I was a language acquisition educator for more than 20 years. After earning degrees in both French Literature and Education, I taught French to secondary students in Chicago and the Chicagoland area. I've continued on my own multilingualism journey by also studying Latin, Italian, German, Turkish and Dutch and have somehow been able to acquire some Spanish (all with varying degrees of retention and success!).
Since 2016 I have been the Curriculum Manager for Language Acquisition for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme. The IB Diploma Programme is a rigorous pre-university course of study designed for students in the 16-19 age range.
As Curriculum Manager, I oversee the ongoing development of Diploma Programme language acquisition courses—ensuring their relevance and rigour. I lead and manage curriculum review teams, bringing together stakeholders from various language profiles, countries and cultures. I travel extensively to support educators at teacher-training workshops and to attend and present at conferences.