Michelle Olah
Past President
The National Network for Early Language LearningClick here to read bio
Since coming to education as a second career, Michelle Olah has been committed to advancing World Language education in the PreK-12 setting. Michelle has had a variety of roles in education in her 16 year career. Michelle started her teaching career as a 7th and 8th grade Spanish teacher for 8 years. After leaving Middle School, she taught High School Spanish virtually and then moved to the district office as a curriculum specialist for World Languages. As World Language Curriculum Specialist, Michelle had the opportunity to work closely with K-5 World Language teachers in developing curriculum and providing instructional support. Her primary responsibilities were modeling, mentoring, coaching, and providing professional development to K-5 elementary world language teachers. Helping these dedicated teachers grow in their teaching has been one of the most satisfying experience of her career. Currently Michelle is working with Secondary Spanish and French teachers as a World Language Instructional coach.
Michelle has also held leadership roles in the World Languages professional community. She has been an active member and presenter at State, Regional and National World Language conferences. She has served as a board member, president-elect, president, and past president of the Florida Foreign Language Association and has had the privilege of being a part of ACTFL’s Leadership Initiative for Language Learning (LILL) – first as a participant and then as a facilitator for the LILL Summer Institute in 2018 and 2019.
Andrea Boyd
President
The National Network for Early Language LearningClick here to read bio
Andrea Boyd is honored to be the President of NNELL. She was born and raised in Uruguay, South America and graduated from Universidad de la República in Montevideo with a degree in International Relations. Andrea holds a M.A. in Education from Northern Kentucky University, and is currently working on a graduate degree in educational leadership at the University of Northern Colorado. She taught English as a foreign language for almost ten years in Uruguay before coming to the United States to teach Spanish in 2004. She has taught Spanish K-12 in private and public schools since then and also worked for two years as a curriculum writer designing English as a Second Language and Spanish curriculum and content.
Andrea has served as a board member at the Kentucky World Language Association, the Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers and the Standards Review and Revisions committee for the Colorado Department of Education. Boyd has been a NNELL member since 2008 and her interest in serving as President-Elect stems from her desire to be an advocate for early language learning. She believes in collaborative or team centric leadership.
Edgar Serrano
President-Elect
The National Network for Early Language LearningClick here to read bio
Edgar Serrano is originally from Mexico City, Mexico. He has lived in the United States for about 30 years. Edgar has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration with a minor in International Marketing and a Master of Arts degree in Modern Languages from The University of Mississippi. For the past 11 years, he has worked with language learners as young as 3 years old, all the way up to those who are at college level. Currently, he teaches Spanish at The University of Mississippi. He is a strong advocate for Early Language learning. Before his career move to teaching, he traveled extensively around the world as an international sales executive for a furniture manufacturer.
In 2018, he was recognized as ‘National Teacher of the Year’ by the AATSP in Salamanca, Spain. In 2015, he was recognized as ‘Teacher of Excellence’ by the MFLA. His presentation, A Picture is Worth Thousand Words, Really! was voted as the ‘Best of Mississippi’ at the 2014 MFLA Conference. Currently, Señor Edgar serves as Executive Director for the Mississippi Foreign Language Association (MFLA) and is the Mississippi Representative of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL). Edgar has been a driving force in the implementation of the Mississippi Seal of Biliteracy, where he has served as co-chair. Edgar Serrano continues to be an active speaker and language learning advocate at different local, regional, national, and international conferences.
Bárbara Barnett
Treasurer
The National Network for Early Language LearningClick here to read bio
A native of Puerto Rico, with Cuban roots, Bárbara has been living in MA for many years. She earned a Bachelor of Arts with Majors in Spanish and Political Science from University of North Florida and a master’s degree in Spanish Language and Culture from the Universidad de Salamanca, España.
Bárbara has taught Spanish at all levels, and in various program models including immersion. She has supervised K-12 programming including immersion and WL for elementary schools. Now two decades into her career, Bárbara is the K-5 Department Head for World Languages at Wellesley Public Schools, where she leads the development of a thematic curriculum anchored in proficiency. She enjoys providing professional development to fellow educators on various topics including elementary programming and practices, social justice, student engagement, and proficiency-based instruction.
Bárbara is an avid advocate for providing access to high-quality language programming as early as possible for all children. She is especially adamant in assuring the inclusion of children regardless of learning style, achievement levels, race/ethnic origin, socioeconomic status, home language, or future academic goals in Early Language programs.
Committed to service and giving back to the language community, Bárbara is the Northeast Regional Representative for NNELL and a member of the Massachusetts Language Association (MaFLA) Board of Directors. She is the co-chair of the NNELL Communications committee and serves on several other committees.
Karen Sasky-Hughes
Advocacy Chair
The National Network for Early Language LearningClick here to read bio
Karen Marie Sasky Hughes, MBA, M.Ed., is an experienced world language educator and presenter with over twenty years of experience teaching and promoting language learning at all levels from infants to adults. She has taught in public and private schools (elementary, middle school, high school) and currently teaches elementary Spanish at Saltus Grammar School in Hamilton, Bermuda. Before teaching, she was an international marketing executive working in Europe and in the US at companies such as Leo Burnett Worldwide Advertising Agency, Fidelity Investments and Kraft General Foods International. Karen speaks only Spanish at home with her three USA-born children, her British-born husband, and even her dog Willow.
M. Cristina Rodríguez-Villa
Membership Secretary
The National Network for Early Language LearningClick here to read bio
María Cristina Rodríguez-Villa holds a B.A. in French from Middlebury College, in Vermont, and obtained an English Teacher Certification for the Elementary School in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She taught English as a Second Language at a primary school in San Juan, and designed and implemented a French language after-school program for novice learners.
María Cristina was the Curriculum Lead and taught Spanish (FLES) at St. Thomas Episcopal School, an independent school in Coral Gables, Florida.
Currently, she is a World Language Faculty member at Gulliver Prep, teaching middle school MYP Language Acquisition. She is passionate about instilling a love for learning a second language in children and providing fellow world language teachers with opportunities to network and share best practices for effective language teaching.
In April 2018 and January 2020, she co-organized EdcampWLMIA, an Edcamp in South Florida for world language educators.
Her goal in the classroom is to create a safe learning environment where young learners are engaged and motivated to explore another culture, build new friendships and acquire the skills to communicate in another language.
“El doble de amigos”
Twice as many friends and twice as much fun;
That’s why two languages are better than one.
(Sol y Canto)
Danyelle Davis and Kathy Olson-Studler
National Networking Co-Coordinators
The National Network for Early Language LearningClick here to read bio
Kathy Olson-Studler, B.S., Spanish/French, and M.A., Spanish, Anthropology and Education, is a retired Spanish teacher, grades 3-5, at St. Paul Academy and Summit School (SPA) in Minnesota. Kathy has been involved in NNELL since 1987 when the organization was first founded and has served in various positions including Minnesota State Rep. (1987-2018); Central States Regional Rep. (2012-present); as a member of NNELL’s Communications and Networking Committees and as the co-editor of the monthly NNELL E-Newsletter (2020-present); and National Networking Co-Coordinator (2022-present). She taught Spanish and French for 10 years at Plymouth Middle School, and later taught Spanish for 38 years at SPA. Kathy also taught early language methodology at the University of St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota. Her passions include promoting early language learning and teaching, making global connections for students, and encouraging them to explore the world of language through immersive experiences and extensive travel abroad in order to continuously hone their language skills and intercultural competence. She has developed innovative programs of travel and study abroad in Mexico, Spain, France, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Colombia, and Greece. Kathy received the 2021 Professional Service Award from the Minnesota Council on the Teaching of Languages and Cultures (MCTLC) for her lengthy service, support and advocacy for world languages and early language teaching and learning. See Kathy’s interview with the National Museum of Language for more information.
Rebecca Aubrey
Executive Secretary
The National Network for Early Language LearningClick here to read bio
Rebecca Aubrey, Timothy Edwards Middle School (CT)
Rebecca Aubrey received her B.A. in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic, and M.A. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut. She has over 20 years of teaching experience at the college level, and 14 years of experience teaching Spanish in grades K-8. Rebecca has presented broadly on topics like differentiation, target language use, and language proficiency. Rebecca is passionate about exploring the cultural and linguistic diversity of our world, and equally passionate about empowering students to do the same. She is the 2019 ACTFL National Teacher of the Year. Follow her on Twitter@MaestraAubreyCT.
Kelly F. Davidson
Editor of Learning Languages
The National Network for Early Language LearningClick here to read bio
Kelly F. Davidson, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of French and Foreign Language Education and the Assistant Coordinator of Foreign Language Education at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia. She is currently serving as the Journal Editor for Learning Languages and is the Past Chair for the ACTFL Language Learning for Children Special Interest Group. She holds a B.A. in French from Furman University, an M.A. in French Literature from Vanderbilt University, and a dual Ph.D. in French and Educational Studies with a concentration in Foreign Language Pedagogy from Emory University. She has taught French and Foreign Language in the Elementary School Methods for 10 years. Her research interests include FLES teacher development, community engagement through early language learning, and technology use in the foreign language classroom.