I am interested in running for the ACTR Board at this point in my career because I believe it is time for me to serve the organization that has afforded me many opportunities and financial support for my education in Russian language, literature and SLA, and in my career as a high school Russian teacher. Quite literally, my career teaching Russian has been possible due to the generosity of ACTR. From my time as an undergraduate student at the Herzen Institute on an ACTR semester program to my graduate work in Russian, where I benefited from ACTR scholarships and support for in-country summer study and academic-year research in both St. Petersburg and Moscow, ACTR has generously provided the vital academic, social, and financial support to make my career as a Russian teacher possible.

At the outset of my career, as a high school teacher of Russian at a school with an established exchange program, ACTR provided all the travel, visa, and in-country support for our school to continue our exchange with a school in Moscow every year. Since that time, although my career teaching Russian has experienced some pauses, I am now teaching Russian at my third high school, the latter two of which allowed me to start Russian programs. Thanks to ACTR’s support for services such as the National Russian Essay Contest, National Olympiada of Spoken Russian and the Scholar Laureate Program, my Russian programs have been able to show recognition at the national level, thereby solidifying support from my schools’ administrations.

In the recent past, I have benefitted from the professional development of ACTR Webinars and Teacher’s Lounges, as well as the vibrant forum these platforms provide to further collaboration in our field. Additionally, attending many of these webinars also provided me with professional development time, which I have been able to use for relicensure for my public school teaching license. Finally, participating in ACTR Webinars and Teacher’s Lounges, which are extended to all instructors K-16, has inspired me to help develop the pre-K-12 sector of our profession and I am currently serving on the ACTR Bridge-Building K-12 Outreach Sub-Committee.

Leadership Experience. How have you been a leader in your community, profession, and/or institution? How have your unique strengths, professional, and volunteer experiences prepared you to serve on the ACTR Board?

I have held a number of diverse leadership positions in the recent past that I believe have given me the experience necessary to serve on the ACTR Board.

At my school, I have served as the World Language Department Chair at a school with three languages (French, Spanish, Russian) for the past 7 years. As the Department Chair, I coordinate curriculum, aid administrators in creating professional development, oversee the department’s budget and work with the other Department Chairs to further initiatives and professional development at our school.

I am a faculty advisor to our school’s student council, a position which entails co-creating events and programs with students to serve and improve our school.

At school I have also served as a Building Representative for our union and am currently a Co-President of our district’s teachers’ union. Serving in this capacity involves coordinating the priorities of several different groups of people (elementary, middle, and high school teachers, ESP, and administrators), as well as building consensus and communicating clearly, two qualities I would bring to the ACTR Board.

I am currently serving on the Finance Committee of Trinity Episcopal Church, Rutland, as well as serving as a co-leader for youth programs there. In the past, I served a two-year term as the Senior Warden on the Vestry (the church’s board). These positions also require clear communication, as well as a willingness to prepare well for meetings, the ability to listen carefully, and the patience to work through situations and conversations that do not always have clear answers.

Diversity, Equity, Access & Inclusion. How have you worked to create an inclusive environment in your classroom, workplace and/or community? What is something you have done in professional or volunteer service that demonstrates your commitment to be more inclusive of diverse populations and/or to provide greater access to the study of Russian by diverse populations?

Although Vermont lacks racial and ethnic diversity – especially where I live and teach – my students are socio-economically and learning-style diverse. Moreover, my students live in relatively rural communities and often do not leave the state for post-secondary education. Despite the challenge of teaching multiple levels of Russian and multiple ages of students in a single class period, I have not discouraged any student who has expressed an interest in taking Russian. I try to meet learners where they are each day with the goal of helping them progress in their ability to communicate in Russian and improve their understanding of the cultures of Russian-speaking peoples. I try to include viewpoints from around the Russian-speaking world in my curricula (I do this for the francophone world in my French classes as well), with the overall goal of creating accessible and relevant curricula for my students that also expands their view of the world. This year, at the initiative of AATSEEL, I was able to give my students the opportunity to attend virtual college and university Open Houses so that they could learn more about post-secondary opportunities beyond Vermont.

Whenever possible, I look for opportunities to provide people with exposure to Russian. For example, when I taught in Maine, one summer I was able to include Russian in a one-week summer camp program for elementary school students.

Rutland, Vermont, where I live, has been a settlement community for refugees for the past decade, first from Syria, then from Central African Republic, and more recently we have had a couple of families from Ukraine. Although the children from these families do not attend school in the district where I teach, they are in my community and I support these families when I can.

Finally, it’s a small piece of my volunteer life, but one that has expanded my understanding of the challenges many people face, twice a year for the past five years, I have prepared and shared meals at Dismas House, transitional housing for women reintegrating after incarceration. The stories these women have shared of their struggles, their journeys to recovery, and their willingness to persevere is inspiring and has convinced me of the value of Restorative Justice in our schools and in our communities.

Contributions to the ACTR Board. How would you like to contribute to the ACTR Board? What strengths, skills, and experience would you bring as an ACTR Board member?

I am currently serving on the Bridge-building K-12 Outreach sub-committee and would like to continue my work with this committee. Additionally, I would be interested in serving on any pre-college committee, especially one to serve middle school teachers. At the request of ACTR leadership, I am currently leading a new ACTR initiative, the Middle School Sharing Group, which convenes on a regular basis to share our experience and expertise with each other and expand representation from this group of educators in our field. I am excited to have this group meet regularly to build a sense of community and share curricular ideas, classroom strategies, and resources. There is very little published teaching material that is appropriate for the teaching of Russian for younger students and I look forward to working with this group of colleagues to build this supportive professional learning community. Overall, I bring over 15 years of High School and Middle School Russian language teaching experience, including several years of preparing students to participate in the National Russian Essay Contest and Olympiada of Spoken Russian. I would be willing to serve on the committees overseeing these competitions and I am willing to learn any skills I lack so that I can serve any committee more effectively.

Supporting Documentation for Candidacy