About Us
The Executive
We are team of volunteers made up of TESL Toronto members from diverse educational sectors with a wide range of skills and experience. Guided by TESL Toronto’s mandate, we serve our membership through various activities, including:
- organizing a local conference and special events throughout the year to provide members with excellent, affordable professional development opportunities, and
- keeping members informed of PD opportunities and relevant news and issues through our website, social media sites, and email bulletins.
Meet Our Expert Team
The Executive (2022-2023)
Celine De Almeida
Past President
Celine De Almeida, (M.Ed, DELTA), has worked in several sectors of the ESL industry, including private language schools, LINC, language assessment, and teacher training in Canada and Europe for over a decade. She is an advocate for the professional development of educators and a firm believer that teachers are lifelong learners. As an active member of the TESL Toronto community, she has served on the Executive since 2020, in which she has taken on roles such as the chair of TESL Toronto’s annual spring conference, TOSCON, from 2022-2024, and as the chapter’s President from 2023-2025. This will be her third year moderating the TESL Ontario Connect Fireside Chat, and she is looking forward to facilitating another meaningful discussion. When she is not volunteering in the TESL universe, she is working as a Professor of Communications at George Brown College.
Roza Agostino
Treasurer
Passion for languages and travelling would best describe Roza. Therefore, at the age of eighteen she decided to become a language teacher. She has Master’s Degree in Linguistics and Philology. She comes with more than 10 years of experience in teaching English. At the beginning of her career, she taught English as a Foreign Language. After moving to Canada, she relaunched her career – she is currently holding OCELT and TESOL certificates and teaching English as a Second Language. Roza is trilingual. In 2021 she became a certified Russian-English, English-Russian interpreter by Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. She has taught diverse groups of students but teaching English to women from abusive relationships has become a unique experience for her since that is when she realized that learning English can have a healing power.
Tom Nittoly
President
Tom Nittoly works as both an ESL teacher and CELTA Tutor. He began his teaching journey in 2008, teaching ESL to students of a wide range of ages and language backgrounds in the private sector. He then went on to get his DELTA certification and became a qualified CELTA Trainer in 2014. In 2019, he completed his Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics, where he took a special interest in the role and uses of learners’ first language in the classroom. He has presented and co-presented at TESL Ontario and TOSCON several times on topics such as Written Corrective Feedback, Teaching Pronunciation Online and Teacher Observation Feedback. What Tom enjoys most about his job are the opportunities to meet new people and learn about them and their cultures. He is grateful to play a role in peoples’ learning and loves helping them along in their journey. He also loves collaborating with his colleagues to create workshops and presentations. Outside of work and the classroom, Tom is an avid sports fan who likes to watch and play almost anything. He loves board games, hiking, rock-climbing and cottaging.
Sara Machan
Communications Officer
Sara Machan is a multi-level ESL professor at Sheridan College and a graduate of the TESOL Plus program. She holds a masters in Applied Linguistics from Mary Immaculate College through the University of Limmerick. She is passionate about gamification in the classroom and hopes to enter into teacher training and complete a PhD.
Jason DeNicolais
Member at Large
Jason has been an English teacher for 14 years, specializing in English for Academic and Business Purposes. He has taught overseas in Japan and China and worked with York University, University of Toronto, Humber College, Toronto Metropolitan University, and Catholic Cross-Cultural Services here in the city. Toronto’s rich cultural diversity makes for exciting classes in language learning, inclusivity, and global citizenship. Outside the classroom, Jason’s professional interests include spiral curriculum development, newcomer and refugee support, and ed-tech streamlining. His aim with TESL Toronto is to learn more about the needs of the ESL community and present unique solutions from experts and idea people in the field.
Celina Costa
Chapter Representative
Celina Costa has been a language instructor since 1998 when she started teaching EFL in Japan.
In the early 2000s, Celina had the privilege of teaching at the University of British Columbia’s
English Language Institute. In 2004, Celina joined George Brown College’s School of ESL, and
she has left an indelible mark on the institution by teaching a wide range of levels, contributing
to curriculum development, mentoring practicum students, serving as an academic coordinator,
and participating in the D2L Brightspace pilot project.
Her academic journey includes an MA in Second Language Acquisition and a B.Ed in History and
Civics from OISE/University of Toronto, and, more recently, Celina completed a Graduate
Certificate called Language Teaching with Technology from the University of Boulder Colorado.
Celina continues to explore how educational technology and artificial intelligence can be
leveraged to foster language acquisition. She actively shares this knowledge by publishing a
newsletter for the School of ESL faculty and presenting at conferences, including TESL Toronto
and TESL Ontario.
She is committed to giving back to the ESL community in her new role on the TESL Toronto
Juliana Seriani
Member at large
Juliana Seriani has been an English teacher for more than 15 years and specializes in English for Academic Purposes. With a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from York University and a Master’s degree in Culture and Society from Lancaster University, Juliana believes that language and culture shape and reflect strong intercultural communication, and she strives to incorporate these concepts into the classroom. Juliana’s teaching experience includes roles as a University Writing Instructor at Toronto Metropolitan University, Wilfrid Laurier International College, York University, and Sheridan College. She has a particular interest in the use of technology in the classroom and tries to integrate the latest tech tools whenever possible.
Marcel Cundari
Member at large
Marcel Cundari has been teaching in the ESL industry for over 15 years. He started his career overseas teaching English in almost every format in Korea, Japan, and France. On returning to his hometown of Toronto, he transitioned from teaching to administration and has been in a leadership role in different DLI organizations for over 5 years. Marcel’s current focus is on the role of technology in language acquisition and how it can be leveraged to improve learning outcomes. He truly believes in the value that learning another language can bring and finds fulfillment in helping students reach their education and career goals.
Elifcan ATA KIL
Administrative Officer
Elifcan ATA KIL has been working in the field of English language teaching for more than 15 years. She completed her BA and MA degrees in English Language Teaching, and also holds CELTA and OCELT certificates. She has taught academic and general English, as well as TOEFL and IELTS test preparation courses in Turkey, Japan and Canada at various age and proficiency levels, specializing in English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Currently she is teaching in Pathway programs at International Language Academy of Canada. She is passionate about creating positive learning experiences for her students in a welcoming classroom environment. Her interests include English language teacher education and teaching in diverse classrooms.
Mohsen Jazeb
Member at Large
Mohsen Jazeb is an ESL instructor and program coordinator with over 12 years of professional
experience in educational settings. He has served various institutions in both Canada and Iran,
demonstrating a commitment to language education and multicultural understanding. Mohsen's
versatility is shown through his roles in teaching, coordinating, supervising, and counselling in language
institutions and universities. As a lifelong educator, Mohsen has contributed to the success of multiple
organizations through curriculum development, staff training, student assessment, and effective
communication. His experience extends to the digital realm, proficient in a range of educational
technologies and online teaching platforms. Mohsen holds a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics, and he is doing
his second master's in Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies at Carleton University.
Plamen Kushiev
Membership Officer
Dr. Plamen Kushkiev has a doctorate in education from the University of Sheffield, UK. He is
currently a professor at the School of English as a Second Language and Immigrant
Education, George Brown College. Plamen has also facilitated EAL, EAP, communication,
and TESL courses at Seneca Polytechnic, Centennial College, and York University.
The recipient of George Brown College’s Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Scholar
Award (2024), Dr. Kushkiev currently leads the Teaching and Learning Community of Practice
in ELT domain of SoTL-ESL at his home department.
For over 19 years, Plamen has served in a variety of teaching, academic leadership, and
communities of practice roles as university instructor, college professor, academic
manager, journal editor, TESL educator, and volunteer. He maintains an active research
agenda and regularly participates at national and international TESL conferences and
webinars as a presenter and guest speaker.
Mikaela Kobazeva
Member at large
Mikaela Kobazeva started her teaching career in China and Vietnam, where she taught undergraduate students and teenagers in various settings. Upon completion of her master’s in innovation management with a thesis on import and export of educational services, she shifted her interest to education administration while continuing teaching ESL classes and being an English language assessor. Mikaela is currently working as an academic quality assurance officer at Fleming College Toronto and other institutions affiliated with GUS Canada Colleges where she focuses on policy development and program review. She is passionate about the ESL industry in Toronto and wishes to make a change in the private sector.
Shirin Mojerlou
Member at large
Shirin Mojerloo holds a Master’s degree in TESOL and another in Applied Linguistics from York University. With over 19 years of teaching experience across Canada, Iran and Vietnam, she has cultivated a deep passion for ESL education. Shirin teaches ESL at the International Language Academy of Canada and the LINC program at the Canadian Centre for the Victims of Torture. She’s also committed to lifelong learning, actively contributing to the TESL Ontario Webinar Team and working as a research assistant, where she stays at the forefront of educational practices to enrich the experience for both students and educators.
Past presidents
The Executive terms run from September – June. Years listed below represent the beginning of the term.
