Workshop Presenters

Cynthia Bell
Cynthia Bell is the Numeracy and 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 and 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 an affiliate delegate of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).

Juan C. Castellanos
Juan C. Castellanos is the Associate Program Director, New York Region at Facing History and Ourselves, Inc. His responsibilities have included co-facilitating professional development, presentations, consulting with teachers on curriculum design, supporting district school work, and collaborating with partner institutions, such as universities and museums. In addition to his role as Associate Program Director for the New York Program Team, he has also worked on a number of international projects in Rwanda, Colombia, and Poland. Currently, he is the program lead on the China Project, which includes support of our school network in China and ongoing work for the Miami Dade Public Schools.

Nell Eckersley
Nell Eckersley is the Director of Instructional Technology and 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 have helped shape her particular focus on integrating technology into the adult education classroom via mobile devices and Chromebooks.

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 Professional Development Services, responsible for the oversight of LAC contracts and the development and implementation of professional development on a wide range of leadership, instructional, and programmatic 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 taught  ESOL at community organizations for six 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 ESOL 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. She is also the director of 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.