Please press 2 to skip navigation.
Text size: A | A | A

LCC Faculty and Staff

Administrators:

Joy Tesh, Director: Joy Tesh brings twenty-five years' experience in the LCC to her new position as Director. She was a teacher in the Intensive English Program for seven years and then served as Associate Director for eighteen years. She received a B.A. in English and Education from Mars Hill College in North Carolina and an M.Ed. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her love of working with international students began years ago when she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia, West Africa. Her main research interests are professional standards and program administration.
Sandra L. Hartmann, Associate Director: Sandra Hartmann originally from southern New Jersey received her M.A. in Applied English Linguistics from the University of Houston. She has taught in the Intensive English Program and has a background in business management. Her interests include ESL language assessment and program administration.
Dave L. Burns, Program Director, Counseling and Student Services: Dave Burns comes from Kentucky where he received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Louisville. His M.A. in Clinical Psychology is from the University of Texas at El Paso. Dave has extensive experience in counseling and the planning and implementation of orientation programs. His research interests lie in the areas of communication and acculturation.
Linda Mead, Program Director, Finance and Information Systems: Linda Mead, a Houstonian, received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. Teaching ESL in Mexico and Iran gave her the opportunity to travel extensively in Europe, the Middle East and Mexico. For over 20 years she has worked at the LCC, where her main interest has been the application of industry standards to the computerization of intensive English language programs.
   

Program Managers:

Jeanne Peine, Computer Assisted Language Learning Laboratory: Jeanne Peine grew up in Portland, Maine. She received her B.A. in English from the University of Vermont and her M.A.T. in ESL from Georgetown University. She also studied film and English literature in London, England. She has taught in intensive English, refugee and university credit programs and has worked with the Experiment in International Living in Dublin, Ireland. Jeanne is active in the TESOL organization (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) at both the local and international levels.
Douglas Jones, Assessment and Special Programs: Douglas Jones received his B.A. in English Literature from Stephen F. Austin State University and completed the Thai language course at the Defense Language Institute. Later work as a literacy volunteer drew him to the ESL teaching field, and he entered the Applied English Linguistics program at the University of Houston, graduating with an M.A. in 1995. He has been teaching at the Language and Culture Center since 1996 and has delivered several presentations at national conferences on the integration of science, technology, and ESL.
   

Support Staff:

Elogia Benavides, Office Manager: Elogia Benavides is a native Texan hailing from Pettus in South Texas. She received a B.A. in Psychology from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio and has worked with the University of Houston since 1985.
Kevin Dang, User Services Specialist I: Originally from Vietnam, Kevin arrived in the United States in late 1993. He received a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Houston in 2003. After graduation, he worked as a computer technician in industry for such companies as Arima Computer Corporation and Hewlett Packard. Kevin joined the Language and Culture Center in 2007.
Thao Tiffany Le, Financial Coordinator I: Originally from Vietnam,Tiffany arrived in the United States in 1992. She received a B.A. in Accountancy from the University of Houston in 2005. She joined the UH workforce as a student employee in 2004 in the Scholarship and Financial Aid office and later, after graduation, moved to the College of Architecture. She joined the Language and Culture Center (LCC) in 2008. Going the extra mile to help students and staff is what Tiffany finds most rewarding about working at the LCC.
   

Teachers:

Carole E. M. Franklin: Carole Franklin was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. She received her Certificate of Secondary Education in French and German from Jordanhill College of Education in Glasgow, her M.A. in French and German from the University of Glasgow, and her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh. She has worked in various high schools in Glasgow teaching French and German, and at the Institute for Applied Language Studies at the University of Edinburgh teaching ESL/EFL. She has also taught EFL in France and Greece and ESL at the University of Iowa. Her research interest is cross-cultural communication.
Christen Savage Molina: A proud Hoosier from a small town in northern Indiana, Christen spent two years in Italy where she studied at the Università di Bologna, received her CELTA certification, and worked in Rome as a Research and Project Manager. Upon returning to the United States, she received her M.A. in Italian Literature and her M.S. in Language Education from Indiana University in Bloomington. Before joining the LCC, she taught adults at the University of Georgia in Athens and at Duke University in North Carolina. She speaks Italian and Spanish. Christen enjoys teaching in the ESL setting and is especially interested in language learning strategies and the application of technology to language instruction.
Deborah Hardin : Deborah Hardin grew up in Massachusetts and received her B.A. in English from Atlantic Union College. She received her M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of California at Los Angeles. She has taught ESL and EFL in a variety of settings in the U.S. and Europe, including Romania (on a Fulbright Scholarship) and Geneva, Switzerland, at WHO, CERN, and various banking institutions. Research interests include cross-cultural communication.
Geneva Tesh: Geneva Adams Tesh is originally from Somerset, Kentucky. She received her B.A. in English from the University of Louisville in Kentucky and her M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has taught ESL at Red Rocks Community College in Colorado, the Community College of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, and Camden County College in New Jersey. She has studied Spanish and Arabic. Research interests include ESL writing and assessment.
Gregory Urquhart: Greg Urquhart was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. He has an M.A. in TESL from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland. He is fluent in Polish, having spent four years in Poland teaching ESL (two of those years on a Fulbright Scholarship). He has taught at the LCC since 1977 and enjoys research on two-word verbs.
Gursharan Kandola: Gursharan Kandola was born in Punjab, India. She was educated and raised in the United Kingdom. She received her B.S. (Honors) in Applied Chemistry from De Montfort University, Leicester, U.K. She moved to California in 1992, and received her M.A. in Reading and Language Arts for Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Learners from California State University, Chico. She speaks Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi and has traveled extensively worldwide, including Brunei, Canada, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and the U.K. She has taught ESL, reading, chemistry, and Punjabi in various schools in Brunei, Malaysia and California. Her research interests include second language acquisition, brain research in learning languages, and speed reading for English language learners.
Jenifer Edens: Jenifer grew up in East Texas and earned a B.A. in English and Spanish from Stephen F. Austin State University. Her graduate certificate in TESOL and M.Ed. are from the University of Texas in Arlington. To better understand the challenges that her students face while living in a foreign country, she spent a year and a half teaching English in Guadalajara, Mexico. She is especially interested in the writing process.
Jerry Gamel: A native of Alabama, Jerry grew up in central Florida. He has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from the University of South Florida, Tampa. He has taught EFL in Venezuela and ESL at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Hillsborough Community College, and the University of Tampa. He speaks Spanish and has studied French and Italian. Research interests include second language acquisition and language teaching technology.
Judith E. Kleeman: Judy Kleeman was born and raised in Houston. She received her B.A. in Psychology and her M.A. in Applied English Linguistics from the University of Houston. She worked for five years at the U.S. Cultural Center in Madrid, Spain, for eight years at the Houston Community College Refugee Program, and for three and a half years in the University of Houston Accelerated Learning Program. She speaks Spanish fluently. Her research focuses on ways of incorporating Accelerated Learning techniques in an intensive English setting.
Mary Kathleen Barrera: Kitty Barrera, a native Texan, received two degrees from the University of Houston, including her M.Ed. in (Language Arts) Curriculum and Instruction. She has also done graduate work in Biblical Studies. Her many years of experience have been with schools in Texas, Germany, and Suriname, teaching students at all levels. She has traveled extensively in Europe and South America and has studied Spanish. Before coming to the LCC, Kitty taught ESL at Houston Community College and other local schools. A special area of interest is the development and evaluation of ESL curriculum materials.
Sandra Carrettin-Mulvany: Sandra Carrettin-Mulvany was born in Ohio and attended Lake Erie College, where she received a B.A. in Fine Arts and Italian. She received her M.A. in Italian Language and Literature from the University of California at Los Angeles. She studied Italian culture and theater on a Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Padua. Sandra has taught Italian and ESL in a variety of settings, both here and abroad, and has traveled extensively throughout Europe. She lived in Italy for three years and speaks fluent Italian. Her research interest is cross-cultural communication.
Thong Q. Dang: Originally from Vietnam, Thong received his B.A. in English Language and Literature from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Vietnam and his M.A. in Applied English Linguistics from the University of Houston. As a teacher of English in both NNES and NES contexts for the past 25 years, he is interested in comparative linguistics, especially as applied to translation, academic writing, and English for children in NNES contexts, and has published a number of books in these areas.
Velva N. Fallin: As a child, Velva traveled in the U.S. and Europe with her military family. When she finally settled in San Antonio, Texas, she finished her undergraduate degree and taught in the public schools there. After receiving her M.A. in Bilingual-Bicultural Studies from the University of Texas at San Antonio, she spent one year studying Chinese and four years teaching English at both a national university and a private school in Northeast China. Velva enjoys teaching in an intensive English program and helping international students understand and enhance their cross-cultural experience in the U.S.