Heather currently serves as an ESL Supervisor at Elgin Community College in Elgin, IL and an Educational Training Specialist for the Southern Illinois Professional Development Center, part of the Illinois Community College Board Professional Development Network. Prior to that, she served as an instructor of adult education at Waubonsee Community College for seven years. She also worked at College of DuPage where she co-developed the Adjunct Faculty Institute, a program designed to provide a comprehensive professional development program for incoming and existing adjunct faculty to help give them the tools needed to effectively share their subject matter expertise with their students in a way that promotes active, engaged learning. Heather also taught undergraduate courses in learning theories, assessment, and ESL teacher preparation at Aurora University. In addition to her work in the classroom, Heather has written curricula for adult education programs and designed and facilitated professional development opportunities for adult educators throughout Illinois. She has presented at several local, state, and national conferences including COABE (Coalition on Adult Basic Education), AAACE (American Association for Adult and Continuing Education), and CSCC (Council for the Student of Community Colleges). She also serves as the Junior Director of Region 2 on the board of the Illinois Adult and Continuing Educators Association (IACEA). Heather holds a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction with an ESL endorsement from Concordia University. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education with a minor in Spanish from the University of Illinois. She has a Doctor of Education in Adult and Higher Education with an emphasis on Community College Leadership from Northern Illinois University.
Tara Schwab has 20+ years of experience in education in the areas of instruction, training, curriculum development and implementation, and mentoring. Tara began at the high school level and expanded to adult and higher education for the past 14 years. Her experience includes all types of adult education classrooms including ICAPS, ESL, ABE and ASE. In addition to her work in the classroom, she has valuable experience in training and mentoring teachers in curriculum development and delivery, teaching methods and practices. Tara has written, submitted and implemented curricula through the Illinois Community College Board and various community college settings and designed and facilitated multiple professional development opportunities for community colleges and adult educators in the Chicago area. She has presented at many local, state, and national conferences.
Kate Anderson has been in the field of adult education for the past 15 years serving in many roles, including community planner, instructor, and program director. Currently, Kate is a member of the statewide SABES professional development team working to bring high-quality ESOL PD to the field of adult education in Massachusetts. With an MEd in Instructional Design, Kate has been in the trenches creating programs to successfully design and deliver effective remote instruction for ESOL learners.
Dr. Corinne Benedetto trained as a sociologist at the University of Chicago, researched and published in the sociology of occupations and professions, and served as associate professor at DePaul University for 20 years. While at DePaul, she supervised the School for New Learning advising team. She currently manages the transition advising team at Triton College.
Marc Goldberg is currently the Principal and Owner at Skills Strategy Consulting after more than 13 years as associate vice president, dean and director at community colleges in Oregon leading adult education, workforce development, CTE, and career pathways programs. Marc has chaired the Oregon Council for Adult Basic Development, the Oregon Pathways Alliance and helped to lead Oregon’s statewide Pathways to Opportunity and SNAP E & T Consortia. He is passionate about student success and equitable opportunity and is currently focused on projects that elevate student voices to shape inclusive policies and programs. He holds a Master of Arts in Education/Instructional Systems Development with an ESOL/Bilingual concentration from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Jessica Strickland has been teaching since 2008. She was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines and in Ukraine. Later she taught in China, before moving back to the U.S. to earn her MAT at USC Rossier School of Education. Strickland spent 2 years teaching at the University of Texas at Arlington before moving back to Washington State to teach Adult Education/High School Completion. Strickland has been involved in Guided Pathways since 2017.