Advisory Board

Carrie Ekey

Carrie Ekey is a former elementary classroom teacher, demonstration classroom teacher, staff developer, and curriculum specialist from a large school district in the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area. She has also been a Core Coordinator and Instructor in a Master’s program at Regis University as well as a consultant for the Colorado Writing Project and the Colorado Critical Friends project for a number of years. In her “retirement” she has consulted in a number of international schools in the area of reading and writing assessment and instruction and presented at a number of conferences. She also served as a literacy consultant in residence at the International School of Beijing for a year as well as Hong Kong International School for two years. Recently, Carrie has facilitated three groups of international teacher leaders in a two year study of becoming school based literacy coaches. What Carrie is most passionate about is supporting the curiosity and learning of children through the professional learning of teachers.

Dr. Alaa Elgibali

Dr. Elgibali is currently Professor of Arabic and Linguistics and Director of Undergraduate Programs, University of Maryland. He received an M.A. in TAFL from the American University in Cairo (AUC) and a doctorate in general linguistics from the University of Pittsburgh. He taught at SAIS of Johns Hopkins, UC-Berkeley, Kuwait University, Ain-Shams University, AUC, the American University of Beirut and the University of Maryland at College Park. Elgibali is the author of several seminal publications, including Arabic as a first language: A study in language acquisition and development in 2003. He has also edited a number of important volumes including Understanding Arabic (1996) and Investigating Arabic (2004) and is the associate editor of the four-volume Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. Elgibali served as executive director of the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA), director of the TAFL program at AUC and acting director of the Arabic Language Institute and co-director of CASA. Current research agenda include K-12 Arabic, Advanced language proficiency, and the development of Standards for acquisition and testing.

Dr. Bassam K. Frangieh

Dr. Frangieh is Professor of Arabic Language and Literature and the Director of the Arabic Program at Claremont McKenna College, a member of The Claremont Colleges, located in southern California. Professor Frangieh earned his Ph.D. in Arabic Language and Literature from Georgetown University, and an undergraduate degree in Arabic Languages and Literature from Damascus University. Professor Frangieh has taught at several universities including Georgetown University and Yale University, where he was the recipient of the Yale College Prize for Teaching Excellence in 2001. At Claremont McKenna College, Frangieh was the recipient in 2010 of the Glenn R. Huntoon Teaching Award, given annually to the professor voted by the student body as the most effective teacher. Professor Frangieh is the author of two Arabic language textbooks, including Arabic for Life: A Textbook for Beginning Arabic (Yale Press 2011), and Anthology of Arabic Literature, Culture, and Thought from Pre-Islamic Times to the Present (Yale Press 2005). In addition to publishing numerous articles and reviews on Arabic literature, Professor Frangieh has translated several poetry compilations and Arabic novels into English. These published translations include Love, Death, and Exile, a book of selected poems by Abdul Wahab Al-Bayati (Georgetown Press), Arabian Love Poems, a book of selected poems by Nizar Kabbani (Lynne Rienner Publishers), The Crane, a novel by Halim Barakat (American University of Cairo), and Sun on A Cloudy Day, a novel by Hanna Mina (Passeggiata Press).

Roger Hove

President of ISS and Chairman of the WLI Advisory Board

He has more than 30 years’ experience leading international schools. Throughout his career he has worked as a Business Manager, Principal and Superintendent in schools in Dubai, Norway and Libya before starting his tenure at ISS as Senior Vice President for School Management in 2005. In that role, he was integral in establishing schools in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Myanmar. In August of 2009, he was appointed President of ISS and continues to lead the organization in all areas of activity.

Dr. Lesley Snowball

Dr. Snowball is a curriculum, assessment and language specialist with extensive experience as a teacher, administrator and consultant in national, international and special schools across all age ranges. She was the founding director of The International School of Budapest and Deputy Director/Head of Lower School of the International School of Amsterdam, the first authorized PYP school in the world. She was a key part of the team responsible for the development, publication and implementation of the original PYP framework and she led the initial development of the ECIS International Teacher Certificate. She now directs Putting it into Practice, specializing in curriculum, assessment and management support for schools worldwide. She has been involved in a wide range of initiatives including the Primary Inquirer Curriculum System; curriculum reform for the Peruvian Ministry of Education; and the Qatari Outstanding Schools Initiative. Lesley is a board member of the Alliance for International Education and an adjunct professor of education with George Mason University. She is a graduate of Durham, London and Bath Universities and holds a Diploma in Language Teaching, a Masters in Curriculum Development and a PhD in International Teacher Education.

Dr. Yong Zhao

Dr. Zhao is an internationally known scholar, author, and speaker. He currently serves as the Presidential Chair and Associate Dean for Global Education in the College of Education, University of Oregon, where he is also Weinman Professor of Technology and Professor in the Department of Educational Measurement, Policy, and Leadership. Dr. Yong Zhao’s works focus on the implications of globalization and technology on education. He has designed schools that cultivate global competence, developed computer games for language learning, and founded research and development institutions to explore innovative education models. He has published over 100 articles and 20 books. He is a recipient of the Early Career Award from the American Educational Research Association and was named one of the 2012 10 most influential people in educational technology by the Tech & Learn Magazine. He is an elected fellow of the International Academy for Education. Zhao was born in China’s Sichuan Province. He received his B.A. in English Language Education from Sichuan Institute of Foreign Languages in Chongqing, China in 1986. After teaching English in China for six years, he came to Linfield College as a visiting scholar in 1992. He then began his graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1993. He received his A.M. in Education in 1994, and Ph.D. in 1996.

Visit zhaolearning.com »

Dr. Sally Al-Turki

Dr. Sally Al-Turki is Vice President of Dhahran Ahliyya Schools. She resides in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.