Director of Research & Education (Contact: mahbuba@classroad.org)

Dr. Mahbuba Hammad serves as the director of research and education at CLASSRoad and has been part of the team for more than 10 years. She has led CLASSRoad’s-STARTALK infrastructure projects such as: LangCred, CREATE, Learn, and others. She also led the research team in vetting, abstracting, categorizing and evaluating more than 2,000 institutional and online resources to assist Arabic Language teachers in the Almasdar site, a special program funded by Qatar Foundation International. She has extensive experience in STARTALK Summer Language Programs dating back to 2012 under many capacities in instruction,  and administration. Dr. Hammad has participated in many regional and national professional development training programs on curriculum design, assessment, and methodologies; and is an Arabic language instructor with experience in K-16. She is fluent in 4 languages (Arabic, English, French, and Spanish) and is actively involved in community-based programs that focus on educational, environmental, social and interfaith issues.

Program Director (Contact: penny@classroad.org)

Dr. Pei-ni (Penny) Causarano has been working with CLASSRoad STARTALK for more than 10 years in various capacities. She is currently an adjunct faculty at Bradley University and Illinois State University while serving as a full-time ESL faculty member of McLean County Public Schools in Illinois. Dr. Causarano has been teaching all levels of Chinese language and a variety of courses, including Chinese and ESL for culture, media at K-16 settings, as well as graduate courses on pedagogy and research methods in New Mexico, New York, and Virginia. Her most recent work focuses on online language teaching and learning. She was the recipient of 2018 ACTFL/CALICO Distant Learning Award for K-12 while she developed Online Chinese 1-4 at Fairfax County Public Schools. Dr. Causarano’s research interests include cross-linguistic influences in SLA, differentiation, curriculum and assessment, e-learning, and language pedagogy.

Instructional Lead/Chinese 1 instructor (Contact: wenching.chiang@classroad.org

Ms. Wenching Chiang is currently a Mandarin Chinese teacher at East Hartford Public Schools, teaching students from grades 6-8. She is passionate about learning and teaching in a compelling language classroom to build Chinese language literacy skills. With a strong belief that language acquisition is through inputs of comprehended listening and reading, she has been an Acquisition Driven Instruction teacher since 2016. She enjoys connecting with students and seeing students learn Chinese culture, arts, and history. 

Chinese Level 2 Instructor (Contact: lin.lin@classroad.org)

Dr. Lin Lin has taught Mandarin for 14 years, with 11 years of experience in K-12 education. She is currently an instructional assistant professor at Illinois State University while teaching at Thomas Metcalf School and University High School as the Mandarin teacher. Dr. Lin received Beijing Language and Culture University Press Award for K-12 Professional Development in 2024 and Illinois State Board of Education Meritorious Service Award in 2021. Dr. Lin values students' different backgrounds and always works to create engaging and immersive language-learning environments, helping students of all ages develop strong Mandarin language skills.

Russian Level 1 Co-instructor (Contact: anna.pechnikova@classroad.org)

Prof. Anna Pechnikova was born and raised in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Educated in Moscow and Saratov, Russia, with major in Linguistics (M.A. from Saratov State University) and Hebrew Language and Literature (B.A. from Moscow State University, Institute of African and Asian Studies). Anna has been teaching languages (English, Hebrew, and Russian) since 1997. Immigrated to the US in August 2017. US Citizen. Currently, she is teaching the Russian language at Georgetown University, George Washington University, and the Johns Hopkins University SAIS. Anna plays classical guitar and bass balalaika, and she is a member of the Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra.

Technology Specialist

(Contact: nabeeha@hadi.org)

Ms. Nabeeha Aleem is dedicated to enhancing educational resources through innovative technology. With a BS in Psychology from UC Irvine, she currently works as a graphic Designer and Content Writer at Human Assistance & Development International, where she develops engaging educational app content. Her expertise in integrating technology into education is further demonstrated by her work on digital resources for ClassROAD. Nabeeha has also served as a Second Grade Teacher at New Horizon School Los Angeles and as a Teacher's Assistant at California State University, San Bernardino, where she focused on effective language teaching strategies. Through her combined skills in technology and education, Nabeeha is committed to fostering accessible and engaging learning experiences for all.

Chinese Coach (Contact: Teresa.lai@classroad.org)

Ms. Teresa Lai 賴老師 Lài lǎoshī (lǎoshī means teacher in Mandarin Chinese) grew up in Taiwan and is a bilingual native speaker of Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese. She received a Master's degree at Oxford Brookes University, UK. In 2006, she began teaching Mandarin Chinese classes in the US. She taught university students at The University of Texas at Austin. She is currently an enrichment program instructor for Kids Yoga and Mandarin Chinese Classes at Goddard School and Tzu Chi Academy Portland where they teach traditional Chinese and Culture, nourishing humanity and virtue. She is also an overseas Taiwanese culture and folk-art teacher that promotes and teaches Taiwanese cultures for local communities. She has participated in CLASSRoad-STARTALK professional development programs since 2021.

Russian Coach (Contact: Lyudmila.Belomoina@classroad.org)

Dr. Lucy Belomoina earned her PhD in English Studies in August, 2022. Her area of expertise is Teaching English as a Second Language and Applied Linguistics. Dr. Belomoina has taught college-level Composition and EFL/ESL in Russia and the US for 13 years. In addition, Dr. Belomoina taught Introduction to Russian Culture at Heartland Community College in the fall of 2019-2022. She is passionate about teaching languages and cultures and does continuous research on teaching and learning languages. Dr. Belomoina has presented both her dissertation research and research on language teaching and learning at various conferences in the U.S.