Letter from the Chair

Stacy Brown, Refugees Forward, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA

Dear RCIS Community,

Across regions and roles, this year has asked more of all of us. In many contexts, shifting immigration policies impact school enrollment, family safety and stability, and access to education. Learners, families, and educators face growing challenges while funding for language programs, resettlement, and other social services has lessened. These realities underscore the critical importance of individuals with lived experience in leadership, research, and policy work, as well as the importance of bearing witness, fostering safety and healing, and affirming truths. These needs are ever-present, but so is the resilience within this community. As educators and advocates working with displaced communities, we know that language learning never exists in isolation from global conditions. It intersects with public policy, health care and mental health systems, housing access, legal realities, and sociopolitical shifts. Our field carries both pedagogical and civic responsibility.

Despite obstacles, we continue to see thoughtful scholarship, intentional classroom practices, and sustained advocacy. Colleagues mentor emerging professionals. Researchers partner with communities rather than speaking for them. Educators adapt curriculum in ways that protect rigor while honoring dignity, well-being, and lived experience. This work reflects the core mission of TESOL International Association and strengthens our contribution to the field. As we approach the TESOL Convention, we recognize that some members of our community might not be able to attend. Your absence will be felt. Your work, however, is not absent.

The Refugee Concerns Interest Section is a network of individuals who remain committed to thoughtful, ethical, and evidence-informed practice. It is a space where we hold complexity, resist simplistic narratives about displacement, and center humanity, agency, and voice. Even when we cannot gather physically, our commitments travel. Our scholarship travels. Our care travels. The strength of this community is not found in proximity, but in shared purpose.

For any who cannot attend, we will work together to support your contributions through alternative formats and virtual opportunities. In addition, we will host informal virtual meetups during and following the convention to maintain connection. If you would like to present something virtually, even if it is a short video, testimony, or other representation of your work or experience, please let us know at [email protected]. This will help us to adapt, collaborate, and innovate. To those attending the TESOL 2026 International Convention & Expo, here is this year's schedule guide to help you navigate sessions and connect with one another. This is a living document that will be continuously updated.

Along with our email, you can find us in the RCIS MYTESOL Community and our Facebook page. If you’re new to the MYTESOL platform, TESOL provides access via the web and the mobile app. Be sure to check out the home page, where you can find posts from the association and colleagues from other TESOL communities. We can also help connect you to your nearest local TESOL affiliate.

Thank you for the expertise, care, and persistence you bring to this field. In a year marked by uncertainty, your efforts provide continuity. As we look toward the coming year, I look forward to continuing this work together and strengthening the connections that sustain our field.

With appreciation and solidarity,

Stacy Brown
Chair, Refugee Concerns Interest Section

Stacy Brown is a specialist in displacement policy and crisis response and international emergency case worker, currently serving in the U.S. and fifty-eight countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Additionally, she serves as an EL administrator in Oklahoma. She has served in leadership for TESOL International Association and affiliates for 18 years and volunteers with local and international organizations dedicated to protecting and advocating for forcibly displaced families.