2027 SPRING CONFERENCE
Keynote Speakers
From Insight to Impact: The Power of Practice
Meet the featured keynote speakers joining us for the 2027 NJTESOL/NJBE Spring Conference.
TUESDAY KEYNOTE
Dr. José Medina
Dr. José Medina is the founder and Chief Educational Advocate for Dr. José Medina: Educational Solutions. Prior to establishing the boutique consulting firm, Dr. Medina served as Research Scientist and Director of Global Languages and Culture at the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) in Washington, DC. Presently, he is co-leading the E3 Research Study, a six-year longitudinal study involving multiple districts in two states, focused on scaling biliteracy instructional practices across school and district settings. Dr. Medina also conceptualized the C6 Biliteracy Instructional Framework, a lesson planning tool specifically designed to support lesson planning for the dual language classroom.
José also provides dual language technical assistance, professional development, and job-embedded support to dual language programs across the United States and globally. He is a former dual language school principal and district leader. José has served as an administrator, educator, and advocate at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Dr. Medina is a co-author of the third edition and widely-used Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education. He is also the author of three bilingual poetry books based on his testimonio.
WEDNESDAY KEYNOTE
Dr. Kate Reynolds
Kate Mastruserio Reynolds, Ed.D. (2000), is Professor of TESOL/Literacy at Central Washington University and a licensed K–12 educator with 30+ years of experience. She specializes in content-based instruction for multilingual learners and in developing educators as teacher leaders who strengthen instruction across schools. An author, teacher educator, and former TESOL International Association Board member, Reynolds connects instructional expertise with collaborative leadership and schoolwide change.
THURSDAY KEYNOTE
Lorena Germán
Lorena Germán is the Co-Founder and Academic Director of Multicultural Classroom. An immigrant from the Dominican Republic who was raised in the U.S., she attended public schools from first grade through high school. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in English Communication from Emmanuel College and her Master of Arts in English from Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English. She is an advocate for culturally sustaining pedagogy in education.
Lorena has worked in education in a variety of settings since 2001, including extracurricular youth programs, community spaces, and traditional classrooms. Her classroom experience includes teaching ELA in grades 6–12, and her broad experience informs her work supporting strong instructional practices.
She has held educational leadership roles at the department, schoolwide, and district levels, including curriculum design and improvement planning. Lorena is the former Chair of the National Council of Teachers of English Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English and is a co-founder of #DisruptTexts.