Hi Everyone!

My name is Heidi Faust, and I am excited to be writing to you as the chair-elect of the Intercultural Communication Interest Section. I had the pleasure of meeting some of you at the TESOL convention in Portland, and look forward to opportunities to interact with the rest of you through the listserv and in various other ways.

I am currently working as the associate director of TESOL professional training at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and am also pursuing my PhD in language, literacy, and culture there. Before that, I worked closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Education in providing training and consultation to the state’s K–12 public schools. I have traveled and worked in more than 40 countries, and never get tired of reflecting on intercultural communication and the many ways culture influences the way we interact with and interpret the words and behaviors of others.

Most recently I have become interested in critical English language teaching and social justice, as they pertain to English learners. My work in this area has stretched me personally, and I hope that it will be of some use to this interest section. I’d really like to challenge us to explore intercultural communication more deeply, and to examine opportunities to increase social justice within our work. I also hope that we can nurture and grow this community collegially by sharing our knowledge, experiences, challenges, and solutions actively.

I look forward to opportunities to engage in rich discussion and sharing with all of you.

Warmly,

Heidi Faust