The Executive Board

This volunteer board is made up of TESL Toronto members from diverse educational sectors with a wide range of skills and experience. Guided by TESL Toronto’s mandate,  the board serves its membership through various activities, including:

• organizing a local conference to provide members with excellent, affordable professional development opportunities, and
• maintaining and developing the TESL Toronto website as a relevant and timely source of information.

Join the Executive

If you’re interested in being a part of the TESL Toronto Executive Board, we’re looking for you!  Currently, we are specifically looking for members from the LINC Settlement sector. To apply, fill out an Expression of Interest [doc] and email it to Akua Joseph at info@tesltoronto.org. Applications are accepted throughout the year, and successful applicants officially join the Executive at our Annual General Meeting in May.

Current Executive Board (2011-2012)

Akua Joseph, President
Akua holds an MA in English Language Teaching from the University of Reading in England.  She also has a TESOL certificate from the University of Toronto.  She has teaching and administrative experience in Canada and abroad.  Her main interest is in the cultural issues involved in English language learning and how these issues are dealt with in classroom programs and materials. Akua currently works at the University of Toronto in the English Language Program at the School of Continuing Studies as a Coordinator with a focus on Student Relations and Academic Resources.  She is responsible for handling all student issues of an academic nature. She also manages all academic resources and assists with the day-to-day academic operations of full-time intensive courses.

Steve Allen, Member at Large
A 15 year career in TEFL has lead Stephen to Canada via Poland, China and the UK. He has worked for EF Education for over 11 years. He has worked in a variety of roles including Regional Academic Support, School Director and Materials Developer as well as his current role as Academic Director at EF Toronto. MA TESOL and Trinity TESOL Post Graduate Diploma qualified, his main interests these days are academic quality management and teacher observation and feedback, especially how the feedback sessions result in practical applications in the classroom.  Recent research includes investigating the causes of learners maintaining or losing motivation over a longer course of study and investigating questions in the classroom – who asks them and why. Stephen is also an active member of IATEFL and also presents at conferences both here in Toronto and round the world. In his free time Stephen likes to read, play bass in his band, snowboard, cycle and cook.  Not all at the same time.

Joan Bartel, Member at Large
Joan has been interested in languages since a childhood trip abroad. Years later she returned to Europe to do a Masters in Language Teaching with a thesis on adult language learners. She considers herself lucky to have worked in both teaching and program administration, and also textbook writing: in an Adult Education program in Germany, at Harvard in the U.S. and in various positions in Toronto. She got a Career Counselling Certificate in 2005. In the OSLT (Occupation-specific Language Training) program at Humber College she has found a great place to use all of her educational background. She is a frequent presenter on soft skills and immigrants’ critical communication needs for employment and recently self-published Office Soft Skills 1 and 2 in response to those needs.

Karen Campbell, Treasurer
Karen works at The Learning Enrichment Foundation as a Coordinator and Instructor for a Pilot Program – LINC in the Workplace – where she is passionate about giving employees a chance to improve their English skills and thereby empowering them to live their dreams in Canada.  After a multi-faceted career working for many high-profile companies, Karen undertook a career change. Recently, she has taught and coordinated English programs overseas and confirmed for herself how we are all, indeed, one large global family.  Karen’s pastimes are gardening, reading, socializing with both old and new friends and volunteering at a local animal shelter.  Karen lives with her family and four cats in Mississauga.

Cheryl Fretz, Recording Secretary
Cheryl completed her B.A. at the University of Waterloo in 1994, and set off to Japan to teach English. Six years later, she came to Toronto to complete her M.A. in Second Language Education at OISE, and took a TESL training course at CCLCS.  Over the past 10 years, she has taught in private schools, colleges, universities, and LINC.  Cheryl’s interest in teacher training led her to her present position as TESL Co-ordinator at CCLCS.

Jennifer Freudenthal, Member at Large
Jennifer is a secondary ESL and Core French teacher in the Toronto District School Board. She holds a Master of Education degree, specializing in TESOL, from the State University of New York at Buffalo and an ESL Specialist qualification from York University. She was previously the Director of Academic Programs at Eurocentres Toronto and has taught ESL to both children and university students in New York State, as well as EFL in the Czech Republic. Coming from TESL Ontario’s Executive board, Jennifer is now looking forward to not only connecting with, but also representing, Toronto’s TESL community.

Patricia Glogowski, Member at Large
Patricia holds an MA in Applied Linguistics and a TESOL Certificate from UofT. She is an ESL Instructor at York University English Language Institute. She is a blogger, researcher, teacher trainer, conference presenter, volunteer, traveler, photographer, and most recently Twitteress.  She is interested in creating dynamic, full of fun learning environments that help students become motivated and life-long language learners. She is also interested in meaningful uses of technology in language learning.

Jennifer Harris, Member at Large
Jennifer works at the University of Toronto’s Continuing Education Department, and has a wide range of experience in teaching, teacher training, curriculum development and administration. She also loves paddle sports and has competed on an international level in Australia, Europe, Malaysia and in the United States.

Aga Palalas, Member at Large
Aga is a Curriculum Specialist at George Brown College. She has a comprehensive background in teaching ESL, curriculum development, language benchmarking, as well as design and development of Computer-Assisted Language Learning solutions. Aga is currently pursuing her doctorate with focus on the use of mobile technologies in language teaching and learning. She has disseminated her knowledge of educational technologies through multiple articles and conference presentations.

Tyson Seburn, Communications Co-Chair
“Knowledge is a social construct, never absolute; it must be continually questioned and challenged if it is to continue to be valid.” This quote, heard during his TESL training, has stuck with Tyson through his time in the industry and motivated him to continue learning.  Via University of Toronto and 4C, he hopes to inspire students and colleagues to do the same.  He is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Educational Technology and TESOL through the University of Manchester.

Ellen Servinis, Communications Co-Chair
Currently an instructor in University of Toronto’s International Foundation Program, Ellen has taught ESL and EAP in various cegeps, colleges and universities in Quebec and Ontario. She completed her TESL training at CCLCS, where she occasionally returns to deliver workshops for newly certified teachers.

Karen Thomson, Past President & Affiliate Representative
Karen signed up for a TESL course at CCLCS in 1994 as a way to escape Toronto and a failed love affair. Strangely, the escape from Toronto never occurred since she has been teaching in the city ever since. In various incarnations and for various organizations, she has taught international students and immigrants over the years, and even tried her hand at administration for awhile. She is currently an Instructor at University of Toronto’s English Language Program, and indulges her passion for professional development by teaching a TESL course at CCLCS, volunteering on the TESL Toronto executive board, and presenting at conferences around the province. She has recently completed her Master of Teaching degree at OISE/UT. While not teaching and presenting, Karen escapes the city to explore exotic vacation adventures such as visiting her parents’ farm in Nova Scotia, riding a camel in Egypt, or studying Spanish in Nicaragua. Although she hasn’t settled on a date yet, she plans to visit the only continent left on her list, Antarctica. While in the city, Karen spends her time balancing out all the greenhouse gases she burns on airplanes by working in her vegetable garden and nagging her husband to turn off the lights.

Marju Toomsalu, Member at Large
Marju holds a B.A. in English language and literature and an M.A. in Second Language Learning and Teaching.  She has also pursued graduate studies in Sociology of Language. She has extensively taught a wide range of ESL, EFL and EAP and related courses in Europe, the USA and Canada. Marju is in charge of ESL/EAL programs at Ryerson University. Her areas of expertise and interests include language testing, second language teaching, and learning and sociology of language.

Nao Yamamoto, Member at Large
Previously an international ESL student, Nao quickly transitioned to student counsellor and Marketing Manager before completing a post-graduate diploma in Strategic Relationship Marketing at George Brown College. Nao currently works as the Director of Marketing and Operational Manager in the ESL private sector at Cornerstone Academic College. His current area of interest is the conflict between quality education and commercial education.

Past presidents

Executive board terms run from September – June.  Years listed below represent the beginning of the term.

1976 – 1984	No data
1985	Elizabeth Taberk
1986	Bunny Hynes
1987	Janice Sellers
1988	Eileen Allen
1989	Phyllis Lamber/Lynne Earls
1990	Sheila Applebaum
1991	John Longfield
1992	Angie Wong
1993	Kathy Simo
1994	Cathy Haghighat
1995	Cathy Haghighat
1996	Andrea Strachan
1997	Andrea Strachan
1998	Bruce Russell
1999	Bruce Russell
2000	Cheryl Richman
2001	Cheryl Richman
2002	Cheryl Richman
2003	Sandra Clandfield
2004	Sandra Clandfield
2005	Antonella Valeo
2006	Antonella Valeo
2007	Karen Thomson
2008	Karen Thomson
2009	Karen Thomson
2010	Akua Joseph
2011	Akua Joseph