Center for Global Engagement

Jennifer Akins, M.A.

Lecturer & ESL Chair, ESL & MA/TESL

Jennifer graduated from Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA B.A. in English Literature. She also has M.A. in TESOL from WSU in Pullman. She lived and taught in France for three years. She has two boys ages 14 & 10. Jennifer likes to be outside biking or hiking, or inside reading, watching movies, or drinking coffee with her friends.
akins@gonzaga.edu

Beata Arciszewska-Russo, M.A.

Lecturer, ESL

Beata studied linguistics, English and American literature at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan and received her MA in TESL from Gdansk University in Poland. Her work as an ESL teacher has brought her to several small and large cities in her second home, the United States. Some of her favorite places include London, New York and Tucson. Beata has traveled to France, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Sweden, and India,among others. Guiding students through the intricacies of English is her passion because of the incredible variety of human experience and culture she meets every day in the classroom.
arciszewska-russo@gonzaga.edu

Heidi Doolittle, M.A.

Lecturer, ESL & MA/TESL

Heidi spent almost three years in Japan teaching English and learning about Japanese culture. She has also traveled to India, Singapore, Thailand, Borneo, France, England, Belgium and Holland. Heidi received her Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Gonzaga as well as her Master's in Teaching English as a Second Language. She describes teaching ESL as an "adventure because each student brings so many different experiences and ideas to the classroom." In her free time, Heidi enjoys hiking, mountain biking, camping, playing Basketball, and spending time with family.
doolittleh@gonzaga.edu

Ron Harris, Ph.D

Assistant Professor, ESL

Ron has four degrees in English, including a doctorate, all from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). He has traveled to Japan, Australia, Mexico, Canada, England, France, Austria, Hungary and Italy. He enjoys teaching students who are excited about learning English! In his spare time, Ron likes listening to jazz, classical and opera music. He also enjoys tennis, carpentry, home remodeling, travel, literature and philosophy.
harris@gonzaga.edu

James Hunter, Ph.D

Assistant Professor & Director, MA/TESOL

James has lived and traveled all over the world! Some highlights of his travel adventures include Hong Kong, Malaysia, Algeria, Ireland, China, Japan, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Thailand, and many more. He graduated from the University of Sheffield in England with a degree in Japanese and Political Science.James received his Master's in TESL from Eastern Washington University and his Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, UK. He enjoys getting to know people from other cultures and loves helping students communicate in English! James is married to another ESL teacher and has three children along with a dog named "Guapo." He enjoys playing traditional Irish music with his band, Floating Crowbar.
hunter@gonzaga.edu

Website

Mary Jeannot, Ed.D

Associate Professor & Director, PCMI

Mary studied French and Education at Seattle University and went on to receive her advanced degrees in ESL Education, Language, Literacy and Culture from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Mary has taught English in Central African Republic, and has trained teachers in Mexico, Hungary, Micronesia, and the Ivory Coast. She also studied in France and traveled throughout Spain, Greece, Italy, Benin, Togo, Cameroon and Zaire. Mary enjoys hiking, reading, writing and research; specifically ethnography in the classroom and critical applied linguistics.
jeannot@gonzaga.edu

Doss Mellon

Instructor, ESL

Doss graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle, with a B. A. in Classics. He also has an M.A. in History from Gonzaga. He has lived and taught in Indonesia, Japan and Korea. He is married and has one daughter. Doss enjoys cycling, hiking, cooking, reading, and watching movies.
mellon@gonzaga.edu

Christina Mitma, M.A.

Instructor, ESL

Christina graduated from Eastern Washington University, majoring in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing, and with two minors, Psychology and Japanese. She also has a Master's in Teaching English as a Second Language from Gonzaga. Along with Christina’s love for teaching, she also works part time at Northwest Fair Housing Alliance, a non-profit organization, that works to ensure equal housing opportunity for all. She has lived in Japan, and traveled to Mexico, and Peru and can’t wait to go to other countries. In her free time, she volunteers at a local radio station as a DJ on The Asian Show, www.kyrs.org. Also, Christina loves reading, writing fiction and poetry, and being outdoors.
mitma@gonzaga.edu

Ayuko Momono, M.A.

Instructor, ESL

Ayuko graduated from Osaka University of Foreign Studies (Osaka Gaikokugo Daigaku) in 2003, majoring in Linguistics in the Danish language and earning an English Teacher Certificate. She received a “Senkogo-sho” Award (The best thesis award) for her undergraduate thesis due to discovering differences amongst Danish verbs and prepositions. She also has Master's in Teaching English as a Second Language from Gonzaga University and has presented on socio-cultural linguistics as it pertains to ESL pedagogy. She loves teaching students English as she understands the journey in mastering it. For fun, she loves to play classical piano pieces, especially by Tchaikovsky and Debussy, and listen to the Beatles, Paul being her favorite.
amomono@gonzaga.edu

Marilyn Jackson Runyan, M.A.

Assistant Professor, ESL & MA/TESL

Marilyn received her Bachelor's Degree in Art with a minor in Teaching English as a Second Language. She went on to graduate with her Master's in TESL from Eastern Washington University. Marilyn enjoys interacting with people from different cultures because it provides her with a new perspective on American culture and the world. She has traveled to Europe and Mexico and enjoys art, specifically drawing and painting. She also likes to read and cook!
runyan@gonzaga.edu

Martha Savage, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, ESL & MA/TESL

Martha has a Bachelor's degree in Communicative Disorders from California State University Fresno and a Master's in Speech Pathology from San Jose State. She received her teaching credential from Gonzaga and recently graduated with her PhD in Organizational Leadership. Martha's experiences abroad include studying in Mexico, consulting for a deaf school in El Salvador, vacationing in the British Isles, and living in China and Hong Kong for six months. She enjoys being part of the learning process and says teaching ESL gives her the "opportunity to interact with people from all over the world - each class brings new energy and stretches my thinking and views!"
savage@gonzaga.edu

Jennie Sevedge, M.A.

Lecturer, ESL & MA/TESL

Jennie has a B.A. in English Literature and received a Master’s in TESOL from The University of Alabama. She traveled and studied all over Latin America, then lived in Colombia for 3 years where she taught English at Universidad de los Andes. She has also taught Spanish at Whitworth University, ESL and Composition courses at The University of Alabama and ESL in public schools in North Carolina, Idaho, and Alabama. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys reading, canoeing, playing Frisbee with her dog, and traveling near and far. When she is teaching, she enjoys helping students make sense of the language they hear around them and exploring cultures and new ways of seeing our world.
sevedge@gonzaga.edu

Sarah Alami

Activities Coordinator

Sarah grew up in France and has been in Spokane for the last four years. After earning a degree in French and International Business, she has enjoyed the company of people from all over the world at Gonzaga. Sarah is currently a student in the MA/TESL program at Gonzaga University.  When she is not organizing ski trips, educational visits and other adventures, she enjoys exercising, reading, cooking, friends and other simple pleasures of life.
alami@gonzaga.edu

Melissa Heid, M.A.

ESL & TESOL Program Coordinator

Melissa is a Spokane native and her parents still live in the Spokane Valley.  She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Gonzaga University in 2005 with a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies.  Melissa loves her job because she gets to meet people from all around the world!  Her hobbies include running, skiing, rock climbing, and scrapbooking.  Her favorite color is blue and her favorite food is sukiyaki.  She loves Hello Kitty!
heid@gonzaga.edu

Amber McKenzie-O'Neill, M.A.

Associate Director, International Student Programs

Amber has spent the past 14 years working closely with international students both in the United States and abroad. She spent seven months in Brazil teaching English, and has also traveled throughout Asia, Europe, and South America. Amber graduated from Eastern Washington University with a degree in Communication Studies and got her MA in Communication and Leadership Studies at Gonzaga. She is currently working on her MA in Teaching English as a Second Language. She enjoys meeting new people, spending time with friends, traveling, learning about other cultures and sampling ethnic food!
mckenziea@gonzaga.edu

Angela McNutt, M.A.

Program Assistant, Gonzaga Study Abroad

Angela has a B.A. in International-European Studies from Gonzaga University and is on track to complete her M.A. in Communication Leadership Studies in spring 2011. She spent a year abroad on the Gonzaga-in-Florence program, and also participated in the 2010 Cagli, Italy Project with the COML graduate program. Having grown up in landlocked Wyoming, Angela is now an avid traveler and has since managed to ski, hike, bike, eat, swim, bungee jump, and walk her way through 21 European countries, and South Africa.
mcnutt@gonzaga.edu

Ann Price

Administrative Assistant, Center for Global Engagement

Ann graduated from Gonzaga University with a B.A. in History. Before working at Gonzaga, she had a 15 year career in banking. She lived in Guadalajara, Mexico for one year while attending school and caught the travel bug. Since then she has traveled to Canada, the Caribbean, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Greece and Malta. She has two daughters ages 22 & 25. In her spare time, Ann enjoys, gardening, hiking, the gym, playing piano, reading, and attending the Symphony and the theater. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, particularly at her favorite weekend destination, Priest Lake. She also loves Disneyland or anyplace that has great rollercoasters.
price@gonzaga.edu

Wanda Reynolds

Director, Study Abroad

reynolds@gu.gonzaga.edu

Donna Ryan, BA from Gonzaga University

Assistant Director Study Abroad

Taught in the Spokane Public School district and then was an at home mom for 15 years in which I did volunteer work while raising 5 children. I currently have 5 grandchildren. I have been working in study abroad since 1997. I enjoy spending time with the “grands” , traveling, reading and boating.
ryan@gu.gonzaga.edu

Harry Daniels-Schatz, M.S.

International Student Advisor

Harry is a lifelong world traveler, and loves the melting pot of cultures and people that he comes into contact with. He is an avid outdoors person and lived in Alaska where exploring the great outdoors is part of the culture. He is a lifelong learner and continues to be amazed by the education of life around him. In the winter you will always find Harry on the slopes snowboarding and in the summer, he enjoys camping, riding his bicycle or his motorcycle. He loves sports and as a result, has acquired many injuries! He plays soccer, badminton, and tennis.
daniels-schatz@gonzaga.edu

Stashia A Kaiel,

Stashia has been involved in international education for the past 18 years. She has studied abroad in Spain, taught English in South Korea and in the United States, and has enjoyed helping students from the US and abroad adjust to life in a new country. She received her BA in Education from Eastern Washington University specializing in elementary and special education. Stashia has two daughters who keep her very busy . During her free time, she enjoys cooking, eating food from around the world, running, traveling, and spending time with her friends and family.
kaiel@gonzaga.edu