Board Election

President-Elect Candidates

Pablo Muirhead - Biography

Building bridges between cultures through language education inspires Pablo to grow daily. Raised bilingually, he was fortunate to spend his upbringing between the U.S. and Peru. Later living in Indonesia and Germany, he gained proficiency in the languages and cultures of his hosts. These experiences set him on a path as a language educator and continue to inform his guiding ethos: #MultilingualismForAll.

For nearly three decades, ACTFL has anchored Pablo’s career. Spanning middle school, high school, and over twenty years of teaching beginning- through intermediate-level Spanish and heritage language courses at Milwaukee Area Technical College, he draws on his doctoral research of
bridging language and culture on a daily basis. This approach led to his classroom being featured in the national ACTFL Annenberg video library series. Beyond his own classroom, he has served as an ACTFL consultant for over ten years facilitating workshops focusing on proficiency-based instruction and actionable strategies for integrating culture into language teaching.

Pablo’s career is defined by a lifelong ethic of service. Whether advocating on Capitol Hill as JNCL-NCLIS President, serving as a local school board member, volunteering with AFS, or coaching youth mountain biking, he prioritizes community-building. As ACTFL Treasurer and Board member,
he championed value-driven budgeting aligned with equity, accessibility, and teacher support. Looking to the future, Pablo’s vision as ACTFL President centers on robust national advocacy and innovative teacher recruitment. To address severe staffing shortages and program reductions, he is
committed to leveraging ACTFL’s platform to support national efforts around non-traditional certification pathways, particularly for heritage language speakers, to create a resilient educator pool that reflects the diverse identities of students nationwide.

Rooted in family and community, Pablo and his media naranja, a fellow educator, have raised bilingual children who carry these global perspectives to institutions like NYU Abu Dhabi. When he isn’t lesson planning, journaling in Indonesian, watching Argentine cinema, or listening to Bayern
München podcasts to preserve his languages, you will find him on a bike, racing, exploring nature, or logging miles. Pablo is ready on day one to serve as ACTFL President to champion
#MultilingualismForAll

Benjamin Rifkin - Biography

Benjamin (“Ben”) Rifkin earned his BA and first MA in Russian and East European Studies from Yale University. After working for two years as a translator in Moscow, he completed a second MA and PhD in Slavic Languages and Literature at the University of Michigan.

Ben began his academic career at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW), where he served as assistant professor, associate professor, and professor for 15 years. During that period, he also directed Middlebury College’s intensive summer Russian School for three years, chaired his department, and led one of UW–Madison’s area studies centers. After leaving Wisconsin, he held professorships and leadership positions at several institutions in the Northeast. He joined Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2022 as Dean of the Becton College of Arts and Sciences and started serving as FDU’s Provost in 2023.

Throughout his career, Ben has focused on world language education, drawing particularly on his experience as an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) Tester and Trainer, as well as on the World-Readiness Standards for Language Learning. He also works to help language educators understand social and educational trends that affect teaching and learning across PreK–20.

His research has focused on learning outcomes, including language proficiency and, more recently, compassion as an essential component of the language learning experience. He has published textbooks and articles in refereed journals, including recent work on career readiness and the Russian major. He has given dozens of presentations at scholarly conferences, including ACTFL, as well as workshops and invited lectures. His forthcoming book, coauthored with Manuela Wagner, explores compassion in world language education and will be published by ACTFL this year.

Ben has served on the executive councils or boards of directors of organizations including ACTFL, as well as AATSEEL, ACTR, NECTFL, and NFMLTA, and as president of AATSEEL and NFMLTA. He has led complex organizational initiatives and has served on the editorial boards of several scholarly journals, including Foreign Language Annals and NECTFL Review.

In 2020, ACTFL honored Ben with its Wilga Rivers Award for leadership in the foreign language field. He has also received awards for teaching, service, and research, and Middlebury College awarded him an honorary doctorate for his contributions to language and culture education.

Finally, Ben volunteers with an NGO that provides Ukrainians with English-language conversation practice. Ben and his wife have two adult children, and he wishes he could have another golden retriever.

Higher Ed Candidates

Cassandra Glynn - Biography

Dr. Cassandra Glynn is an Associate Professor of Education and Director of the Master of Education in World Language Instruction in partnership with Concordia Language Villages at Concordia College, Moorhead, MN.  She received her MA and PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Minnesota with a focus in Second Languages and Cultures Education. 

Dr. Glynn has been involved in ACTFL for many years and has served as the secretary and chair of the African American Student SIG and twice as chair of the Critical and Social Justice Approaches SIG.  Cassandra is also currently serving on the By-Laws Committee and has previously been a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force at ACTFL, in addition to chairing awards committees.

Cassandra’s research interests center around the experiences of marginalized and underrepresented students in world language classes and on world language teachers’ experiences as they take critical approaches to teaching languages and cultures. In the last few years, her work at Concordia College has centered around licensing heritage language teachers in Minnesota and her current research projects are focused on extended education programs that sustain heritage languages in communities and teachers’ experiences with immigration enforcement in Minnesota.  She is co-author of Words and Actions:  Teaching Languages through the Lens of Social Justice and co-editor of the volume Transforming World Language Teaching and Teacher Education for Equity and Justice:  Pushing Boundaries in U.S. Contexts.  She is currently co-authoring a book called Language Learning for All: Building Disability-Inclusive and Equitable World Language Classrooms.

Prior to teaching at Concordia College, Cassandra taught middle school language classes and high school German, including dual credit, and worked in the German and French Villages at Concordia Language Villages.  In addition to her work at Concordia College, she returned to the high school classroom five years ago to provide a German language option at her children’s school as service to her community.  Cassandra has enjoyed taking her high school students abroad.  She received the Emma Birkmaier Award for Outstanding Language Education in 2019 and the Concordia College Flaat Distinguished Scholarship Award in 2023.

Bo Liu - Biography

Bo Liu is Director of the Chinese Program and Assistant Professor of Chinese in the Department of East Asian Studies, and a faculty member in the interdisciplinary Second Language Acquisition and Teaching program at the University of Arizona. He holds a Ph.D. in Academic Curriculum and Instructional Leadership with a specialization in World Languages Education and an M.A. in TESOL from the University of Oklahoma.

Over the past six years, Liu has been actively engaged with ACTFL through conference presentations, proposal review, proficiency assessment, and other professional activities. As an ACTFL-certified OPI Tester of Chinese, he has worked closely with proficiency-oriented assessment and instruction. These experiences have strengthened his commitment to ACTFL’s role in connecting research, classroom practice, professional learning, and advocacy.

Liu’s research aligns closely with ACTFL’s work in proficiency-oriented and research-informed language education. His scholarship focuses on world language pedagogy, teacher education, second language motivation, curriculum and assessment, and technology and artificial intelligence in language learning. His work has appeared in Foreign Language Annals, RELC Journal, Chinese as a Second Language Research, and other publications, with an emphasis on translating research into practices that are meaningful and usable for educators.

His teaching experience spans K–12 and higher education and includes Chinese language, language pedagogy, film and popular culture, and research-focused courses. He has worked with learners from beginning through advanced levels, as well as with future and practicing language educators. His teaching emphasizes meaningful communication, proficiency development, authentic language use, and alignment between curriculum and instruction.

Liu’s professional service centers on strengthening connections within the language education community. Through leadership in state and national language organizations, program coordination, teacher development, and professional reviewing, he has collaborated with educators across career stages and institutional contexts.

Liu’s professional journey, from international student to K–12 and higher education educator, researcher, program director, and professional association leader, has shaped his ability to understand and engage with diverse stakeholders. He would bring to the ACTFL Board perspectives that cross languages, educational levels, career stages, and institutional settings. He hopes to foster collaboration that supports educators, programs, and learners across contexts.

As a Higher Education At-Large representative, Liu hopes to help ACTFL strengthen connections across its diverse membership, support pathways between K–12 and higher education, advance research-informed and proficiency-oriented practices, and ensure that educators from different linguistic, cultural, geographic, and professional backgrounds have meaningful opportunities to contribute and be represented.

Mary Jo (DiBiase) Lubrano - Biography

Mary Jo (DiBiase) Lubrano, Ed.D., is Associate Director at the Yale University Center for Language Study, where she has served since 2017, following four years as the Center’s Language Testing and Assessment Specialist. A language educator, assessment specialist, researcher, and international consultant, she has devoted more than three decades to advancing language education, proficiency assessment, and professional development in higher education and international settings.

Dr. Lubrano holds an Ed.D. in Leadership in Higher Education, an M.A. in Applied Linguistics (Language Testing), and an M.A. in Foreign Language Education and Literatures. At Yale, she leads professional development workshops on language teaching and learning, assessment and evaluation, and serves as a Lecturer in Education Studies. She is also an ACTFL mentor and a certified OPI/OPIc tester and rater in Italian and English.

Her work has brought her into collaboration with language educators and professionals across the United States, Europe, and the international language-education community. She has served as Co-Director of the National Italian Test through the American Association of Teachers of Italian (AATI), contributing to the development and administration of a national assessment of Italian language proficiency in K–12 education. Since 2003, she has served as an external advisor to the Bureau for International Language Coordination (BILC), working with language professionals across more than 26 nations. Through these experiences, she has worked extensively in proficiency-based testing, test development and validation, standard setting, assessment literacy, and professional training.

Dr. Lubrano’s scholarship focuses on language assessment, pedagogy and innovation in language learning. She is the editor of Advancing Language Study in the 21st Century and has published research on assessment literacy, proficiency testing, test validation, and language learning. She is a frequent invited speaker and workshop facilitator on language education and assessment.

Her professional service includes serving on the ACTFL advisory board for the revision of the 2024 Guidelines, chairing the Pimsleur Award for Research in Foreign Language Education, reviewing for the ACTFL convention and other professional organizations, and contributing to leadership and committee work at Yale and within the broader language-education community.

Across her academic, national, and international roles, Dr. Lubrano has consistently connected research, teaching, assessment, and professional practice. Her work reflects a commitment to collaboration across languages and professional communities, supporting educators, strengthening assessment literacy, and advancing meaningful approaches to language learning and proficiency.

Catherine Ritz - Biography

Dr. Catherine Ritz is a Clinical Associate Professor and the Program Director for World Language Education and Curriculum & Teaching at the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. An accomplished educator, researcher, and author, she is a leading voice in the field of world language pedagogy, curriculum design, and programmatic leadership. Prior to her university career, Dr. Ritz spent over a decade in K-12 education as a teacher of French and Spanish, a National Board Certified Teacher, and the Director of World Languages for a public School district in the Boston area. This extensive practical experience deeply informs her research and teaching. 

At BU Wheelock, Dr. Ritz oversees the World Language Education and Curriculum & Teaching programs, and teaches a wide range of graduate courses, including Methods of Teaching World Languages, Curriculum & Assessment, Second Language Acquisition, and Language Program Management. Her commitment to experiential learning is evident in her development of the college's first short-term faculty-led study abroad course in France.

Dr. Ritz's scholarly work is prolific and impactful. Her research has been published in leading journals such as Foreign Language Annals and The French Review, examining topics like world language programming, leadership, instructional practices, and equity in K-12 education. She is also the author of several influential books that have become key resources for educators. These include the comprehensive guide for administrators, Leading Your World Language Program: Strategies for Supervision & Design, Even If You Don’t Speak the Language! (Routledge), as well as the practical ACTFL publications Proficiency-Based Instruction: Input and Interaction in World Language Education and Proficiency-Based Instruction: Teaching Grammar for Proficiency, co-authored with Christina Toro and Mike Travers, respectively. Most recently, she published Leading for Proficiency: An Essential Guide for World Language Programs through her consulting organization, Teach Learn Lead, which she founded in 2025.

She is an active presenter at national and regional conferences and has served in leadership roles for major professional organizations, including as Vice President of the American Association of Teachers of French and on the boards of the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association, which honored her with its Distinguished Service Award in 2022. She holds an EdD from Texas A&M University, an ALM from Harvard University, and an MA from New York University.