ACTFL is pleased to announce the newly elected and appointed members to its Board of Directors for 2025. Krishauna Hines-Gaither (President-Elect) of Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles, CA; Julio Rodriguez (Higher Ed, at-large) of University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Junko Yamamoto (Higher Ed, at-large) of Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, Beckie Bray Rankin (K-12, at-large) of Lexington High School in Lexington, MA, Ashely Watson-Fears (K-12, at-large) of Reagan High School in San Antonio, TX, and Beth Slocum (NECTFL Regional Representative) will each begin their terms on January 1, 2025.
PRESIDENT-ELECT
Krishauna Hines-Gaither — Dr. Krishauna Hines-Gaither is the Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Justice at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles, CA. In addition to her national service, she is also a Past President of the Foreign Language Association of North Carolina. During her tenure as President, Krishauna collaborated with esteemed language educators and business stakeholders across the state to organize the first North Carolina Summit on Foreign Languages and Cultures. Over a 20-year span, Krishauna has served the language profession from North Carolina to California. She was a professor of Spanish, Latin-American studies and methods.
Krishauna is the author of two recent books, The Antiracist World Language Classroom and Mastering Spanish through Global Debate. She is a frequent workshop facilitator, and she has served as keynote speaker to several state, regional and national world language associations. She will serve as ACTFL’s first black woman president in 2026 and past-president in 2027.
AT-LARGE (HIGHER EDUCATION)
Julio Rodriguez — Dr. Julio C. Rodriguez directs the Center for Language & Technology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and two federally funded Centers: the Hawai‘i National Foreign Language Resource Center and the Language Flagship Technology Innovation Center. Prior to his current position at the University of Hawai‘i, he served as curriculum development director for online courses at Iowa State University. His academic credentials include a B.A. in German language and literature from Whitman College, a graduate degree in translation and interpretation (English/Spanish) from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina, an M.A. in TESL/Applied Linguistics from Iowa State University, and a Ph.D. specializing in instructional technology in the context of world language teacher education.
With over 30 years of experience in instructional technology, Julio has led numerous national and international projects, including over 20 grant-funded initiatives in higher education. Julio has published and presented extensively on instructional technology.
Junko Yamamoto — Dr. Junko Yamamoto teaches courses in world language teaching methodology and instructional technology, in addition to supervising student teachers in French and Spanish at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Yamamoto earned her doctorate in Instructional Technologies from Duquesne University. Her journey began with a Pennsylvania teaching certificate in Japanese. She taught in Pittsburgh at Shady Side Academy Junior School (K-5) and Mt. Lebanon High School (9-12). She also served as a teaching assistant for Japanese conversation at the University of Pittsburgh while pursuing her master's degree in public and international Affairs. She has been an active member of the Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association (PSMLA), serving on the executive committee for ten years, where she was responsible for selling exhibit hall tables for annual conferences. Dr. Yamamoto has been an ACTFL/CAEP institutional reviewer for 14 years, ensuring teacher preparation programs meet the ACTFL/CAEP standards.
AT-LARGE (K-12)
Beckie Bray Rankin — Beckie Bray Rankin is a French Teacher and the Francophone Exchange Program Coordinator at Lexington High School in Lexington, MA, taking students to Switzerland and Guadeloupe annually. She earned her M.A.Ed in French Education from Wake Forest University in 2009, and both her B.A. in French and her B.S. in Education at Boston University in 2007. Certified K-12, Beckie’s first position as a French Teacher was coupled with leading a charter school district’s K-12 World Language Program in Washington, DC.
To learn more about leadership and curriculum, Beckie participated in ACTFL’s Leadership Initiative for Language Learning (LILL) and Facilitators in Training (FIT) programs. To serve the profession, Beckie volunteers for the MAFLA board (President, 2022) and AATF Eastern Mass board (President, 2019-2023) and will be the NECTFL Conference Chair in 2026. She has also recently been published in The Language Educator and the AATF National Bulletin.
Ashley Watson-Fears — Ashley Watson-Fears is in her 16th year as the American Sign Language teacher at Reagan High School in San Antonio, TX. She teaches ASL levels 1-4. As a teacher leader in the World Languages program, she has participated in the district curriculum review every year since 2009. She is part of the curriculum writing and new teacher training teams. She is also part of the first cohort of the NEISD World Language Leadership Academy. She has presented to ASL teachers at regional, state, and national conferences.
Ashley graduated from the University of Tulsa in 2004 with a B.A. in Deaf Education. Before teaching American Sign Language, she taught special education in Oklahoma and Deaf Education in San Antonio. She earned an MS in Curriculum and Instruction at Western Governors University.
NECTFL REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE
Elizabeth (Beth) Slocum — Elizabeth (Beth) Slocum is a French and Spanish teacher in Western New York with over 25 years of teaching experience at the middle, high school and community college levels. Beth is passionate about language teaching and learning and serves the profession at the local, state and regional levels. She is a past president of the New York State Association for Language Teachers (NYSAFLT) and is completing her tenure on the NECTFL Board of Directors. Closer to home, Beth serves on her local teacher center policy board and is the facilitator of the World Language Teacher Network. As her home district’s coordinator for the New York State Seal of Biliteracy (NYSSB) program, Beth advocates for students to lead with language for college and career readiness.
“I am pleased to welcome these incredible language education leaders as our newest members of the ACTFL Board of Directors,” said Lawrence Paska, ACTFL Executive Director. “Their experience, advocacy, and leadership will help ACTFL navigate the changing landscape of world language education at a vital time for our professional community.”
Those Board Members whose terms conclude at the end of 2024 are Adrienne Brandenberg, Cynthia Chalupa, Kate Paesani, and Kathy Shelton.
“We thank our departing board members for their dedication and service to ACTFL over the past several years,” continued Paska. “Their contributions to ACTFL and the profession have been exceptional.”