Meet the Leadership Team of the ICIS 2026-2027

Leslie Bohon, Co-Chair (2026-2027)

I actively promote and support our community as our leadership team concentrates on ICIS present and future steps and direction. Currently I am serving as Co-Chair with Melanie van den Hoven. I also served as ICIS Past Co-Chair (2023-2024). In my day job, I teach international students and conduct intercultural learning programs at the University of Richmond in Richmond, VA, USA as Director of English Language Learning. My research interests are international student development / experience and intercultural competence. I can be reached at [email protected].

Melanie van den Hoven, Co-Chair (2026-2027)

I actively promote and support the activities of the Intercultural Communication Interest Section. Currently, I am serving as Co-Chair with Leslie Bohon. As a Visiting Professor and SAFIR Affiliate Researcher at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, I am based in both in Chamonix, France and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. I hold a Ph.D. in Intercultural Education from Durham University, U.K. My research interests concern how people use the languages they know, with whom and under what conditions. Some recent publications concern interculturality and English language teaching in Korean, Saudi and Emirati contexts, and workplace sociolinguistics. My articles have appeared in journals such as the Journal of English-medium instruction, World Englishes, and Multilingua as well as many edited volumes. You can reach me at [email protected] or connect with me on Linkedin.

Susan Calix, Chair-Elect

I have enjoyed getting to know the leadership and members of ICIS, and I have helped coordinate recent coffee talks and webinars. I hold a double Bachelor's degree in International Studies and Spanish from American University. My Master of Education from Marymount University is in TESOL. I have over twenty years of experience teaching English in public elementary and secondary schools.  I taught virtually with Tunisian undergraduate students through the Department of State’s Virtual Educator Program. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Barbara Lapornik, Chair-Elect

I come from the city of Trieste, Italy, where I am currently an independent ELT consultant, an intercultural competence and literature researcher,  a certified teacher trainer and a project manager.  At present I also enjoy being the chair to a youth voluntary association and vice-chair to a youth symphony orchestra. In my past career as an English teacher and school vice-principal I also gained twenty five years of experience in organising and coordinating international projects, student exchanges and civic competitions. I have regularly spoken at TESOL International Conventions and other international and world conferences. My main interest lies in intercultural studies, in English literature and in their interconnections, then in intercultural student education in diverse contexts and in the interplay between theoretical principles and teaching practices. I am the incoming  2027/28 ICIS co-chair. [email protected]

Nichole McVeigh, Past Chair

ICIS Chair (2025-2026). Chair-Elect (2024-2025). Newsletter Editor (2023-2024). As Chair, I strengthened the membership and leadership of ICIS, collaborated with other interest sections, and continued the legacy of past chairs.  When Chair-Elect, I organized and led the lightning talks with Susan Calix. In addition, I was responsible for coordinating the Secondary Interest Section Session with ITAIS for the 2025 TESOL Conference.  I am the ESL Program Director of Reynolds Community College (Richmond, VA USA) and serve as an Adjunct Lecturer for the University of Richmond. I hold a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University for Peace (Costa Rica) and a MA in Teaching Languages from the University of Southern Mississippi (USA).  My areas of interest are intercultural communication, education for sustainable development and the intersections of language and peace education. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]

Jennifer Ramos, Newsletter Co-Editor

I recently joined the ICIS community to support the planning and production of the ICIS Newsletter. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing and an MAE in Curriculum and Instruction. I am an instructor at the University of Florida’s English Language Institute, where I have taught since 2005. I have also had the opportunity to teach in Venezuela, Portugal, Spain, and the Dominican Republic. My professional interests include language assessment practices, literacy development, and writing across the disciplines. The most meaningful part of my work is helping students develop the language skills they need to pursue their dreams.

Patricia Moon, Newsletter Co-Editor

I work with the ICIS leadership to encourage contributions from my colleagues at home and around the world to share their extensive experience and knowledge of intercultural communication. I have a Master’s in Linguistics with a graduate TESL Certificate, and have been fortunate to have worked at the English Language Institute at the University of Florida since 1994. Since the beginning of my career, I have been fascinated at how we communicate within and across cultures and languages, and our struggles to see outside of our limited world views. I am very fortunate to have found this esteemed group of scholars who demonstrate the skills needed to communicate within and across cultures as well as demonstrate their knowledge of what happens when we communicate cross-culturally.

Amina Douidi, PhD, Community Manager (2025-2027)

Past ICIS Co-chair (2024-25). I collaborate with ICIS and TESOL members to carry out ICIS goals. I actively promote and support our community as our leadership team concentrates on ICIS present and future steps and direction. I am a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) and Intercultural Communication independent consultant in ELT. I hold a doctorate from the University of Southampton, UK. My research focuses on intercultural representation, interaction and dialogic pedagogy. At TESOL ICIS, my focus this year is on the diverse and critical perspectives on Intercultural Communication. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Andrea Enikő Lypka, Ph.D., Community Manager

I bring over 15 years of teaching experience in Guinea-Bissau, Romania, China, and the U.S. Currently, I teach courses on cross-cultural understanding, TESOL methods for preservice teachers, and ESL.  I serve as Publications Chair for the Florida Educational Research Association and Community Manager at the Intercultural Interest Section of TESOL.  I am the Past President of Sunshine State TESOL and past Co-Chair of the Intercultural Interest Section of TESOL. My research interests include qualitative research methods and computer-mediated language learning. You can contact me at [email protected]

Roxanna Senyshyn, Historian

I served as  the Past Chair (2019-2020) and Past Co-Chair (2020-2021) of ICIS and I have also been serving as the TESOL Convention program coordinator of the Culture and Intercultural Communication Strand. I am an Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics and Communication Arts and Sciences at Abington College, Pennsylvania State University in Abington, PA, USA. My teaching encompasses TESOL/ESL education, applied linguistics, and intercultural communication courses. My research focuses on transformative intercultural learning in teacher education, intercultural competence development, English learner and newcomer family engagement and teacher professional development. In my current role in the ICIS, I am the Historian and I support the leadership team in accomplishing its strategic goals. I can be reached at [email protected]

Daniela Silva, Member at Large

ICIS Past Co-Chair (2024-2025). I work alongside ICIS and TESOL members to achieve the objectives of ICIS. I am committed to advocating for and supporting our community while our leadership team focuses on the current and future plans and direction of ICIS.

I hold a Ph.D. in Culture, Literacy, and Language from the University of Texas at San Antonio in the USA. I also hold an M.A. in TESOL from the University of Mississippi. In addition, I have taught EFL in Brazil and Portuguese at various U.S. universities. As a multilingual and multicultural educator, my research interests include teaching of culture, cultural and linguistic self-efficacy beliefs, TESOL, teacher education, and multicultural education. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]

Kasia Helbin-Travis, Member at Large

I joined ICIS out of a longstanding commitment to incorporating intercultural communication approaches into language learning. I am an ESOL instructor with over two decades of international teaching and training experience across three continents. I have lived and worked in Poland, Ghana, Hungary, Uganda, Kenya, and Congo-Brazzaville, where I have supported diverse learners in a variety of educational settings.

I hold B.A. degrees in Theater Arts and TESOL, an M.Sc. from SUNY Buffalo, and a CELTA certification. Since 2023, I have taught adult ESOL classes—including literacy-level instruction—in Northern Virginia at the English Empowerment Center (EEC), Lutheran Social Services, and Women for Afghan Women.

I currently serve as Academic Support Coordinator and ESOL literacy instructor at the EEC, where I oversee tutoring programs and support learners in developing independent study skills.

I would welcome the opportunity to connect with fellow educators, particularly those with an interest in adult ESOL literacy instruction.  You can reach me at: [email protected] 

Marcela Caprario, Member at Large

In my first year as a Member-at-Large, I look forward to supporting the ICIS  in advancing its goals. I am currently an Assistant Professor of TESOL at Wenzhou-Kean University in Mainland China, where I teach courses in linguistics and global Englishes, as well as overseeing MA TESOL theses. I hold a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Northern Arizona University and an MA TESOL from SIT Graduate Institute, both in the U.S. My professional experience spans Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mainland China, and the U.S., including over 10 years as an ESOL teacher. My research intersects applied linguistics, intercultural communication, and language education. My main interests include pragmatics of English as a lingua franca (ELF), intercultural communication, Global Englishes (GE)-informed instruction and teacher education, language attitudes, and corpus-based teaching materials development. My work has appeared in journals such as TESOL Quarterly and the Journal of English for Academic Purposes, among others. My co-authored textbook, English as a lingua franca: Practice and Research, was recently published by Wiley. For more information, please see my personal website  or contact me at [email protected].

Jennifer LaCroix, Member at Large

I am a global educator, award-winning professor, and founder of Authenticity, a cross-cultural communication consultancy. Named the 2025 X-Culture Best Professor, I teach at Northeastern University and lead programs that help individuals and organizations communicate across cultures with clarity, empathy, and confidence. With a passion for inclusive leadership and cultural agility, I empower authentic global voices and build stronger, more connected teams.

Sarah Hopkyns, Member at Large

As a Member-at-Large, I enjoy being an active part of the ICIS leadership team. I have contributed to newsletters and given webinars on my research. I am an Assistant Professor at the University of St Andrews and University College London, UK. I am also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, the Co-editor-in-Chief of St Andrews Journal of International and Language Education (SAJILE) and sit on the editorial board for the Journal of Language, Identity and Education, World Englishes and Intercultural Communication Education. I have published in journals such as Language and Intercultural Communication, Linguistics and Education, Multilingua, and World Englishes, and am the author of The Impact of Global English on Cultural Identities in the UAE (Routledge, 2020) and Decoloniality in Multilingual University Spaces (Cambridge University Press, 2026). You can reach me at [email protected] or connect with me on Linkedin.