucky University. Upon graduation in 1987, I had an opportunity to combine my two majors when I developed a photographic partnership with a school in Bogotá, Colombia. After that summer I spent one year as a photojournalist, but quickly realized that Spanish was still very important to me. By chance, I got a phone call from a principal back in my hometown in Tennessee. He wanted to know if I would become a Spanish teacher. I tried it, loved it, and have been teaching ever since!
After teaching Spanish for several years, I began working on a master's degree. I returned to Western Kentucky and completed an M.A. in English, with an emphasis in teaching English as a second language in 1996. Soon I began teaching K–12 and junior college ESL in many schools in my county. I also became very involved in teacher training and even had to the opportunity to train English teachers in Ecuador.
In 2004 my husband and I moved to State College from Tennessee. We really love our new life here and all the great opportunities the move has given us. In our free time we both like to travel, read, and see movies. In addition, I still love photography and also enjoy scrapbooking.
I was very fortunate to begin teaching with the IECP in 2005. This program offers such an amazing opportunity for students from around the world to interact with both native speakers and fellow learners from a variety of cultures. I hope that you will have a wonderful experience here and that you will embrace all of the opportunities there are for you!
Contact: lsw16@psu.edu