Jim Valentine, director of the American Language Institute, received his doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles specializing in Psychological Studies in Education with a cognate in TESL/Applied Linguistics. He also holds a B.A. in French and Spanish from Dartmouth College. For seven years prior to his arrival at the University of Southern California, he served as language coordinator for the international business programs at the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) at UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management. His principal applied research interests are human motivation, the instructional design of language programs, organizational psychology, and educational ethnography

Lucienne Aarsen earned her MA in English Teaching at the University of London Institute of Education. Her extensive experience includes teaching locally at UCLA and USC as well as overseas in Indonesia, Israel, and London. She is very passionate about fostering educational exchange with people from various cultures, and enjoys picking up languages in the process. She speaks Dutch and Italian and has studied French, Russian, and Spanish. As a language enthusiast, her approach to teaching is to actively engage students in topics of their professional, academic, and social interests for students to gain confidence in their English language skills.

Sara Anderson received her MA in ESL from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She previously earned her BA in Linguistics and Spanish, and a TESOL certificate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was the curriculum coordinator for Business English at the Hawaii English Language Program at UH-Manoa, and was also the coordinator for an intensive summer ESL program through Kyoto Women’s University in Japan before joining the ALI faculty. Special research interests include phonology, material’s development and course design. Her personal interests include traveling, hiking, nature, music, languages, and learning about new locations and people.

Gena Burgess coordinates the English language program and testing for international teaching assistants at USC. Gena received her doctorate in Educational Leadership from USC. She has a wide range of ESL and EFL teaching experiences in the United States and abroad. She is also an active participant in TESOL and CATESOL where she not only has led a number of workshops, but has also served in leadership positions and was the 2004 LA Regional CATESOL Conference Chair.

Victoria Byczkiewicz Cutler holds a BA in Cultural Anthropology from UC Santa Barbara and an MA in the Anthropology of Visual Communication from Temple University. After exploring her roots and teaching English for six years in post-unification Berlin, Germany, Victoria returned to her home city of Los Angeles, earning an MA in TESOL at Cal State LA. Victoria has nearly twenty years’ experience as an editor and writer for both commercial and academic publications. Her interests include classroom discourse analysis, language and identity issues, and oral language assessment. She is also committed to developing engaging content-based instructional materials. In her leisure time Victoria enjoys cooking, writing, Eastern philosophies, and all of the arts.

Reka Clausen earned her Master of Arts in TESOL from California State University, Los Angeles. She began her teaching career in Bologna, Italy, where she spent 9 years teaching EFL at various universities, language schools, and multi-national companies. Before joining the ALI faculty, she also taught ESL at UCLA Extension’s American Language Institute and at Santa Monica College. As coordinator of the writing skills courses at the ALI, she is dedicated to continually developing innovative materials and improving the curriculum for these courses. She is fluent in Italian and Farsi and has studied French, Spanish and Portuguese, as learning foreign languages and traveling abroad have always been a passion.

Cynthia Dong earned her MA in TESOL from California State University, Long Beach. A native of northern California, she first became interested in ESL while an undergraduate majoring in Psychology and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. After a detour in Human Resources for several years, she accepted an opportunity to teach EFL in Uzbekistan, which led to her return to teaching. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, watching movies, going out with friends, teaching Sunday school, listening to music, and reading.

Barry Griner is the course coordinator of ALI 234 and 245. He is originally from the East Coast where he received his BS in Mathematics Education. He spent ten years teaching in Hiroshima, Japan before returning to the States to get his MA in Applied Linguistics and TESL at UCLA. He also did several years of study in the PhD program in Applied Linguistics there, doing research in the morphophonotactics of Japanese and in intonational phonology. Barry’s 22 years of teaching experience also includes program evaluation/development and teacher training for the US State Department in faraway places like Uzbekistan. In his free time he enjoys baking, traveling, and camping around California.

Nina Kang has enjoyed teaching English all over the world and hopes to continue teaching and learning about different cultures. As an English Language Fellow in Eastern Europe, she developed a great interest in the use of cultural rhetoric in writing and information literacy skills. She is especially interested in research writing which incorporates reading and writing skills with analytical research skills. As a trained librarian, she's also interested in providing information-rich contexts for students to develop their reading, writing, and speaking skills. Outside the classroom, she enjoys biking, hiking, doting on her newborn daughter, and singing off-tune with her husband.

Juli Kirkpatrick is the Testing Coordinator of the ALI. She earned her BA in International Relations from Stanford University and her M.A in TESOL from United States International University in San Diego, CA. She has taught ESL/EFL in Japan and Turkey as well as at San Diego State University and UCLA Extension. Her special interests are in teaching pronunciation and grammar. She enjoys traveling, learning foreign languages, and Middle Eastern dancing as well.

Zsuzsa Londe received her BA in Linguistics from UCLA (summa cum laude) and an MA and Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics, also from UCLA.  Languages, language- teaching, research, assessment and statistics are her ongoing academic interests.  Working memory and its relationship to listening comprehension in a second language was the topic of her dissertation.  Her research and publications with other colleagues have taken her to areas of generative linguistic, psycholinguistics and the language-assessment fields.  She very much enjoys teaching and attaches great importance to diversity, communication, and an encouraging, academic atmosphere in the classroom.

Olivia Martinez obtained her B.A. and graduate degrees from UCLA. Her academic interests include linguistics, lexicography, code-switching, translation/interpretation, TESL, as well as issues related to generation 1.5 English speakers. Her experience includes work in community based ESL programs, as well as English literacy programs in the Los Angeles area, as well as working as a lecturer at UCI and UCLA. Most of her research has focused on Valley Zapotec, an indigenous language from Mexico, her native country. She also loves to read and dance, though not at the same time.

Sharon Myers holds a BA in Linguistics from UCSD, an MA in TESOL from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. in Multilingual/Multicultural Education from Florida State University. She has served as director for the International TA Training Program and the Academic ESL Program at Texas Tech University, and is interested in the pedagogy of 2nd language writing and issues affecting international scientists, engineers, and academicians who publish in English. She has published articles in English for Specific Purposes, TESL-EJ, and College Composition and Communication. She is fluent in Spanish, and enjoys the work of Latin American caricaturistas, reading about science, and writing poetry.

Eric H. Roth teaches students the pleasures and perils of writing and public speaking. He has taught numerous English and writing courses across Southern California. A former journalist and Congressional aide, Roth also directed the CES Adult Education Center from 1996-1998. Roth received his MA in Media Studies (88) from The New School University, and his B.A. (84) in philosophy from Wabash College. He has traveled to over 35 countries, taught in Spain and France, and led many teaching workshops. Roth co-authored Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics in 2007. He also advises the USC Conversation Partners Program.

Kimberley Briesch Sumner holds a Bachelor’s degrees in both French and psychology from the University of Oklahoma, and a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics and Teaching English as a Second Language from UCLA. Her interests lie in working with students who are experiencing U.S. culture for the first time and also with students who need to hone their advanced English skills. Kimberley is originally from the state of Oklahoma but has traveled to various places in the world including France, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. In her free time she enjoys going out with friends, watching movies, and playing alto saxophone in the UCLA Alumni Band.

Jim Cunningham, the ALI Program Administrator, directs and coordinates all the administrative aspects of the American Language Institute. He is also the web master for all of the ALI's web pages. Mr. Cunningham holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology from UCLA, and an MA in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Seminary. He has travelled extensively in Asia and the Pacific, and lived in Thailand for 8 years.

Maricel Veluz, the ALI International Student Advisor, holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. Maricel provides a wealth of information to ALI students on academic and other issues. She also oversees student performance and attendance, coordinates various administrative and registration functions for the ALI, and insures the implementation of university policies and procedures. On the personal side, Maricel loves to play and watch basketball especially the Lakers. She is our resident NBA expert! 

Thuy Pham is the ALI Student Services Coordinator. Thuy provides friendly and helpful service to students who need to register for classes or obtain "D" clearances. She also oversees the administrative aspects of the ALI International Teaching Assistant (ITA) program.

Shelly Hacco is the ALI Office Manager and is likely to be the first person you see when you come to visit. She is very friendly and helpful. She also keeps the office running smoothly and efficiently. If you have a question, Shelly will probably have the answer or be able to find someone who does.