Academy Resource Center

English as a Second Language (ESL)

Meet the Faculty

Zuleica Acker
Zue gained her first teaching credential in London in 1986. After teaching in Spain, Ecuador and Oxford, she came to San Francisco and became a teacher trainer for the Cambridge CELTA. Working for various language schools, she taught both teachers and ESL students for 12 years. In 2007, she gained a distinction in her TESOL Masters at Oxford Brookes. Most recently she has been enjoying teaching immigrants at Laney College in Oakland and City College of San Francisco. In her free time she is an oil painter and an arts/language student.

Camille Andreacchi
Camille has an MA in Linguistics and a Master's Credential in TESOL. She has taught English and academic writing at universities in the Bay Area for over nine years. When she's not working, she likes to paint and do new media arts. Camille has exhibited her photography in the Bay Area for over a decade.

Adam AvRuskin
Adam AvRuskin has his Masters of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the School for International Training, in Brattleboro Vermont. He has taught ESL in Canada (which is his home), the US, Japan, China, and Turkey. In his spare time, Adam plays ultimate frisbee, and he enjoys traveling, learning new languages, and talking to strangers.

Joy Baker
Joy has attended Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, Fine Arts, Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC, NY Fashion Design & Merchandising, The School of Visual Arts, NYC, NY, Graphic Design & Textile Design, Trotta School of Fine Art, NYC, N.Y. She has extensive experience in the fashion industry. She authored & teaches "Merchandising Promotional Strategies" online, "Market Research", "Writing A Business Plan" & "Wrap Up"(for your final thesis) for MFA students, and works with students doing Directed Studies one-on-one in the MFA program who are working toward a degree in Fashion Merchandising or New Product Development. She also teaches the Art Experience programs designed for high school students, and works as an ESL Support instructor for the ESL Department. In her free time, Joy is learning to speak Italian, is a student of Tai Chi, Chi Gong, and Yoga, is an avid book reader, and has a passion for good food and music.

Jill Ballard
Jill Ballard has her MA in English (TESOL concentration) from SFSU, and has been teaching at the AAU since September 2007. She has her BFA in fine arts and worked as a print graphic designer and art director for over 10 years. As a teacher, she has worked in different capacities, both in the public schools and in corporate and private settings. She has traveled widely through Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia and Polynesia, and discovered her love for learning and teaching language while attending a French program in France. When she isn't teaching, Jill enjoys being a toddler's mom, and occasionally finding a moment for all those other nearly forgotten "pre-mom" interests such as alternative film and flamenco…

Lisa Chou
Lisa Chou has a B.A. in Psychology from UC Berkeley and an M.A. in TESOL and a Certificate in Teaching Composition from San Francisco State University (SFSU). Lisa was born in Taiwan but grew up in California. Lisa has studied abroad at Beijing Normal University in China. She has been involved in education on many fronts-teaching English throughout China, serving in AmeriCorps National Service to improve literacy for at-risk youths, and teaching ESL in the Bay Area at UC Berkeley, St. Mary's College and the SFSU American Language Institute. Lisa enjoys traveling with her family and tickling her newborn baby daughter.

Alice Clay
Alice attended the University of Minnesota from 1985-1991. She has degrees in Russian Area Studies and Applied Linguistics, Fine Art, and TESL. From 1993 to 2001 she traveled the world and had many wonderful adventures. While living and teaching abroad she furthered her education with a Fine Art apprenticeship in Printmaking in Russia and received a special 2-year Cultural Visa apprenticeship in Japan. She taught in Athens, Greece; Moscow, Russia; Iizuka and Kanazawa, Japan. In 2001 Alice returned to the USA and started teaching ESL at the Academy of Art University. Her hobbies include traveling off the beaten path, cultural anthropology and languages, yoga, playing the ukulele, printmaking and photography.

Chris Correale
Chris has an MATESOL from San Francisco State University, and a BS in English Education from the University of Georgia. His teaching experience has included middle school English teaching in Atlanta, teaching ESL in France, South Korea, and Japan, and literacy training for Literacy Volunteers of America. In addition to his work with the Academy, he currently teaches at St. Mary's College in Moraga. He loves good food, good books, good friends, and fast motorcycles.

Donna Dager
Donna is the Coordinator for the ARC website, and is an online support instructor as well as an ESL Support instructor. She has an M.A. in Communications Arts from Vermont College and a B.S. in Education from S.U.N.Y. at Cortland, NY. Donna specializes in computer and video technologies and has been working with ESL students at the Academy in these areas for many years. Previously she worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in teacher training in Montego Bay, Jamaica, then moved to California from her hometown in upstate New York. She likes to read mystery novels, sing, and swim with giant sea turtles in Maui.

Alisa DePalma
Alisa has a BA from The University of California at Santa Barbara and certificates in English Language Teaching to Adults, Global Career Development Facilitation, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. She has taught in Istanbul, Turkey as well as locally at the UC Berkeley and SF State Extensions. Alisa has worked at the Academy of Art University in Career Coaching, Corporate Training, and NLP. She likes hiking, traveling, softball, watching and playing Jeopardy and lately the Cash Flow game.

Beverly Edge
Bev has a B.A. in History, an M.A. in Russian Regional Studies and an M.A. in ESL. She has traveled through Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and Korea and has taught in France and Japan. She has studied in Russia and Japan. Bev's other interests include hiking, bird watching, going to the gym, and shopping in boutiques (she doesn't like department stores!)

Jane Emley
Jane has a B.A. in Italian and Latin American Studies from U.C. Berkeley and an M.A. in English, from San Francisco State University. She has lived in France and Italy as an exchange student, so she has a lot of empathy for the kinds of challenges our ESL students face when they arrive in the U.S. She loves to travel and is fascinated by foreign languages and other cultures. She has traveled widely throughout Europe and has visited many countries in South and Central America in addition to Mexico and Canada. A goal that she has is to travel around the world before she's sixty! Jane loves to garden. She's passionate about flowers. She reads in her spare time and enjoys hiking, biking, swimming - even rollerblading with the family dog, Blue. Most of all, she loves spending time with her daughter, Amanda, who is a constant source of wonder and joy!

Marianne Etlinger
Marianne is both an ESL instructor and support teacher. Before ESL, she taught children and teenagers science, math and reading, including one year of volunteering for AmeriCorps. She later taught ESL to adult immigrants in Oakland. She has an MA in English/TESOL and her BA is in Spanish and Latin American Studies. Marianne loves to learn about the world and its history and current events. She has lived and traveled throughout Europe and Argentina. Her living abroad and service to immigrants experiences have been a great 'teacher' to her about the challenges and joys people encounter away from home. Her other passion is nature where she spent most of her life fishing, camping, skiing, mountain biking, rock climbing, kayaking, and backpacking. She even worked for the Forest Service! Now, you might find her practicing photography along the coast or making jewelry at home.

Kevin Brent Forman
Kevin came to the Academy of Art University in 1998 from Universidad Espiritu Santo in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Prior to his overseas teaching assignment, he taught at the University of California at Berkeley Extended Education and San Francisco State University's American Language Institute. Since coming to the Academy, Kevin has been teaching English for Art and Design Purposes to International Graduate students, is a Graduate Support Instructor, and coordinates support for Midpoint Review candidates. Kevin also teaches Art History to undergraduate students in the Liberal Arts department and has team-taught Study Abroad seminars in Europe. Outside of the Academy, Kevin is a Commissioner on the Design Review Board for the city of Vallejo, and enjoys hiking, kayaking, and home renovation projects.

Helen Fraser
Helen has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology (from Portland State University in Oregon) and a Master's Degree in Education from San Francisco State University. Her emphasis was in Adult Education and ESL. She continues to update her ESL teaching skills by taking TESL courses at UC Berkeley Extension, (where she sometimes teaches part time.) Helen has traveled all over Eastern Asia and Western Europe, and she grew up in British Columbia, Canada. Besides traveling, Helen loves to practice yoga - she also teaches it!, bicycle - she rides hers to work everyday!, hike and camp, and for more around-the-house activities, she enjoys knitting and beading.

Janine Gluud
Janine has an M.A. in TESOL, a B.A. in French, and has been at Academy of Art University since 1993. She has lived and worked in Mexico, Taiwan, Portugal, and Spain, and visited many other countries. Janine's interests include cooking, working on the house, gardening, hiking and combing thrift stores for little treasures. She especially loves to spend time watching movies and snuggling with her little dogs.

Michele Hament
Michele was born in New York, and went to Tufts University / Boston Museum School where she received a BFA in painting. Since then, she's done many different things. She has worked in the field of psychology, worked at a winery, and for many years designed and sold baskets. Eventually she returned to school to get her ESL teaching credential. She has taught ESL in many different places, but her most unusual job was teaching English to Japanese students in a French-speaking village in Switzerland! She likes to garden, travel, cook, see movies (especially foreign films), and make art.

Sheila Hancock
Sheila has an M.A. in TESOL from the University of Nevada-Reno and an M.A. in East/West Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. Her B.A. is in English Literature. Sheila has been teaching ESL since 1988 and has worked in university, community college, and language schools; she has been at the Academy since 2003. She lived in England, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates and has traveled in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Her hobbies are writing, reading, watching films (especially depressing ones), and cooking.

Matt Holbrook
Matt graduated from the College of William and Mary in Virginia with a degree in East Asian Studies. After studying at the National Cheng Chi University in Taiwan and the Beijing Normal University in mainland China, he returned to study Teaching Foreign Languages-Chinese at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Matt has traveled to 25 countries, lived in 3 countries and taught English or Chinese in 3. When he's not working, Matt is playing with his kids or enjoying his wife's company. He spends his scant free time practicing Tai Chi, hunting, fishing, scuba diving, watching movies or working around the house. He is also constantly studying new things: computers, languages, beer making, wine tasting, and boating.

Penny Hondrogen
Penny has a B.A. in Communication from the University of New Hampshire, and an M.A. in TOEFL from S.F.S.U. She has lived in San Francisco for the past 17 years. Penny spent 5 months on a Eurail pass traveling through Europe as well as two months of travel in Turkey and Greece. She has also spent a month in the Greek Islands. Having recently bought a house, most of her spare time is spent on fixing up her new home and garden. She also enjoys spending time with her daughter, Melina.

Alex Hosmer
Alex graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor's degree in English Language Studies and a Master's degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. He has volunteered with Refugee Transitions, an organization which offers ESL tutoring to recent immigrants to San Francisco. He has taught ESL at U.C. Berkeley's Extension in San Francisco, and he has taught ESL at the Academy of Art University since 1999. He has traveled to China with his wife on two separate occasions in order to adopt two beautiful baby girls. He enjoys dancing with his wife, especially the Argentine tango and Salsa Rueda. Doing any kind of dance with his daughters makes his day!

Scott Keeling
Scott graduated from the College of William and Mary in Virginia with a degree in English Literature and has taught ESL both in the United States and abroad for most of his adult life. Before coming to the Academy of Art University, he was the Director of International Programs at the Berkeley Kaplan Center. Scott has also been an artist representative and has worked for a neuroscience-based software corporation. His outside interests include running marathons, writing poetry, and striving to understand the complex psychology of his cat, Jenkins.

Richard La Rose
Richard received his MA in Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language from the University of San Francisco where he also taught for 4 years and served as a teacher trainer in their English Through Drama program. His BA was in Speech and Drama Education and he worked in the theatre as an actor and stage manager for over 10 years. He lived in Barcelona, Spain from 1985 to 2003 where he taught EFL, did teacher training and served as the International Student Advisor at ESADE, a private, international business university. From 2003 to 2006 he owned and operated a country Bed & Breakfast in the province of Girona in northeastern Spain. During his time abroad he travelled extensively in Europe and North Africa. He joined the faculty of the Academy of Art University in 2006.

Sherise Lee
Sherise brings her love for both teaching and art into her role at the Academy. She graduated from the University of California at Davis (Go Ags!) with degrees in Art History and Sociology. She later completed a masters degree in second language education. Her experiences range from working in event marketing to teaching elementary school in China. When she's not traveling, Sherise enjoys running and pursuing her design interests. You can also find her on the hunt for good eats in the city.

Shalle Leeming
Shalle Leeming is an instructor of English and writing at the Academy for 10 years and has previously taught university students both in the United States (Stanford, SFSU) and abroad (Turkey, Argentina, Japan). Shalle holds an M.A. in teaching English as a second language from San Francisco State University and a B.A. in radio/television/film (emphasis in film), minor in art, from San Jose State University. She is the  co-author of the ESL textbook, Lecture Ready 3, for Oxford University Press (2006).

Bob McDonald, ESL Department Director
Bob studied American Literature at Boston U. and U.C. Santa Cruz as an undergraduate. While trying to figure out who he was, he attended The California Culinary Academy. Upon graduation, Bob never cooked professionally again. He then went on to receive an M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language from San Francisco State.?Bob has travelled extensively through Asia, Europe and Latin America, with the most recent trips being to Cuba. He settled in Buenos Aires, Argentina for two years to teach English. Bob's hobbies include basketball, jogging, reading good novels, and playing poker.

Laura Messina
Laura has a B.A. in Social Ecology from U.C. Irvine, and an M.A. degree in TESOL from San Francisco State University, where she also taught ESL classes. Born in Argentina, Laura speaks Spanish. Her hobbies include reading, hiking, cooking, and traveling.

Paget Norton
Paget is delighted and honored to be working with students at the Academy.   As someone who has spent time studying in Paris, working in Morocco, and traveling the world, she well understands the challenges international students face when living and studying in a different culture.  In addition to her international experience, she is an avid reader, hiker, cook, and writer.  She earned her MFA in Creative Writing, so she can empathize deeply with students around their own creative trials and tribulations and offer support when needed.

Jyoti Paintel
Jyoti Paintel is a Bay Area native. After doing her undergrad in San Diego, she moved back to San Francisco to get her MA TESOL with an Emphasis on Educational Technology. When not in school , either as a student or an instructor, Jyoti likes to travel a lot and experiment with different types of sports, even though she is accident-prone already. She has been with the Academy of Art for five years.

Amy Parker
Amy has been an ESL teacher for almost 20 years with experience overseas and here in San Francisco. She started teaching as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco and received a master's in Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language from San Francisco State University when she came back home. She loves to travel and has been to Europe, Mexico and Japan so far. She loves meeting people, reading, watching movies, cooking, working out and hanging out with friends!

Alexa Poeter
Born and raised in San Francisco, Alexa has been teaching at the Academy of Art since 2006. She earned her masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and a certificate in composition at San Francisco State University. Alexa taught composition for multi-lingual speakers at SFSU for two years before coming to the Academy. She also taught in Japan and Mexico. She enjoys working with students from all over the world, learning about different cultures and languages, and sharing ideas. Alexa has studied Japanese and Spanish. In her free time she enjoys traveling, camping, hiking and backpacking, reading, decorating, taking classes to further her education, and spending time with friends and family.

Anne Ricketts
Anne Ricketts has been teaching at Academy of Art since January 2007. She received her undergraduate degree in Italian from UC Davis and went on to get her Masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from San Francisco State University. Anne first discovered her love for teaching in Italy when she started teaching an English conversation class to Italian senior citizens. She has also taught in Oaxaca, Mexico. When she isn't teaching, Anne coaches the cross country and track teams at Academy of Art University and enjoys running and occasionally competing herself.

Romalyn Schmaltz
Romalyn Schmaltz has been teaching English at the university level for ten years, with the last four here at the Academy of Art.  She's studied all aspects of language learning, and specialized in French, Italian, and English/American literature.  Alongside reading constantly, she writes poetry and songs, paints in several styles, plays the piano and sings.   At night you can find her in front of a music stage, at some poetry thing, or behind a canvas, dripping with paint.

Michael Schuller
Michael Schuller has B.S. and M.A. degrees in English Literature from the University of Nebraska and a certificate in Applied Linguistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also taught ESL. He has also taught at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris, Cañada College in Redwood City, CA, and for many years in the UC Berkeley Extension ESL Program in San Francisco. He has traveled widely in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific. In addition to travel, his interests include photography, movies, especially foreign cinema, and reading and cooking when he has the time.

George Schupp
George has an M.A. in English from San Francisco State University. His teaching experiences in the last decade have included being a substitute teacher in high school and elementary school, teaching disabled adults, and teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in Japan. Currently, George teaches ESL, tutors students in writing, and provides language support for students at the Academy of Art. His spare-time activities include travel, photography, playing the guitar, and gardening.

Amy Shipley
Amy has a B.A. in Rhetoric and Communication from UC Davis, and an M.A. in TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) from San Francisco State University. She has traveled extensively throughout the world and has taught overseas in Japan, India, and Peru. Amy has taught at many private language schools and community colleges in the Bay Area, including the American Language Institute at both San Francisco State University and Sonoma State University. Since coming to the Academy, Amy's responsibility has been teaching ESL courses, coordinating the Speaking Lab, and providing ESL support to students in their art classes. In Amy's leisure time, she enjoys volunteer work in the animal and science field. She also enjoys hiking, running, cycling, weight-lifting, and practicing Aikido.

Walter Thoma
Walter has been teaching ESL for over 15 years in Boston, San Francisco and abroad. He has an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Massachusetts/Boston with an emphasis in ESL Computer Assisted Instruction and holds B.A.s in Sociology and Fine Art (sculpture) from Brandeis University. Previously, he worked in architectural, computer software and environmental leadership settings. Walter has been at the Academy since 1996 in diverse roles such as an ESL instructor, ARC Academic Coach and founding Director of Online Educational Support. He recently worked in Paris and Brussels for 4 years and is now an onsite and online ESL support instructor. He enjoys cultural experiences through travel and spending time outdoors hiking, biking, reviving gardens and exploring SF's neighborhood cafés.

Alexander Troy
Alexander Troy has been teaching ESL for 12 years. He began as an ESL tutor while studying German in Austria, when he realized how little most Americans know about their own grammar rules. He later taught ESL, as well as German, at Los Alamitos High School, in Southern California. Alexander is also a filmmaker and musician. He holds an MFA in Motion Picture Production.

Anita Walter
Anita has a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts with a double major in English and Journalism, and an M.A. from San Francisco State University in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. She has travelled to Germany, England, France, Italy, Greece, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Canada, and Mexico. She taught ESL in both Mexico and Japan. In Japan she was a teacher trainer as well as an ESL teacher. Anita's hobbies include hiking, kayaking, and camping, and she is a triathlete. She is also an American Council on Exercise Certified Fitness Trainer.

Steven Weiss
Steven Weiss was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied Philosophy and Sociology at Penn State University. He received a Master’s Degree in Philosophy at KUL in Leuven, Belgium. He began teaching English as a second language in Brussels, where he lived for 10 years. He’s been teaching ESL and Philosophy at the AAU since 2005.

Maw Win
Maw has been an instructor in the ESL program at the Academy of Art University since 1998. She has taught ESL, writing, and grammar at various schools in the Bay Area and Southern California. She lived in Japan for a year, and has traveled throughout many countries in Asia, Europe, and South America. In her free time, Maw enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with friends.