As an early-career faculty member, I am excited about the prospect of learning from and collaborating with the talented instructors and researchers on the ACTR Board to shape the future direction of our field. My engagement with ACTR’s programs and resources over the past several years has been deeply influential in my professional development. Serving on the Board represents an opportunity to engage more substantially with the organization that has helped define who I am as an instructor and mentor.

I have been fortunate to participate in a number of American Councils/ACTR programs in recent years. My involvement in opportunities such as the yearlong American Councils STARTALK Teacher Program (2023-2024) and the ACTR Webinar and Teachers’ Lounge series has not only enhanced my pedagogical skills but also fundamentally informed my approach to teaching. These resources have helped me cultivate an inclusive and student-centered teaching style that relies on authentic materials and the principles of transformative learning and open architecture curricular design. Many of the activities that I designed under the guidance of STARTALK continue to serve as the basis for modules and projects in my Russian courses. ACTR’s programs have also enabled me to develop deeply impactful relationships with colleagues in our field: through ACTR, I have found mentors who have helped me grow as an educator as well as collaborators with whom I have embarked on new research initiatives. I will always be grateful to ACTR for these relationships, which have contributed immensely to my identity as a pedagogue and scholar and enriched my classroom practice.

My involvement in ACTR’s programs has been extensive and varied. In addition to the STARTALK Teacher’s Program, I have taken part in the Summer Russian Language Teacher Program in Almaty, Kazakhstan (2024), the Advanced Russian Conversation for Teachers series (2023-2024), and the ACTR/AATSEEL Bridge Building Mentorship Program (2024-2025). I have contributed to the Webinar and Teachers’ Lounge series as both a participant and, twice, as a presenter. In March 2024, I was given the opportunity to share my research in the field of AI and second language acquisition in a webinar titled “The Use of Generative AI in the Russian Language Classroom.” More recently, in December 2024, I demonstrated additional uses of AI in Russian language pedagogy in a технологическая песочница titled “AI Applications in the Classroom Beyond ChatGPT.” I am also a member of the ACTR Post-Secondary Awards Committee. Serving on the Awards Committee has given me insight into the importance of recognition and encouragement of excellence in our field, which I hope to continue promoting as a Board member. Finally, I implement ACTR-sponsored events for undergraduate students at my institution, including the ACTR National Post Secondary Essay Contest and the ACTR Post Secondary Russian Scholar Laureate Award. As a former PSRSLA awardee myself, I understand how meaningful it is for students to receive recognition for their hard work and how motivating these awards can be.

Joining the ACTR Board would allow me to give back to an organization that has fundamentally transformed my career, and to help ensure that others have similar opportunities to grow and excel in the field of Russian language and culture pedagogy.

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 demonstrated leadership within my profession by helping to organize and launch several impactful initiatives. As a co-founder (alongside Molly Blasing) of the Consortium for the Study of AI and Language in Slavic (C-SAILS), I have played a pivotal role in organizing and hosting meetings and shaping the group’s mission. Since our founding in April 2024, C-SAILS has held several widely attended meetings to discuss the uses and limitations of generative AI in language learning and teaching. We provide a space for practical demonstrations of AI applications in the field of Slavic and Eurasian Studies and facilitate collaborative, cross-institutional research, with plans to adapt and expand as our Consortium grows in the coming years.

In addition to my contributions to C-SAILS, I have co-organized a series of panels and roundtables on AI integration in Russian language pedagogy for multiple conferences, including AATSEEL and the upcoming 50th-anniversary ACTR conference. I have also played a leading role in exploring the pedagogical implications of AI technology at the institutional level, having recently designed and led a 10-hour workshop for faculty at Wake Forest University on responsible and effective AI integration in language teaching. I have been invited to present versions of this workshop for faculty at other institutions in 2025.

Within my department, I organize and lead a bimonthly Russian conversation hour that frequently incorporates cultural activities such as taste tests of East European and Central Asian foods, elka decorating in December, and trivia games to test students’ knowledge of Slavic folklore. These activities supplement our current students’ classroom learning and serve as outreach to prospective students. In addition to our regular conversation hour, I also organize other extracurricular and outreach events for our program. Most recently, these have included a Ukrainian documentary film series and Shrovetide doll-making to celebrate Maslenitsa. I have also designed a new study abroad program for our students to study Russian language and literature of the Caucasus in Tbilisi, Georgia, set to launch in the summer of 2025. We hope that this program will inspire new cohorts of students at Wake Forest to enroll in Russian classes.

These professional and institutional roles have honed my strengths in organization, communication, and outreach. Co-founding and managing C-SAILS and organizing conference events for AATSEEL and ACTR have significantly bolstered my skills in handling communications and scheduling for large networks, strategic planning over long periods of time, and encouraging collaboration and innovative thinking among diverse groups of colleagues. Meanwhile, my experience running cultural events and outreach for our department has taught me to manage resources efficiently and foster inclusive environments that encourage participation. These capabilities have positioned me well to contribute to the mission of the ACTR Board.

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?

As an instructor, mentor, and curriculum and program developer I prioritize creating inclusive environments that welcome students from a variety of backgrounds. My teaching philosophy is grounded in engaging with each student as an individual. I begin every course I teach with a pre-semester survey to understand my students’ interests, backgrounds, and concerns. This allows me to tailor classroom materials to encourage engagement and provide students with a sense of agency in their learning journey. This approach has led me to work closely with students and colleagues to develop solutions that respect and affirm students’ identities – for example, by facilitating class discussions on the use of gender-inclusive language in Russian.

Additionally, in promoting our new study abroad program in Tbilisi, I have reached out to ROTC students and other diverse campus groups to encourage participation from a wider range of Wake Forest students. In January I will hold a Q&A session specifically aimed at addressing concerns related to traveling in the region for students who may have questions surrounding gender identity or expression, race, ethnicity, or ability. I decided to hold this Q&A session based on my past experience mentoring queer students interested in studying abroad in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

In planning both department events and the curriculum for my classes, I have adapted activities and lessons to better reflect the diversity of the Russian-speaking world. At our bimonthly conversation hour, I incorporate not only traditional Russian foods but also snacks and drinks from Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Tatarstan. When I organize trivia games or experiential learning opportunities using cultural artifacts—for example, market roleplays in which students “buy” and “sell” authentic souvenirs or arts and crafts activities like making elka decorations—I make sure to include cultural objects and designs from a range of post-Soviet countries.

In a unit on folklore that I regularly teach in my advanced classes, I include a module on the Shurale, a figure from the folklore of Tatarstan. Students discuss the role that folklore plays in constructing national identity, particularly for racial or ethnic minorities operating within or against a dominant external culture. This conversation opens space for students to discuss political and ideological issues of language and cultural identity, issues that I see as vital to students’ development as multilingual subjects in the second language classroom. Encouraging students to see beyond the myth of the monolingual target culture, I take into account other languages that students may bring to the classroom: not only English but, for instance, Spanish or Chinese. For example, in their discussions of the Shurale narrative, one group of students productively compared the Shurale to forest spirits in Chinese folklore, creating a multicultural and multilingual dialogue that went beyond the L1 to L2 (English to Russian) model while still using complex vocabulary and grammar from the target language.

Language and culture studies open a range of opportunities, worldviews, and subject positions for students. My teaching practice is premised upon the idea that these opportunities can and should be made accessible to all students. These efforts have been greatly enhanced by my recent trip to Almaty through the Summer Russian Language Teacher Program and by my participation in the ACTR Webinar and Teachers’ Lounge series, which have featured sessions on gender-inclusive language, student study abroad experiences, and using authentic materials to introduce topics on diversity, equity, and inclusion. As a member of the ACTR Board, I would strive to ensure that similar resources and opportunities continue to be made available to support diverse and inclusive classrooms.

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?

My greatest strengths are my organizational and communication skills, as well as a background and interest in technology and digital design. I would be thrilled to contribute these skills to support the mission of the ACTR Board through work on the newsletter, including outreach and soliciting content, editing, copy editing, and formatting, as well as publicity and communications. I am also well-positioned to enhance ACTR’s digital presence through social media and web services. I hope to use my skills to expand ACTR’s reach and improve the accessibility of our resources and information.

I am deeply committed to continuous learning and professional development. In addition to the strengths I already possess, I am willing and eager to acquire new skills that can serve the Board’s mission and enhance my contributions. Beyond my individual skills, I am particularly excited about the prospect of collaborating with and learning from fellow Board members. I would be honored to bring my energy and enthusiasm to this role.

Supporting Documentation for Candidacy