Meet The Leadership Team of the ICIS For 2025-2026

Nichole McVeigh, ICIS Chair (2025-2026). Chair-Elect (2024-2025). Newsletter Editor (2023-2024). 

As 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. My goals for the upcoming year as Chair is to strengthen the membership and ICIS leadership team, strengthen alliances with other interest sections, and continue the legacy of past and present leadership. I hold a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University for Peace (Costa Rica) and a MATL 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]

Leslie Bohon, Co-Chair Elect (2025-26) and ICIS Past Co-Chair (2023-2024).

I actively promote and support our community as our leadership team concentrates on ICIS present and future steps and direction. 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 Elect (2025-26).

I serve as a liaison between the ICIS and scholarly developments in the field of intercultural communication. I am an independent researcher currently based in France, who has experience in industry as a cross-cultural communications specialist and in teacher training programs in Seoul, Korea 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 https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-van-den-hoven-13892920/

Amina Douidi, PhD, Community Coordinator (2025-2026).

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].

Daniela Silva, 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]

Josephine Prado, Past ICIS Co-Chair (2023-2024), past ICIS Newsletter Co-Editor (2021-2023).

I actively promote and support our community as our leadership team engages in present tasks and determines future steps for ICIS. I serve as Associate Professor for English Learner Education in the School of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. My research interests include intercultural competence in teacher education, and ESOL teachers’ efforts in advocacy. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]

Patricia Moon, ICIS Newsletter Co-Editor.

For 24-25, I worked with the ICIS leadership to encourage contributions from TESOL membership and my colleagues in the field so they can share their extensive experience and knowledge of intercultural communication. I have a Master’s in Linguistics with a graduate TESL Certificate. I have worked at the English Language Institute at the University of Florida since 1994 where currently I am responsible for scheduling and the curriculum. We have an outstanding program and have helped students from all over the world learn English! In my free time, I enjoy baking, learning about languages, latin dancing, and art. While Korean was my first language, I can only speak English but I have studied Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Arabic, and Korean. Since I come from a bicultural background, I am particularly interested in intercultural pragmatics and finding common ground between interlocutors.

Barbara Lapornik, TESOL ICIS Past Co-Chair (2022-2023).

In this role I actively promote and support our community as our leadership team concentrates on ICIS present and future steps and direction. I can be contacted at: [email protected]. I am based in Trieste, Italy, and work for the bilingual high school LS F. Prešeren, also covering the role of the international project manager, who organizes and coordinates student and staff exchanges, competitions in civic education and English language certificates. I focus my research on the manifold aspects of intercultural student education in diverse contexts, presenting them at international conferences.

Roxanna Senyshyn is the Past Chair (2019-2020) and Past Co-Chair (2020-2021) of ICIS.

In 2022-2023 she served as the TESOL 2023 Convention program coordinator of the Culture and Intercultural Communication Strand. Roxanna is an Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics and Communication Arts and Sciences at Abington College, Pennsylvania State University in Abington, PA, USA. Her teaching encompasses TESOL/ESL education, applied linguistics, and intercultural communication courses. Her research focuses on transformative intercultural learning in teacher education, intercultural competence development, English learner and newcomer family engagement and teacher professional development. In her current role in the ICIS, she is a Historian and she supports the leadership team in accomplishing its strategic goals. She can be reached at [email protected]

Ramin Yazdanpanah, ICIS Member-at-Large.

As an ICIS Member-at-Large, I serve as a liaison between the ICIS and the general membership. I am the Director of Full Circle Language Learning. I also work as a project and applicant reviewer with the U.S. Department of State’s English Language Programs, as a teacher educator with the TESOL International Association, an EFL technical expert with the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University, as well as an instructional designer and teacher educator with the Institute of Professional Adult Educators. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] and connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/raminyaz/

Andrea Enikő Lypka, Ph.D., Community Coordinator (2025-2026).

Andrea brings over 15 years of teaching experience in Guinea-Bissau, Romania, China, and the U.S. Currently, she teaches courses on cross-cultural understanding, TESOL methods for preservice teachers, and English as a Second Language (ESL) to journalists. As an Alumni Ambassador for the English Language Programs, she fosters the exchange of ideas and best practices in English language teaching worldwide. Dr. Lypka serves as Publications Chair for the Florida Educational Research Association and Community Manager at the Intercultural Interest Section of TESOL. She is the Past President of Sunshine State TESOL and past Co-Chair of the Intercultural Interest Section of TESOL. Her research interests include qualitative research methods and computer-mediated language learning. You can contact her at [email protected]

Susan Calix, ICIS Member-at-Large.

As a new Member-at-Large, I have enjoyed getting to know the leadership and members of ICIS. Co-planning the October 2024 “Lightning Talk” on Translanguaging and Intercultural Communication gave me great insights into the ICIS community. 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. Currently, I teach virtually with Tunisian undergraduate students through the Department of State’s Virtual Educator Program. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Tatang Banda Aka Prince, ICIS Member-at-Large.

As a new ICIS Member-at Large, I hope to learn how to serve as a liaison between the ICIS and the general membership. I am available to share my knowledge on intercultural communication from my African perspective to ensure a balanced narrative. I am currently working on my PhD research on popular culture in the Democratic Republic of Congo with a published film and two published articles to my credit. I am an English Language and literature in English teacher with passion in cultural studies and how culture is paramount in environmental sustainability. I hold a Master of Arts degree in literature in English where I showed the kinesthetic and aesthetic functions of orature to current society. I am a member of many national and international Language associations and of the examination boards of Cameroon. My articles have appeared in journals such as the International Journal of Linguistics of the Macrothink Institute and English Language, Literature and Cultural journal of the science publishing group. You can access me by inserting my name on any search engine and here: [email protected].