Brief biographies of presenters and descriptions of sessions

“Connecting with the World:People, Places, Language and Culture”Brief Biographies of Presenters for the CISL Conference, March 5, 2011Elaine BevingtonElaine Bevington is a sophomore at William & Mary, majoring in English and minoring in History. Sheis a 2009 graduate from Hylton, where she was heavily involved in the CISL program. In August of2010, she spent 10 days volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in Guatemala, where she met the mostamazing people and helped build a house for a family of 4. The experience was life-changing, and shehopes to spend much more time visiting and volunteering in developing countries. She is planning onparticipating in another Habitat trip this coming summer.Alain BouleyAlain Bouley is a teacher of English in Dijon, France, at Lycée Carnot.James ClarkLt. Col. James Clark was born in Heidelberg, Germany and entered the Air Force in 1989 afterreceiving his commission from Officer Training School. He graduated from San Saba High School, SanSaba, Texas (1981) and received his undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Howard PayneUniversity in Brownwood, Texas in 1985. He applied and was accepted to work on his master’s degreein Computer Science and Mathematics at Texas Woman’s University (1987). While attending TWU,James worked as a graduate teaching assistant and as a cooperative education student at IBM.Before entering the service, Lt. Col. Clark spent two and a half years as an Instructor of ComputerScience at Howard Payne University. Now a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force, he hasspent the last 20+ years enjoying himself as a Communications-Computer Systems Officer. His hobbiesand interests include cycling, golfing (disc and ball), playing the bagpipes, scuba diving, bird watchingand reading.Karen GaronSra. Garon has been a teacher of Spanish language since 1972, and in June of 2011 will have completedthirty one years with Prince WiIliam County Public Schools. Currently she serves as departmentchairperson of the World Languages program at C.D. Hylton. Over the course of the past ten years shehas taught Spanish at Northern Virginia Community College and has instructed employees of the PrinceWilliam County Schools through Spanish for Educator courses. She and her husband have made fourtrips to Bolivia as missionaries and have traveled extensively throughout Peru and Argentina.Donna GibsonDonna Gibson became intrigued with Ukrainian pysankas several years ago. She learned the art formof decorating with melted beeswax from a library book. She has taught in Prince William County since1989 and is now a proud member of Hylton’s mathematics department.Janice GrahamBorn and raised in the Virgin Islands, Janice Graham received a B. A. Degree from Lincoln University,Pennsylvania (1977) and a M. Ed. Degree from The George Washington University, Washington, DC(1991). She has worked for The Virgin Islands National Park, the Virgin Islands Department of

Education, and since 1985, has taught in the Prince William County Public Schools. She is currentlyemployed at C. D. Hylton High School as a Gifted Education Resource Teacher.Sara HoltzDr. Sara Holtz was a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, where she trained community health volunteers inprimary and preventive health, including HIV, safe motherhood, and child survival. This life-changingexperience drew her to international public health both as a career and a personal interest. CurrentlyDr. Holtz works at Management Sciences for Health where she leads the organization's HIV strategicinitiative. She has a Dr of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and aMaster's of Public Health from the University of North Carolina. She has a wealth of experience inglobal health issues such as HIV/AIDS, family planning, reproductive health, and maternal and childhealth. Dr. Holtz has worked at USAID/Senegal, USAID/West Africa, World Bank, the Gates Institute,Johns Hopkins University and the MEASURE Evaluation project. She has co-authored several articleson international public health in peer reviewed journals.Benjamin HouleReceived his B.A. in French in 1988 from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. He spent a summerstudying Québécois French language and culture @ L' Universite Laval in Quebec in Summer 1988.While traveling throughout Europe in 1996-1997 he received his CTEFLA (Certificate in TeachingEnglish as a Foreign Language to Adults) at The Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.Shortly thereafter, he got his first TESOL job in Athens, Greece.He moved to DC in January of 1998 to pursue his MA-TESOL at American University. He joined thePeace Corps as part of the joint PC/AU Masters International Program (MIP) where he served at theVladivostok State University of Economics and Service (VSUE) from July 2001-February 2003 when theprogram was closed early at the request of the Russian government.In 2008 he was hired by PWCS where he has been ever since. Currently he is at Loch Lomond ES wherehe works with the 5th grade team and KG classes. He lives in Gainesville with his wife, also an ESOLteacher, and their daughter whom they are currently teaching to read.Hylton’s “A World of Difference” Peer TrainersThese students are members of the “A World of Difference” organization at C. D. Hylton High Schoolunder the leadership of Mrs. Cynthia Brown, social worker at Hylton.Robert KirkpatrickRobert Kirkpatrick is a junior at George Mason University, majoring in Global Affairs, with a minor inMiddle East Studies. He recently traveled to Palestine, in a study abroad program with the college, fortwo and a half weeks. He attended Hylton High School all four years, and was an active CISL student.Cathy LaneCathy Lane has a bachelor’s degree in Oceanography from the Florida Institute of Technology. Hermasters is in Social Foundations of Education from UVA. She has been teaching for 26 years and hasalso worked in marine electronics and as an ichthyologist (someone who studies fish). She is currentlyteaching at C.D. Hylton High School and is head of the Science department.Beatrice LoayzaBeatrice Loayza is a senior at C. D. Hylton. She is a CISL student, is President and founder of Hylton’sAmnesty International Club, is a successful delegate of Hylton’s Model United Nations, has been a crosscountry runner since her freshman year and is a one year lacrosse player.2

Laara ManlerLaara Manler is a Management Analyst with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD) managing homeless and community development federal grants for HUD’s Washington DC fieldoffice. She also serves as the Volunteer Coordinator for the National Peace Corps Association’s(NPCA) Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) Mentoring Program for the DC Metro region.Born in Vancouver, Canada, Ms. Manler moved with her family to South Florida at age six. Sheattended Florida Atlantic University (FAU) double majoring in History and Political Science. Aftergraduating, Ms. Manler served as a Health Volunteer with the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso, WestAfrica. She worked on issues of health and sanitation focusing on improving the access to potable waterfor her village and the sixteen neighboring satellite villages.After returning to the US, Ms. Manler moved to Washington DC where she worked as a ProgramManager for Conservation International. Three years later she moved to Switzerland where she workedas the Executive Assistant to the Director General for the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Afterspending two years living and working in Europe, Ms. Manler returned to the US to go to graduateschool. She attended the SIT Graduate Institute enrolling in the self-designed Intercultural Service,Leadership, and Management program through the University’s Masters International program. Thisprogram would allow her to finish her degree in conjunction with Peace Corps service. After completingher classes on campus, Ms. Manler left for her second service with Peace Corps, this time in Paraguay,South America. Ms. Manler worked as a Municipal Development Services Volunteer, focusing on issuesof civic education and youth leadership. Ms. Manler was awarded her Master’s degree last month.Raymond MyersRaymond Myers has lived and taught in India and Japan. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Indiafrom 1966 to 1968, assigned to the Men’s Teacher Training Institute in Dharwad, Karnataka State. Inthe fall 1997, he taught in Japan at Hyogo University of Teacher Education in Yashiro, HyogoPrefecture, where he was a Visiting Research Scholar. He worked in the Department of Education'sOffice of Special Education Programs for nearly 21 years, most recently in the capacity of Section Chieffor the Division of Monitoring and State Improvement, where his team was responsible for periodiconsite compliance reviews in some of our most populous states such as California and Illinois. SinceJanuary 1998, he has worked in the Department’s Office of Educational Technology, primarily asInternational Liaison and Advisor on the development and use of appropriate technologies in theclassroom for both students and teachers. Ray has been a classroom teacher, local district supervisorand university teacher trainer before joining the Department of Education. He has had the opportunityto return to Japan and India over the past eight years at conferences and short-term assignments relatedto the use of technology in teachers’ professional development (Japan’s Fulbright Memorial Fundprogram, 2000-03) and the development of assistive technologies (Indo-US Science and TechnologyForum, Bangalore, 2006). He was invited by the Deshpande Foundation to return to where he hadworked as a Peace Corps Volunteer, Hubli-Dharwad, Karnataka, for the month of July 2008, to assist inthe review of innovative projects in educational technology (www.deshpandefoundation.org).He received his Ed.D. from George Washington University in September 1975; M.A. from RowanUniversity, Glassboro, New Jersey, in June, 1971; and B.A. from Rockhurst University, Kansas City,Missouri, in June 1966.Lydie PrieurLydie Prieur is a biology teacher at Lycee Carnot, in Dijon, France.3

Jody SilverbergJody Silverberg taught herself how to decorate Ukrainian Easter Eggs while she was a member of theRussian Club at her high school. She is President of the Prince William County chapter of the NationalFederation of the Blind, and has a home-based scrapbooking business as a Creative memoriesConsultant. Ms. Silverberg is the parent of a CISL graduate.Margaret H. Holt, CoordinatorCenter for International Studies and LanguagesC. D. Hylton Senior High School14051 Spriggs RoadWoodbridge, VA 22193Tel: 703.580.4000Fax: 703.580.4299Email: holtmh@pwcs.edu4