About Me
Thank you for visiting our site! As an independent communication consultant, I have provided English Language and Professional Communication to public institutions, large and small businesses, and individuals for over 30 years. I am an expert in Adult and Workplace Education, English as a Second Language, English for Academic Purposes, and Management Communication.
My diverse and comprehensive professional experiences have shaped my approach to teaching and learning in diverse environments and with diverse populations.
After graduating from Cornell University with a B.A. in English and a minor in Asian Studies, I taught English in Taiwan as a volunteer for the Overseas Corps of the YMCA. I served as Director of Cornell University’s International Living Center, and as Coordinator of the Indochinese Refugee Assistance Project in Rochester, NY. I led one of the first Clinical Research Trips by American physicians to China in 1980. As a faculty member of SUNY College at Brockport, I taught English as a Second Language to refugees, immigrants, and other English learners for 8 years.
At the University of Rochester, I developed the first English as a Second Language classes for international students in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Eastman School of Music and completed my M.S. in Education from the Warner School as well as Ph.D. Teaching and Curriculum coursework and comprehensive exams. As an Assistant Professor at the Simon Business School, I created and taught Core Management Communication courses for MBA students who were English language learners, and I founded a groundbreaking intensive English Language and U.S. Culture immersion Program (ELUSC) for incoming international students. The ELUSC Program ran for 20 years and was noted by sources such as the Wall Street Journal for its effective approach to MBA communication training.
I speak conversational Mandarin Chinese and have taught Introductory Mandarin to successive classes of university faculty and staff, helping to create more understanding of the challenges in mastering a new language and cultural practices. I was the first representative of a U.S. business school to conduct Admissions interviews in China in 1995.
In recognition of my contributions to intercultural communication and language learning, I was awarded Kellogg’s Foundation Fellowship in International Development by Partners of the Americas, the largest volunteer program in the Western Hemisphere.
I have been fortunate to work with a network of dedicated and talented educators who continue to assist me in meeting the language and communication needs of business, academic, and medical communities.
