Faculty at: Green Mountain | Pomona | Swarthmore

 

Yuan Gao,  Chinese Language Director

Yuan Gao has been a teacher of Chinese and French for nearly three decades. Gao currently teaches at Peddie School, a private school in New Jersey where he established Peddie’s Chinese program. He currently serves as a member of the College Board’s AP* Chinese Curriculum and Assessment Committee and as a leading reader for the AP Chinese exam.  Gao is the author of Preparing Students to Narrate Stories Based on Chinese Idioms (Chengyu) in a College Board AP Chinese publication. Gao earned his Bachelor’s degree in French from East China Normal University in Shanghai and his Master’s in French Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, specializing in 19th and 20th-century novels and poetry.  This will be Yuan Gao’s fourth year as a Chinese Academy Language Director.

Marty Wintje,  French Language Director

Marty Wintje was born in France, and received a degree in French Language and a degree in French Civilization from the Sorbonne. In the U.S. Marty received a B.S. from State University of New York at Oswego before teaching French at Spaulding High School in Rochester, NH for 31 years where he was also the International Language Department Chair. Marty has led many student trips to Europe, and studied Spanish at Middlebury College Summer Language School. This will be Marty’s fourth year with Middlebury-Monterey and second year as a French Academy Language Director 

Kelly Swarthout,  Spanish Language Director

Kelly Swarthout has a Ph.D. in Latin American Literature and has spent the last decade teaching Spanish language, literature, and culture at institutions such as Middlebury College and Colgate University. She currently teaches Spanish at the Long Trail School in Dorset, VT, where she is also the World Languages Chair.  This will be Kelly’s third year as a Spanish Academy Language Director.

Khalid Madhi, Arabic Language Director

Khalid Madhi teaches Middle Eastern Studies, World Politics and Arabic at Loyola University and St. Xavier University in Chicago. He left his native Morocco after completing his undergraduate studies in Economics at the University of King Mohammed I, Oujda, University Moulay Ismail, Meknes and Institut Superieur International de Tanger. Khalid received his M.A. in Political Science at Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, and now is pursuing doctoral studies in Political Science at the University of Illinois, Chicago. In the past seven years, Khalid taught Social Science, Islamic Studies and World Languages in independent schools in Chicago, Middlebury, VT, Oberlin, OH and Minneapolis, MN. This will be Khalid’s fourth year with Middlebury-Monterey.

Karen Rösch (Roesch),  German Language Director

Karen Rösch (Roesch) was born in San Antonio, TX and has lived in several countries during her career as an educator, including Japan, Australia and Germany. She started learning German as a child when her family was stationed in Germany, took German in high school and decided to major in German and English in college. Karen also speaks French and Japanese. She received her B.A. from Trinity University and an M.A. in Curriculum and Teaching from Michigan State University. After many years abroad, Karen decided to continue her education in German and recently received her Ph.D. in Germanic Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.  This will be Karen’s second year with the German Academy where she served as the Assistant Language Director in 2011, and will be this year’s Language Director.

Heidi Steele, Chinese Language Director

Heidi Steele has taught Chinese in a variety of settings for many years, and is currently teaching high school Chinese in the Peninsula School District in Gig Harbor, WA. She developed a specialized curriculum to teach American parents adopting children from China the language needed to comfort and care for a small child. In addition to her classroom teaching, Heidi administers the Peninsula School District’s Confucius Classroom program and works closely with the Confucius Institute of Washington State to support US-Chinese student exchange programs and school partnerships. Heidi holds a M.A. in Chinese/English Translation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. This will be Heidi’s second year as a Chinese Academy Language Director.

David Sainsily,  French Language Director

David Sainsily wa born in French Guiana, an Overseas Department of France in South America. He graduated from the University of Paul Valery in Montpellier, France, in English and Portuguese studies. David has taught French in Brazil, at Sierra College in California and Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont. He now teaches at the Windward School in Los Angeles. David is passionate about languages; he speaks French, English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Creole. This will be David’s fourth year as a French Academy Language Director.

Jose M. Ruiz, Spanish Language Director

Jose Ruiz graduated from Universidad de Málaga, Spain, and earned a Master’s degree in Spanish as a Second Language with a thesis focusing on learning styles. Jose has taught Spanish to students of all ages, lectured in Málaga, Seville, Madrid and Barcelona, and published materials for Spanish teachers. After working as a teacher trainer at CLIC International House in Seville, Jose came to the US to work as a Spanish teacher and is the Spanish Coordinator at Peddie School, an independent boarding high school in Hightstown, NJ.  This will be Jose’s third year as a Spanish Academy Language Director.

Joanne Shang, Chinese Language Director 

Joanne Shang teaches at Durham Academy in North Carolina, and is professionally focused on student-centered pedagogy, evidence-based proficiency assessment, and instructional technology for 21st Century learning. Joanne speaks regularly at national and global venues such as ACTFL and AP conferences. She was the Principal and, later on, Chairperson of the Board for the local Chinese Language School. Joanne co-authored Barron’s AP Chinese Language and Culture, and serves as an AP Chinese reader for College Board and ETS. Joanne is the Founder and President of the Chinese Language Teachers Association of North Carolina.

Jason Martel, French Language Director

Jason Martel is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Second Languages and Cultures Education program at the University of Minnesota. Before pursuing his graduate studies, he taught French in Massachusetts at Qualters Middle School, Concord-Carlisle Regional High School, and Dexter-Southfield Schools. Jason currently supervises foreign language and ESL student teacher candidates, is a course instructor on second language pedagogy for students in the professional studies program.

David Brightbill, Spanish Language Director

David Brightbill is the Foreign Language Department Chair at William Penn Charter, a private Quaker school in Philadelphia, and has taught Spanish since 2000 in the Upper School at Penn Charter and occasionally in the Middle and Lower School Divisions. David also served as an adjunct Spanish professor at Cabrini College for nine years, and leader of student groups throughout Europe, Mexico, and Canada. He holds a Master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College, a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Spanish from Muhlenberg College, and is a graduate of the Friends Council on Education’s Institute for Engaging Leadership in Friends Schools. This will be David’s second year as a Spanish Academy Language Director.

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