Dr. Rebecca Damari, codirector of PEARLL, holds an MS and PhD in linguistics from Georgetown University. She is the director of research for the NFLC, where she has conducted research projects on the professional learning needs of language teachers, the need for a multilingual workforce, and the demographics and equity of language immersion programs in Washington, DC, public schools. Dr. Damari has extensive experience with program evaluation and conducts program evaluations for private and charter schools. She has presented research at conferences including ACTFL, the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL), and the American Association of Applied Linguistics and has twice been an invited plenary speaker for the Interagency Language Roundtable meeting.

Thomas Sauer is the codirector of PEARLL, a Title VI language resource center at UMD, where he has facilitated face-to-face and online annual professional development for language teachers. He previously worked as an independent consultant and a K–12 world language specialist for several school systems in Kentucky. Mr. Sauer taught German at the University of Kentucky, Georgetown College, the Kentucky Institute for International Studies, and Kentucky Educational Television. He is a sought-after workshop facilitator, curriculum developer, and keynote speaker. He previously served as an instructional lead for several successful STARTALK teacher programs. Mr. Sauer holds an MA in instructional leadership and school administration from Bellarmine University.

Tavia McRoy is the project manager for PEARLL. At the National Foreign Language Center she serves in dual capacity as the Human Resources Manager and a project manager.  She has been in the human resources field for over 20 years and a HR Manager for over 10 years. As a Human Resources Manager, her responsibilities include managing the daily operations that include but not limited to hiring, onboarding, payroll and HR practices.  Ms. McRoy studied at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and University of Maryland University College majoring in Business Administration. She also completed the Foundations of Leadership program through the Leadership Development Institute (LDI) and the Office of Research Administration certification at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Dr. Rich Madel is a Spanish teacher and chairperson of the Department of World Languages in the Colonial School District in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. Dr. Madel was named Teacher of the Year in 2018 by the Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association. Dr. Madel has dedicated his career to supporting his colleagues’ professional growth and promoting a reflective, research-based approach to world language teaching. He has been a regular contributor to professional learning opportunities at the state, regional, and national levels.

Dr. Catherine Ritz is a clinical assistant professor and director of modern foreign language education at Boston University. Previously, she taught French and Spanish and was the director of world languages in a public school district in the Boston area. Her areas of interest include developing proficiency-based thematic curricula and performance assessments, effective world language methods and pedagogy, and language teacher development. Dr. Ritz has served on the board of the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association and was its president in 2015 and 2016. She is the author of Proficiency-Based Instruction: Input & Interaction in World Language Education and Leading Your World Language Program: Strategies for Design and Supervision, Even If You Don’t Speak the Language!

Laura Terrill is a nationally recognized independent consultant who recently worked as the senior associate for professional development for the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland. She taught French at all levels for 21 years before becoming the coordinator of foreign language and English as a second language and then director of curriculum for a school district in Missouri. She has taught methods courses in St. Louis and Indianapolis and continues to present at the local, state, regional, and national levels. She has served on the board of directors for the Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and ACTFL. She coauthored the second edition of The Keys to Planning for Learning: Effective Curriculum, Unit, and Lesson Design. Ms. Terrill holds a BA in French from the University of Missouri and an MA in secondary administration from Northeast Missouri State University.

Dr. Ann Marie Gunter is the world languages consultant at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, where she provides policy leadership, professional development, and technical assistance for K–12 world language programs. Her evaluation experience spans local, state, regional, and national projects, including work with LinguaFolio initiatives (5-state pilot, ESL Can-Do Statements, e-LinguaFolio, and the NC LinguaFolio), federal grants (Perkins, Foreign Language Assistance Program, and STARTALK teacher programs), and state-level teacher evaluation measures like the Analysis of Student Work. Dr. Gunter has presented numerous times locally, regionally, and nationally, and she is involved with projects that build the pipeline of language teachers for her state and the country. In 2020, she was named State Supervisor of the Year by the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL).