Bashar Al Hariri (he/him)is Assistant Lecturer of English at the University of Toledo, where he teaches ESL composition and linguistics classes. He is also the Education Services Manager at US Together Refugee Resettlement Agency in Toledo, where he oversees the ESL and youth mentoring programs. Bashar helps youth refugees to enroll in colleges and universities. He is also part of a Mental Health Wellbeing program, which aims to help refugees navigate their daily lives. Bashar is an advocate for hiring immigrants and refugees for work in the Toledo area. He helps new Americans in understanding their civil rights and duties. Bashar has over ten years of experience teaching EFL, TOEFL, and IELTS in both Syria and Jordan.

Fatmeh Alalawneh (she/her) is a doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction and a Graduate Dean’s Fellow at the University of Toledo. Her general research interests include issues of diversity, access, equity, and inclusion in higher education, refugee and adult education, and adult ESL literacy. In particular, she explores the systemic, social, and economic barriers that discourage ESL adults from joining college. Through her volunteer work, Fatmeh helps immigrants and refugees navigate the American higher education system and advance their academic and professional careers. She has twelve years of experience teaching ESL/EFL courses inside and outside the United States.

Goals

1. Reaching new audiences in ESL/EFL professional communities through increasing visibility of SRIS work and partnerships
2. Promoting language access advocacy, cultural competency, and linguistic inclusion among TESOL members in particular, and ESL/EFL communities in general