Amy King has more than 20 years of experience in the field of English language teaching and learning both in the US and overseas. Before joining WCEPS, Ms. King was a Senior Professional Learning Specialist at WIDA for more than six years. She taught ESL in K–12 public schools, private language schools, and adult education programs. Internationally, she has taught in both Slovakia and South Korea. In Banska Bystrica, she was a visiting lecturer at Mateja Bela University. In Seoul, she worked at Shin–il High School as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant and at the Foreign Language Institute of Yonsei University. She was an English Language Fellow at Hanoi Metropolitan University in Vietnam through a program sponsored by the US State Department. She holds a BS in Speech and an MS in Journalism from Northwestern University near Chicago. She earned a TESOL Certificate from American University in Washington, DC and a Multiple–Subject Teaching Credential from National University in San Diego. In addition to certificates in Blended Learning, Microlearning and E–Learning, she earned a Master of Instructional Design from the Association of Talent Development. She is currently working on a MS in Educational and Instructional Technology also through National University.

Yvonne is the Director of Multilingual Learner Educator Engagement at WCEPS.  She collaborates closely with LEAs to discuss educator goals, needs, and develops the best path to topics that align with those goals. Prior to WCEPS, she spent three years with WIDA, as a Professional Learning Specialist working in both international and domestic settings. She has worked in education for 20+ years, teaching a variety of language learners from grades Kinder to High School. She also worked as a District ELL Trainer, ELL Instructional Coach, Family Literacy Coordinator, and a High School Parent Involvement Coordinator. She earned her bachelor’s in business administration from Angelo State University in Texas and her Master's in Bilingual Education from NOVA Southeastern University, Florida. Her endorsements include TESL, Bilingual, and Computer Literacy.

After her tenure as ESL, Bilingual Special Education teacher, Title Vll Administrator and ESL Specialist for the Boston Public Schools, Anne Dolan joined the Professional Learning Team of MATSOL: Massachusetts Educators of English Language Learners, to focus her experience and expertise on supporting teachers and leaders with their roles in instruction, curriculum, assessment and leadership related to ELLs. Anne designs and implements professional development initiatives that are tailored to district needs and also supports a range of educator collaboration groups in MATSOL, the annual conference, and strategic planning for professional development capacity.Anne is a highly skilled and sought after licensed WCEPS/WIDA Trainer. She is responsive to the multiple entry points in learning about English language learners, and to the different educator roles and needs. Anne is also part of WIDA’s Master Cadre of instructors supporting early childhood and PK teachers with Early ELD Standards for 2.5-5.5 year olds. Anne’s hallmark is modeling and engaging participants with effective strategies and practices for ELLS in her coursework. You can be confident that her WCEPS WIDA presentations will be thoughtfully and responsively designed with great pacing, time for reflection and practical application.

Gwyneth Dean-Fastnacht is an ELS Instructional Specialist with over twenty-five years of experience working with culturally and linguistically diverse students in the K-12 educational system in the United States and abroad, including South Dakota, Bolivia, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, and China. As an endorsed English as a New Language teacher (ENL), Gwyneth has had a varied career in education with language learners. She has held positions as a high school Newcomer Program ESL teacher, a multi-age/multi-grade EL classroom teacher, and a Professional Development Facilitator.

Gwyneth coordinates the SD State-Wide Title III & Migrant Consortia, working with districts across South Dakota including Native American schools, Hutterite Colony schools, and small rural schools with low incidence of ELs. Her work at the Consortia includes providing on-site and regional professional development, preparing in-service teachers for the ENL Endorsement, and serving on SD Department of Education committees that impact English Learner programs.

She has a B.A. in Child Development from South Dakota State University, a Master’s in Leadership & Administration in Education from Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD, and a Specialist in ESL Degree from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Gwyneth is a licensed WIDA facilitator.

Babatunji Ifarinu has been working with a wide variety of students since 1997. He was formerly a sheltered social studies teacher in which he delivered instruction to immigrant and refugee students. Babatunji (Tunji) graduated from Florida A & M University with an undergraduate degree in History and Geography. He earned a M.Ed at Georgia State University in Educational Leadership and Supervision.

He was also an ESOL Academic Data Coach at a Middle School that has a student population that is more than a third English language learners. In this position he provided support with content delivery, data collection, and developed an instructional plan called “Planning To S.W.I.R.L.” focusing on teaching using the WIDA standards, language domains, and the can do philosophy. While working in this position he also worked as a School Improvement team member where the instructional plan was adopted as a school wide initiative.

As an ELL Success Facilitator in the largest and most diverse school district in Georgia, he has facilitated workshops to improve instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse students. His workshops and seminars have been delivered at the district level and at local schools.

Mishelle is a veteran bilingual teacher from the state of New Mexico. In her 16 years in the classroom she has taught Spanish as a Modern Language, Spanish  for Heritage Speakers and for the last five years was instrumental in developing and aligning Spanish and English language arts for emergent bilingual students and multilingual students in a secondary environment. She was the Bilingual Coordinator at Albuquerque High School, the oldest public high school in the state of New Mexico. Although she currently works as the biliteracy coach at Atrisco Heritage Academy while teaching AP Spanish Literature.

Together with her colleagues, she developed a portfolio process for her students to attain the Bilingual Seal of Literacy offered by Albuquerque Public Schools. Mishelle also worked along with many other New Mexicans to create a book of guidance for the State of New Mexico’s Bilingual Seal of Literacy. She has a BA in Spanish and Sociology, an MA in Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural studies with an emphasis in Bilingual Education, and is ABD at the University of New Mexico.

Mishelle has also been on the board for Dual Language of New Mexico for 12 years. She has worked with WIDA in her state and as an employee. She is very excited to come back and work with WYCEPS as a contractor. She believes that true innovation and collaboration is at the hands of empowered teachers. The more knowledgeable to teachers, the better served the students.

Mishelle is married and has two bilingual children in college. In her home, bilingualism is celebrated and exalted to the point that her children could someday become stand-up comedians dedicated to the fusion of Spanish and English. For Mishelle and her family, bilingualism is not just something out of a book or a theory—it’s a way of life.

Ellen Parkhurst has been working with educators for the past ten years, providing professional development focusing on WIDA’s Standards and Assessments. She also recently joined the team at Confianza as a coach. She loves working with teachers and learning from them as well as sharing her own expertise. Before becoming a consultant for the WIDA Consortium and Confianza, Ellen worked at the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) on the original test development team for ACCESS for ELLs. She has also served as a teaching assistant for the WIDA Item Writing online course, and a test administrator and monitor for the DC Public Schools. Ellen’s classroom experience includes three years as a public elementary school ESL teacher in Raleigh, North Carolina, and one year as private English as a foreign language tutor in Bilbao, Spain. She holds a B.A. in English and Elementary Education, and a Master’s in Education with a focus on curriculum and instruction and ESL.

Dr. Silvia Romero-Johnson is an educational leader in the field of K-12 education. She started her career as a paraprofessional working as liaison, interpreter and translator for Spanish-speaking students and families. She became a bilingual mathematics teacher in bilingual programs. Later, she became a principal for a whole school dual language education community school. She has been serving in cabinet level administrative positions in urban and suburban districts. She is the co-author for the book “Advancing Equity in Dual Language Education: A Guide for Leaders” by Velazquez Press. Her passion is to provide leadership for continuous improvement for leadership teams to sustain culturally and linguistically sustaining and inclusive instruction.

Wilma Valero served as director of the ELL Program for School District U-46 which is the second largest pre-k – 12 district in Illinois.  It is within the comprehensive lens of culturally and linguistically responsive instruction that Wilma, in collaboration with teachers, is given to the task of designing thematic units from kindergarten through sixth grade that integrate in an organic manner the relevance and rigor of language and content.

Her educational vision revolves and focuses on students within an environment of social and academic relevance.  This is complemented by expectations of rigor of language and content standards that ensure the student’s successful role in this global society.  Under her leadership, one of the most ambitious and successful transition at the national level of the Bilingual Program to the 80:20 Dual Language Program took place.

In 2012, the organization CABE awarded Wilma the prize Promoting Bilingualism District of Distinction for her strong commitment to promoting bilingualism. Wilma is a firm believer that success occurs every day in our schools when teachers are valued with a relevant support infrastructure that sees emerging bilingual students as their greatest strength. Under this premise Wilma implemented, in U-46, the Dual Language Academy, a forum of teachers, for teachers; all collaborating in the development of fairness and social justice in the journey of the teaching and learning process.

Wilma has master’s degrees in Elementary Education and in School Administration and Supervision. She also has endorsements from the state of Illinois in bilingual education and English as a Second Language.