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New Jersey Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages/New Jersey Bilingual Educators (NJTESOL/NJBE) is delighted to share some exciting news about a new initiative.
NJTESOL/ NJBE is thrilled to announce our very first Executive Director. Our organization currently has approximately 1,500 members. We are continually growing and branching into new areas of professional development and advocacy. The Executive Board has been in discussions for several years about the need for an executive director who will help steer our organization as we continue to explore new opportunities to represent better educators in New Jersey, as well as their students and families.
Ms. Kathleen Fernandez began this position in January 2020. She previously taught ESL for more than 30 years, including one year as a bilingual teacher. She taught Kindergarten - 8th grade for 21 years in New Jersey. She has had experience with Pre-K through 12th grade, as well as instructing teacher candidates at Rowan University in New Jersey. She has presented for our organization multiple times at the annual Spring Conference and participated as an active volunteer at the conference for many years.
Ms. Fernandez reactivated the NJTESOL/NJBE Burlington County chapter. She served as Chapter Leader for 19 years. Additionally, she presented at the Tri-County Speech and Language Association, West Jersey Reading Council, New Jersey Education Association Conference in Atlantic City, and several school districts. Ms. Fernandez also participated in committee work/advocacy on the state level as a member of the New Jersey Department of Education Bilingual Advisory Committee and at the national level as a consultant/trainer/validator for Educational Testing Service in the development of the English as a New Language Praxis and assessments for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
As the Executive Director of NJTESOL/NJBE, Ms. Fernandez will work closely with our Executive Board to further our mission. Already, she is connecting with our membership by creating a professional development survey that will identify the specific content of professional development that our members are interested in having presented. We will continue to keep our members and our affiliates updated as we develop new initiatives like this one.
If you are interested in collaborating with NJTESOL/NJBE feel free to contact Liaison, lmatthews@njtesol-njbe.org
LeighAnn Matthews, NJTESOL/NJBE Liaison, is a K-12 ESL Instructional Coach in Bridgewater, New Jersey. She is also a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University. During the summer months, she teaches English as a Foreign Language at Rider University’s Study Tours Program. | 
