Roxanna Senyshyn, Ph.D., is the Chair of the ICIS (2019-2020). She is Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics and Communication Arts and Sciences at Abington College Pennsylvania State University, where she teaches TESOL education and intercultural communication courses. Her research interests include three strands: transformative intercultural learning in teacher education, intercultural (communication) competence development for academic and professional purposes, and second language writing pedagogy and assessment. She has been involved in the ICIS community since 2015 TESOL convention in Toronto, Canada and joined the leadership team in 2017 as a member-at-large. Now in her role as the Chair, she is committed to advancing the ICIS purpose of addressing the ever-growing needs of TESOL professionals to effectively engage in intercultural communication and culture learning, teaching and researching in diverse and changing contexts. 

Roxanna grew up multilingual, studied and worked in different national contexts, traveled extensively for professional purposes and personal pursuits. She loves photography, art, and nature walks with her family, and she enjoys watching documentaries, reading popular psychology books, and baking cakes for special occasions.

Natalia Balyasnikova is the Chair-Elect of the ICIS. She has been a member of the IS community since TESOL 2015 Convention in Toronto. Prior to her current role, Natalia served as the Newsletter Editor and Community Manager for the ICIS. As the Chair-Elect, Natalia works with the current Chair to forward the mission of the ICIS and best serve the interests of its members. Natalia is a PhD Candidate at the University of British Columbia, set to defend her dissertation in the summer of this year. Her research analyzes the complexities in the construction of сultural identities of older immigrants to Canada. She is passionate about community engagement and arts-based research and language teaching. Email Natalia with any questions at natbal@mail.ubc.ca.

Ramin Yazdanpanah, PhD, is a past-Chair of ICIS. He holds a doctorate from Florida State University for his research on developing intercultural competence between English language teachers and students. He has extensive experience as an English language teacher, teacher educator, and TEFL-certificate Program Director. He has recently completed a Fellowship with the U.S. State Department in Vietnam, and has returned to the U.S. as founder and director of FULL CIRCLE Language Learning, LLC. (https://www.fullcirclelanguage.com). Among other endeavors, passions and hobbies, above all else Ramin loves the intersection of education, culture and music. You can hear his didgeridoo and cajon in his flamenco band, The Maharajah Flamenco Trio (https://www.mftrio.com/).

Barbara Lapornik, M.A., is ICIS past-Chair and has been a community member since 2014. She comes from the city of Trieste, Italy, where she is currently the European project manager, vice-principal, and EFL exam tutor at the Liceo Scientifico – Državni znanstveni licej “France Prešeren.” She has twenty years’ experience in organizing and coordinating EU international projects, student exchanges, and civics competitions. She speaks at conferences in the EU, the US, and China. She is a passionate worldwide traveller and a keen book and film lover. She focuses her present research on intercultural student education in diverse studying contexts and on critical awareness. As ICIS past chair and present Steering Committee member she actively promotes and supports our community, advising on future directions. You can reach Barbara at barbara.lapornik@gmail.com

Andrea Enikő Lypka is co-editor of the ICIS Newsletter. She coordinates and distributes Calls for Submissions/Invited Submissions; works with authors to refine articles/content; and coordinates with TESOL Central Office Staff to produce newsletters. She is a PhD Candidate in the Second Language Acquisition and Instructional Technology (SLA/IT) program at the University of South Florida (USF) and teaches ESL in Florida. Her research interests include community-based research and visual methods, educational technology, Latinx indigenous language learners, discourse analysis, and identity. She enjoys photography and travelling. She can be reached at alypka@mail.usf.edu

Sharon Tjaden-Glass is co-editor of the ICIS Newsletter. She fields inquiries and submissions for the newsletter, recruits possible contributors, handles permission requests for reprinting, and coordinates copyediting between authors and coordinates with TESOL Central Office Staff to produce newsletters. She is an instructor for the Intensive English Program at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. Her research interests include computer-assisted language learning, educational technology, instructional design, best practices in intercultural communication, and L2 listening instruction. She enjoys Game of Thrones (sometimes, too much). She can be reached at stjadenglass1@udayton.edu.

Erika Tatiana Mejia is the ICIS Community Manager. She coordinates the online community and communication needs of the ICIS community in consultation with the ICIS Officers, Steering Committee, and TESOL. She is responsible for directing initiatives to streamline communication, promote the ICIS mission and to engage members in ICIS activities. She has been teaching for 12 years now. She has worked in elementary schools, language centers such as Berlitz, and she has also performed as academic coordinator. She has presented as a speaker at MEXTESOL convention and Academic Saturdays from MEXTESOL Mexico City Chapter and was elected as TESOL Ambassador for the TESOL 2019 Convention. Her research interests include instructional design, educational technology, linguistics, and formative assessment.

She can be reached at erikatmejia@yahoo.com.

Leslie Bohon, Ph.D, has broad experience of over 25 years in international education at the university and secondary levels as an ESL/EFL professional, cross-cultural researcher, administrator, teacher and professor, program start-up and developer, curriculum developer, and professional development trainer. She currently serves as Interim Director of ESL Services at the University of Richmond (Virginia, USA) and consults in international education. She is active in professional TESOL and international organizations and presents her work at numerous state, national, and international conferences. Her research interests are international student development; language, cultural, and academic needs of international students; intercultural competence, and internationalization of higher education. Dr. Bohon’s Ph.D. is in Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership with a focus on international education from the College of William & Mary. She completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the University of Virginia in French language and Second Language Curriculum and Instruction. You can reach Leslie at leslie.bohon@richmond.edu.

Josephine Prado, Ph.D., has recently joined the ICIS leadership as a member-at-large. Her role includes assisting and collaborating with the ICIS leadership team to serve ICIS members effectively. She earned a PhD in Educational Linguistics from the College of Education at the University of Alabama. Her research interests lie within the intersection of culture, identity, and language, and focus on teacher education as it aligns with educational equity, intercultural competence, and peace linguistics. She loves traditional Celtic music, the natural world, reading (almost anything), and yoga. Please email Josie at jprado@uab.edu.