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David Hattem, Instructor-PALS Intensive Courses |
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David graduated from Rutgers-Newark in 2006 with a B.A. in History and Philosophy. In January of the same year, he began |
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working as an ESL instructor around the primarily Hispanic and Portuguese communities of Newark, becoming captivated by the culture exchange and the creative and productive use of language in the ESL setting. David has since chosen to settle into the field, and in the fall of 2009, he will begin an online Masters program in Applied Lingustics at the University of Massachusetts. One of his primary interests in language study relates to the |
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Marisol Garcia, Instructor-PALS Intensive Courses |
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Marisol has been teaching at PALS since June 2007. She truly enjoys it because of the multitude of people from different countries that she gets to meet. Every session is a whole new experience filled with amazing cultural tidbits! Marisol graduated with Honors from Rutgers University-Newark with a B.A. in English and a minor in Psychology. She received her |
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teaching certificate from the Rutgers University Urban Education Department and is a substitute for the Newark Board of Education. She has also been a member of the Golden Key Honor Society for about two years. Currently, she is working toward a Level II certification from the ICRLA while tutoring at the Rutgers-Newark Writing Center. In her spare time, Marisol enjoys reading, writing poetry, singing, dancing, and spending time with her wonderful family and friends. |
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Lynn Fiori, Instructor-PALS Intensive Courses |
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Mother of two and grandmother of two, Lynn was born and raised in northern New Jersey. She holds a B.A., cum laude, in Theater with a minor in French and Italian from Syracuse University. After university she lived in Italy, where she taught English at a private girls’ boarding school. Lynn used to work in theatrical costuming, during which time she bought bras for Dustin Hoffman when he made the film “Tootsie”. She spent two years in the costume shop at the Whole Theatre in Montclair, NJ, with actress Olympia Dukakis. She has also worked as a private dressmaker, mostly for wedding gowns. Lynn has worked at PALS since January 2006. She also teaches at Bloomfield College and for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). If she ever finds any free time, Lynn says that she intends to get back to ice dancing. |
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Richard Gomes, Instructor-PALS Intensive Courses |
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Richard has been teaching ESL and Brazilian Portuguese since 1987. He taught for 10 years in São Paulo, Brazil, and also lived there for 18 years. He is fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Richard received his B.A. in Linguistics with the New Jersey State Teaching Certification in TESOL at Montclair State University in 2005, and is looking forward to finishing his M.A. in TESOL at Hunter College in New York City in 2008. Richard has conducted |
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workshops focusing on Effective Teaching Methodologies and Techniques, Psycholinguistics and Pedagogy in the U.S., Brazil, Mexico, and China. He has been teaching ESL as a part-time lecturer at Montclair State University since September 2005 and at PALS since September 2006. |
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Asadeh Nia-Schoenstein Instructor-Graduate ESL Courses |
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A native of Germany and Iran, Asi has considerable international marketing experience and expertise. She is fluent in several languages and has worked in international agency and corporate public relations in the U.S. and Europe. She also teaches undergraduate and graduate students at several universities in New Jersey. Courses include ESL, Management Communication, Public Relations and Advertising. Asi holds a |
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B.A. in International Relations and Foreign Languages/Literature from Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts. She also earned a Master of Science degree in Mass Communication from Boston University's School of Public Communication. |
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Jessica Wilson, Instructor-PALS Intensive Courses |
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Jessica has a B.A. in English with a Women’s Studies minor from the University of Delaware, an M.A. in English Literature from Rutgers-Newark, and teaching certifications in Language Arts, ESL, and Adult Education from Wisconsin, Maine, and New Jersey. She is an inductee of Phi Kappa Phi, Academic Honors Society and Sigma Tau Delta, |
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International English Honors Society. Jessica worked for several years in publishing as a copyeditor, proofreader, and production editor for design and layout before returning to education. She has been an instructor with PALS since January 2002 and is also the PALS Computer Lab & Internet Services Coordinator. Jessica spends her free time studying foreign languages and traveling. She also enjoys doing volunteer work in other countries. Her hobbies include horseback riding, salsa dancing, and singing. |
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Bonnie Harley, Instructor-PALS Intensive Courses |
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Bonnie has taught at PALS since 2000. Having been an educator for several decades, she considers the effective teaching style and environment of PALS ideal for second language acquisition. In addition to being a Certified Teacher of English as a Second Language, Bonnie is a certified public school teacher in New Jersey, general education, as well as a certified Braille transcriber. She is a member of Pi Lamda Theta, International Honor Society for Education and a |
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member of New Jersey Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages/NJ Bilingual Education (NJTESOL/NJBL). Bonnie’s graduate work has been in the fields of Education and the Humanities, as well as in Linguistics. Her hobbies are gardening and music. |
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Ben Weise, Instructor-Graduate ESL Courses |
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Ben was born in Germany and was nine when he immigrated with his parents to the U.S. Following high school, Ben joined the Marine Corps, where in due time he spent an unforgettable vacation in Viet Nam. Ben holds a B.A. in German and Political Science from Jacksonville University and an M.A. in German Literature from Middlebury College. He has been at PALS since 2000 and is currently working toward a second M.A. in English Literature at the City University of New York. Ben likes challenging adventures and once climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. His next “hike” will be Aconcagua, a 7,000-meter trek in South America. He has also been known to jump out of a plane or two, and has written several unpublished novels. Ben says it’s the journey that counts, and that though it can be slow, it is alive with stepping stones and “unforgettables”. |
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Darlene Smith, PALS Administrative Assistant |
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Darlene has worked at Rutgers University since 1988 and has been Administrative Assistant and Designated School Officer for PALS-Newark since 2003. Prior to coming to the Newark campus she was Principal Secretary at PALS-New Brunswick and was a secretary in the Economics department. A graduate of Rutgers University, Darlene holds a B.A. in Political Science, a minor in History, and has a J.D. from Rutgers-Newark Law School. She is a member of several local and national bar associations, a member of the Organization of Black Faculty & Staff (OBFS) on the Rutgers-Newark campus, a member of the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors (NAFSA), and is an active member and serves on the bargaining team for the Union of Rutgers Administrators-AFT (URA-AFT). Darlene’s hobbies include attending cultural events, addressing human and civil rights issues, cooking, reading, and traveling throughout the world. |
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Dr. Minoo Varzegar, Director Go to Dr. Varzegar’s website |
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Dr. Varzegar received her high school diploma from Hollywood High School, Los Angeles, California. Later she received her B.A. in English, M.S. in Linguistics, M.A. in Psychology, M.A. in Teaching English, and Ph.D. in Teaching ESL and Postdoctoral in Psycholinguistics from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. She was the Chair of the English Department for 14 years, President of the Association of Professors of English in Iran for five years, Director of the Center for Psychometrics and Testing, Director of the Language Center, MLL and Placement Coordinator, and Project Director of The ELMS Grant, Writing Program, English Department at Rutgers-Newark. Dr. Varzegar has published 33 books on Reading and Writing and 56 articles on Linguistics, Psycholinguistics, Reading, Writing and Literature. She has also presented 84 papers in |
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national and international conferences and has conducted 26 research projects. She was granted the ELMS Grant of 2007 based on her research on Linguistic Diversity. She holds the Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in Education, Strathmore’s Who’s Who, Distinguished Professor, Distinguished Researcher and Scholar, Woman of Achievement of the Year 2002 AWARDS. She was a full professor at the University of Tehran and has taught at the University of Illinois, William Paterson University, Columbia University, and in PALS and The Writing Program at Rutgers University-Newark. |
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Timothy Keane, RETIRED-PALS Intensive Courses |
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Tim began teaching in PALS in 1991 and finally retired in December 2008 after 17 years. Before he came to Rutgers, he taught as an English instructor at Essex County College. An indifferent high school student in the 1960s, Tim graduated without distinction, spent two years as a dock worker fueling ships, joined the Navy in 1965, and served for two years aboard ship |
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as a data processing specialist. Following his military service, during a stint on Wall Street as a data processing manager, Tim began evening classes at Rutgers University. A math major at first, he switched to English after reading Hamlet and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness for the first time. Tim received his B.A. in English, magna cum laude, from Rutgers and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, Honor Society in 1974. He continued graduate studies in English at Rutgers and The New School, New York, and holds a New Jersey certification to teach English. Tim is a certified personal trainer and has taught for 30 years in various gyms the physical and mental benefits of sweating. Before he retired, he could often be heard exhorting his students to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Though retired, Tim continues to work as a fitness trainer, and lives by the beach with his wife and two sons. |
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use of technology to assist the language learner. His interests branch out beyond language, though. In his spare time, David enjoys cross-training, traveling, cooking, and spending time with family and friends joking and reminiscing. Go to Dave’s website |
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Shantha Anthony Raj, Instructor-PALS Intensive Courses |
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Shantha was born in India and came to the US in 2008 to be with her family. She has an M.A. in English Literature from India and is in the graduate department for Public Administration at Rutgers-Newark. Shantha started teaching ESL in India when she was 19 years old and loved it. She feels there is nothing like meeting new people from different parts of the world under one roof and thinks this job is completely fulfilling. The most rewarding thing, she says, is when one of her students talks to her confidently after a session. In her free time, Shantha loves to read and also write poems. Writing is her passion and one day she hopes to be able to publish some of her work. |
