Meet Our Teachers & Staff
The IEI full-time faculty are experienced professionals who are trained in ESL teaching methods. Our faculty have either a Master's degree or Ph.D. in Teaching English as a Second Language, Linguistics or a related field. Most IEI teachers speak at least one other language and have lived abroad. The IEI support staff have years of experience at the university supporting programs and serving students. To find out more about individuals, check out the biographies below.
| Dr. Laura Hahn, Director |
lhahn@illinois.edu |
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Laura has over 20 years of experience in teaching ESL, instructional development, and language teacher training. Before coming to the IEI she was Coordinator of Programs for International TAs and Faculty in the Center for Teaching Excellence. She has also been an English Language Specialist for the U.S. State Department. Her doctorate work focused on English pronunciation, and she is the co-author (with Wayne B. Dickerson) of Speechcraft: Discourse Pronunciation for Advanced Learners. Laura is a fan of spicy food, Illini basketball, and her two children. |
| Gretchen Forman, Academic Coordinator |
gforman@illinois.edu |
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| Karen Hilgeman, International Student Advisor |
hilgeman@illinois.edu |
| Karen is the International Student Advisor at the Intensive English Institute, and she also teaches ESL classes. She has a master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Central Missouri. She has taught students at colleges and universities in several states as well as in Japan. She has also conducted teacher training in Illinois, in China, and at many local and national conferences. In her free time, she enjoys travelling, reading, writing, and spending time with family and friends. | |
| Anna Kasten,
Student Services Coordinator |
a-kasten@illinois.edu |
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Anna has a Masters in TESL from the University of Illinois. Her first experience abroad was as an exchange student in Austria.Before coming to the IEI in 1993, she taught EFL at universities in Japan and Venezuela. Anna coordinates Student Services and Activities for the IEI and enjoys being part of the IEI “support system”. She loves music and especially loves to sing.Her daughters Joanie & Sophia also keep her pretty busy! |
| Natalie Mullen, Activities Coordinator |
nmullen2@illinois.edu |
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Natalie has a Masters in TESL from the University of Illinois. Natalie first lived abroad in Madrid, Spain for one year as an exchange student. Before coming to the IEI, she taught English for two years at a university in Lanzhou, China. Natalie is the Activities and Cultural Coordinator for the IEI and manages the IEI Interns. She is involved in the student group International Student Connections on campus, and loves to help IEI students learn more about American culture. |
| Rachel Newell, Outreach Lecturer and ConvoPartners Coordinator |
rmnewell@illinois.edu |
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Rachel has spent over ten years working with international students as an ESL instructor and has had the chance to work with students from diverse backgrounds including Vatican priests, Korean pop stars and Dutch dairy farmers. She came to the IEI in 2004 after completing a Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor of Science in Education from Eastern Illinois University. In addition to her time at the IEI, Rachel has also taught in China as well as conducted workshops for English teachers in Turkey. Rachel is the ConvoPartner Program coordinator and works on student recruitment and advertising. |
| Kristin Bouton, Technical Support |
bouton@illinois.edu |
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Kristin has been with the IEI since 1996 and is the coordinator for the Upper Level Listening and Speaking Classes. She has also taught English through Computers and the Internet for the IEI and been involved with maintaining the IEI Web site. She has an MA in English Literature from the University of Illinois and has been an ESL/EFL teacher since 1984. She first began teaching English in Spain where she lived for 12 years. In her free time Kristin enjoys travelling, reading, watching movies, and, most of all, spending time with her husband and two boys. |
| Debbie Ackerman, Office Administrator |
dmackerm@illinois.edu |
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Debbie has been at the University of Illinois for 27 years. She is the office administrator responsible for the tracking and billing of all income and expenses, along with agent information and other administrative tasks. Debbie keeps busy in whatever activity Brittney or Briley, her daughters, are involved. If she's not with her girls, she loves to read, attend sporting events, any outdoor activity, and spend time with family and friends. She'd like to play softball & volleyball in the near future, but for now she is content in rooting on her daughters. |
| Rhonda Kissling, Office Manager |
rhon@illinois.edu |
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Rhonda is the first person you see when you come into the IEI. She is responsible for processing all new student applications, along with helping to coordinate many other functions of the IEI. She was born and raised in Mahomet, Illinois - a town about 10 miles west of here. She still lives there today with her husband Bill, her two boys Trevor and Mason and their two dogs Lucy and Ranger. When she has spare time she likes to read, do crossword puzzles and watch tv. Her interests also include cars and music. |
| Joy Chen-Howard, Faculty |
jchoward@illinois.edu |
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Joy joined the IEI in the summer of 1997. Born in Taiwan, she came to the U.S. in 1986 for graduate studies. In 1989, she received her first master's degree in sports psychology from Purdue University, Indiana and in 2003, her second master's degree in TESL here at the University of Illinois. While she has taught a variety of ESL subjects, she is devoted to the study and teaching of grammar. She has an overall interest in foreign languages as well and has taken courses in Russian, French, German, Polish, and Serbo-Croatian. Joy is a dedicated animal lover and one of her favorite things to do is spending time with her dog and her cats. She also loves baseball with great passion and is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan. |
| Peter Chiligiris, Faculty |
chiligir@illinois.edu |
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Peter has been teaching ESL for fourteen years, including seven years in Asia, and has taught every age group, every subject, and every skill level. He has two master's degrees from the University of Illinois: one in Education, the other in TESL and is the TOEFL component leader and testing coordinator for the IEI. Peter enjoys basketball (he is a passionate Illini fan), rollerblading, and reading, but his favorite way to spend his free time is playing with his two children. |
| Dr. Maggie Courtright, Faculty |
mcourtri@illinois.edu |
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Maggie is the Reading Coordinator at the Intensive English Institute where she often teaches classes in Reading, Composition, and English Language through Film. Maggie has worked in several universities in the United States and has taught in Asia on several occasions. She has a BA in American Literature from Miami University , an MA in TESL and a PhD. in Education from the University of Illinois . Not surprisingly, Maggie likes to read and is an avid movie goer. She also enjoys traveling and making new friends. |
| Kate Curry, Faculty |
kcurry@illinois.edu |
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Kate earned her Master’s Degree in Teaching ESL from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Bachelor’s Degree at Earlham College, where she studied Japanese and TESL. She taught English in Japan to students of varying ages and levels. She also taught Japanese to middle school students just outside of Washington D.C.. Kate taught at the IEI for five years before moving to Berlin, Germany to teach ESL in an international school. She just returned from two years teaching in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. Kate is excited to return to the IEI and to teaching and learning from our interesting students who come from all over the world. |
| Dr. Silvana Dushku, Faculty |
s-dushk@illinois.edu |
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Silvana finished her BA in English and Albanian Language Teaching at the University of Tirana, Albania. Following this she obtained an MA degree in TESL, and a PhD in Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has extensive experience teaching Academic Writing, Listening and Speaking to graduate and undergraduate students from all over the world. Her main hobbies are reading, travelling, dancing, and making pottery. She also enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and taking landscape pictures. |
| Sue Feldman, Faculty |
sfeldma2@illinois.edu |
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Sue earned both her BA in the Teaching of French and her MA in TESL from the University of Illinois. Before coming to the IEI she spent fourteen years teaching high school French and Spanish. She then worked for seven years as an Interpreter/Bilingual Counselor at the East Central Illinois Refugee Mutual Assistance Center, where she helped refugees, political asylees and immigrants to acclimate to American life and to navigate governmental and community services. She has travelled extensively throughout Europe and the Yucatán region of Mexico, where she often volunteers as an Interpreter for Intercambio Cultural Maya, a travelling medical team that provides free care in rural Mayan villages. When she is not teaching, she enjoys kayaking, camping, listening to live music, and spending time with her family. |
| Sue Ingels, Faculty |
ingels@illinois.edu |
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Sue has taught pronunciation, speaking/listening, cross-cultural communication, and writing to international students, pre-service teachers, and scholars from around the world. She recently completed her PhD in educational psychology at the University of Illinois, with a focus on pronunciation strategy use, second language acquisition, and teacher education. She also has a BA in Spanish from Illinois State University and completed an MA in Teaching ESL here at Illinois. Prior to starting her graduate studies, Sue worked in educational publishing. Now that her dissertation is complete, Sue has more time for gardening and attending her son’s college concerts. |
| Ljubinka Jandrich, Faculty |
jandrich@illinois.edu |
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Ljubinka (Binky) has been teaching for the IEI since 1986. She has taught in all subject component areas and at all proficiency levels and enjoys helping her students improve their language skills. Her BA in French was done at Indiana University and MA in TESL at the University of Illinois. She has lived, studied and taught in France, Honduras and Spain, and speaks French, Spanish and Serbian. |
| LuAnn Sorenson, Faculty |
lsorenso@illinois.edu |
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LuAnn has Master's degrees in Scandinavian Studies and Applied English Linguistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she taught ESL and Norwegian. She has taught a wide variety of English language courses at universities in Finland, Iowa City, IA, St. Louis, MO, and Cambridge, MA before coming to the IEI in 2007. In her free time, she likes to watch foreign movies, read, knit, go cross-country skiing, and learn more about financial investing. |
| Jim Sosnowski, Faculty |
jsosnow2@illinois.edu |
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Jim earned his Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education and Biology from Augustana College and later went on to complete his MATESL degree from the University of Illinois. In addition to teaching ESL at the IEI, he has taught EFL in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Mexico. During his free time he loves gardening, camping, hiking, and watching his favorite sports teams. |
| Jill Tschopp Huang, Faculty |
tschopp2@illinois.edu |
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Jill earned her MA in TESL at the University of Illinois in 2011 where she taught academic writing to International Graduate and Undergrad students. She has also been a freelance editor of Master’s theses for graduate students in Taiwan, and faculty at UIUC. One day she hopes publish the novel that has been sitting in her “save” files since 2005. Jill loves animals (especially dogs), Japanese anime, reading (especially novels with “emo” protagonists), and travelling with her husband. |