2012 speaker list coming soon!
2011 featured speakers Were:
Dr. Rosalinda Barrera
President Obama named Rosalinda B. Barrera assistant deputy secretary and director of the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) on Aug. 23, 2010. She is the principal adviser to Secretary Arne Duncan on all matters related to the education of English Learners, now estimated to be about 10 percent of the total school enrollment nationwide.
As head of OELA, Barrera administers programs under Titles III and V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which support high-quality instructional programs for linguistically and culturally diverse students. Her office also supports foreign language programs for elementary, secondary and post-secondary students and professional development programs for language teachers in these fields.
Dr. Barrera has served as dean of the College of Education at Texas State University-San Marcos, professor of curriculum and instruction and associate dean at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Barrera, a reporter with the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, a curriculum editor for the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory in Austin, a bilingual elementary school in the Austin Independent School District, a reading specialist for the Region 19 Education Service Center in El Paso, and director of K-12 curriculum and instruction for the Socorro school district outside El Paso.
Her connection to New Mexico includes having been a resident of Las Cruces, serving on the faculty at New Mexico State University and leading the New Mexico Professional Standards Commission for the state Board of Education and chairing a statewide Teacher Licensing Task Force.
Dr. Eugene García
Dr. Eugene García is Vice President for University-School Partnerships at Arizona State University. A primary role is to coordinate teacher preparation across colleges and campuses in Arizona as well as the implementation of the university-public school initiative to establish campus schools.
Dr. García has published extensively in the area of language teaching and bilingual development. He is currently chairing the National Task Force on Early Childhood Education for Hispanics funded by the Foundation for Child Development and the Mailman Family Foundation. His primary areas of interest is bilingual education, where his work and research continues.
Dr. Guadalupe Valdés
Guadalupe Valdés has explored many of the issues of bilingualism relevant to teachers in training, including methods of instruction, typologies, measurement of progress, and the role of education in national policies on immigration. Specifically, she studies the sociolinguistic processes of linguistic acquisition by learners in different circumstances--those who set out to learn a second language in a formal school setting (elective bilingualism) and those who must learn two languages in order to adapt to immediate family-based or work-based communicative needs within an immigrant community (circumstantial bilingualism). Her research in these areas has made her one of the most eminent experts on Spanish-English bilingualism in the United States.
Dr. Elena Izquierdo
Dr. Elena Izquierdo’s research and professional specializations focus on Two Way Dual Language Education; Biliteracy; the education of English language learners (ELLs); and in supporting districts in rethinking and reforming schooling practices in their efforts to close achievement gaps for Bilingual/ELL students. She is a fiery advocate and long time friend of La Cosecha Conference and community.
José-Luis Orozco
is a bilingual educator, children's author and recording artist whose work draws upon the rich heritage of the Spanish-speaking world. Through his music, José-Luis Orozco has sought to expose a wider audience to Spanish language children's traditions and promote Latin American culture. It is his desire to pass on this heritage to the children of today so that they may take pleasure in passing it on to the children of tomorrow.
Jorge Torres
Jorge Torres is the director of CETLALIC ( ) , a progressive language school in Cuernavaca, México. The school is committed to solidarity, community service and social responsibility. CETLALIC provides small classes year-round, with professional-trained native speaking teachers and the immersion opportunity of living with a Mexican family.
infor@cetlalic.org.mx
Sylvia Linan-Thompson
Sylviea Linan-Thompson is an associate director of the National Research and Development Center on English Language. She is Associate Professor, Fellow in the Mollie V. Davis Professorship in Learning Disabilities, Department of Special Education, College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin. She is associate director of CREATE, examining the effect of instructional practices that enhance vocabulary and comprehension for middle school English language learners in content areas. Dr. Linan-Thompson is currently co-principal investigator of studies examining the oral language and literacy development in English and Spanish of Spanish speaking children, the efficacy of a 3-tiered model of reading intervention in general education classrooms and in bilingual classrooms. She has developed and examined reading interventions for struggling readers who are monolingual English speakers, English language learners, and bilingual students acquiring Spanish literacy. Sylvia’s participation is sponsored by National Geographic - http://www.ngsp.com/Product/ESLELD/nbspnbspReach/tabid/1429/Default.aspx
Jeff Zwiers 
Kathy Escamilla 
Virginia and Wayne are researchers in the area of school effectiveness forlinguistically and culturally diverse students. Both
Collier and Thomas have worked with school districtsacross
the country for the past 22 years. Their award winning national
research has had substantial impact on school policies throughout the
world. Collier and Thomas continue to provide leadership training for
superintendents, principals and policy makers on the effectiveness of
dual language enrichment education. Dr.
Collier is Professor Emerita of Bilingual/Multicultural/ESL Education
and Dr. Thomas is Professor Emeritus of Evaluation and Research
Methodology at George Mason University.
Rebecca Freeman
Rebecca Freeman Field is the founder and director of the Language Education Division of Caslon Publishing and Consulting. Rebecca has worked in the field of language education for over 25 years. Rebecca has conducted action-oriented research in bilingual schools and communities since 1986, and has published two books on her work: Bilingual Education and Social Change (1998) and Building on Community Bilingualism (2004).
Rebecca has recently concentrated much of her energy and efforts on developing leadership on English language learner issues in districts and schools, and she co-edited (with Else Hamayan) English Language Learners at School: A Guide for Administrators (2006). She also has extensive experience working with bilingual education, English as a second language, world language, and heritage language educators in the United States and internationally in the areas of language policy and planning; language education program development, implementation, and evaluation; second language acquisition and academic language and literacy development; sheltered instruction; and assessment and accountability in language education programs. Rebecca’s participation is sponsored by Caslon Publishing - http://caslonpublishing.com/
Else Hamayan
Else Hamayan is an author and co-author of man professional publications including the Dual Language Handbook. She is the former director of the Illinois Resource Center in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and currently resides in Argentina. She advises teachers and administrators in schools in the US and internationally. Her areas of interest are teaching English as a second language, English language learners with special education needs, cross-cultural learning, and dual language instruction. Else’s participation is sponsored in part by Caslon Publishing - http://caslonpublishing.com/
Ester de Jong
Ester Dejong is an associate professor in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida’s College of Education. Ester teaches courses in bilingual and bicultural education and in curriculum, methods, and assessment for English speakers of other languages. Her research interests include two-way bilingual education and other integrated models for language minority schooling, educational language policy, and teacher preparation for bilingual students. Ester is scheduled to release her new book, Foundations for Multilingualism in Education: Principles to Practice, this Fall through Caslon Publishers. Ester’s participation is sponsored in part by Caslon - http://caslonpublishing.com/
Other featured Speakers
Marjorie Myers - Key Elementary School - Arlington, Virginia
Carlotta
Penny Bird - American Indian Language Policy Research and Teacher Training Center - University of New Mexico
Nancy Cloud - Rhode Island College
Vincent Werito - University of New Mexico - Albuquerque, New Mexico
Judith Wilde - Executive Director, National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquistion
Paul
Martinez - Director of the Center for the Education and Study of
Diverse Populations-Highlands University, Española, New Mexico
Local Dual Language Teachers
DLeNM Staff