Workshop Presenters

Cynthia Bell
Cynthia Bell is the Numeracy & Youth Specialist at the Literacy Assistance Center. She develops curricula and specializes in the College and Career Readiness standards for mathematics. She conducts numeracy workshops for Adult Basic Education & Out of School Youth instructors and trainings in implementing the standards for High School Equivalency (HSE) instructors. When she’s not training, she is coaching instructors in the best practices of teaching and learning mathematics. She has presented at international, national, state and regional conferences, and is an active board member of the Adult Numeracy Network (ANN) and affiliate delegate of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)

Nell Eckersley
Nell Eckersley is the Director of Instructional Technology & Communications and the New York City Support and Technical Assistance Center (STAC) Manager at the Literacy Assistance Center. She is also an Ed Tech Center at World Ed partner. Her experience as an ESOL teacher and program director for an ESOL program in Brooklyn have given her a deep understanding of the challenges around technology in instruction and has helped shape her particular focus on integrating technology into the adult education classroom via mobile devices and Chromebooks

Susan Gaer
Susan Gaer has been an ESOL adult educator for more than 30 years, and has worked as a teacher, curriculum developer, technology trainer and coordinator at Santa Ana College School of Continuing Education in Santa Ana, CA.  She has taught all levels of ESOL from basic literacy through advanced.  Currently, Susan is working as an Educational Consultant empowering teachers and administrators to provide engaging materials for students.
​You can see lesson ideas on her website at http://www.susangaer.com. In addition, she is President-Elect for CATESOL (California Association of Teachers to Speakers of Other Languages)

Susan has an MA in both TESOL and Educational Technology. She is a Certified Google Innovator, Remind Certified Educator, Quizlet and Kahoot Ambassadors and passionate about engaging students in learning.

Lizelena Iglesias
Lizelena Iglesias is the ABE and HSE Specialist at the Literacy Assistance Center. She joined the LAC in 2015 with over eight years of experience designing and teaching HSE courses, and leading professional development for HSE teachers in a community-based organization. Currently, Lizelena provides training and sustained coaching for adult and youth educators in best practices in literacy and science instruction, and in the integration of science, social studies and literacy instruction with occupational content and skills. Additionally, Lizelena developed and leads the science module of the LAC Academy High School Equivalency course; has developed science curricula for the Queens Public Library TASC Transition Curriculum project; and has conducted numerous trainings on the Spanish HSE and the Spanish TABE tests

Be Jensen
Be Jensen joined the Literacy Assistance Center (LAC) in 2007 with 13 years of experience as an ESOL instructor and 10 years of experience as a program director of a community-based adult education program. Both experiences, along with her training as an NYU-Certified Executive and Organizational Coach, have aptly qualified Be for her current role as the LAC’s Coordinator of PD Services, responsible for the oversight of LAC contracts and the development and implementation of professional development on a wide range of leadership, instructional, programmatic, and socio-emotional topics. As the LAC’s Assessment Specialist, Be also provides training and coaching on standardized test administration. Be is a CAL-certified BEST Plus Trainer and a NYSED-trained trainer on the Test of Adult Basic Education

William Linn
William Linn has been teaching ESOL at community organizations for nine years. He earned his MA in TESOL from SIT Graduate Institute in 2011 and he has worked as a teacher trainer since 2015. William is currently the Adult Education Professional Development Associate at the LAC and is training teachers in the LAC’s TESLA certificate program.

Judy Trupin
Judy Trupin has been an ESOL adult educator for more than 25 years, and has worked as a teacher, curriculum developer, trainer, and administrator. She has taught all levels of ESOL from basic literacy through advanced.  Currently, Judy is the lead ESOL professional developer at the LAC where she conducts workshops and curriculum development projects, and leads the LAC’s TESLA certificate program.  Judy is a nationally certified trainer for the BEST Plus assessment, holds New York State K-12 ESOL certification and an M.S. in Teaching ESOL, and is co-author of chapters in two publications: New Ways in Teaching Adults and New Ways in Teaching Content-Based Instruction.