Bilingual/ESL Conferences

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Virginia P. Collier, Ph.D
Dr. Virginia Collier is Professor Emerita of Bilingual/Multicultural/ESL Education at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She is best known for her work with senior researcher, Dr. Wayne Thomas, on school effectiveness for linguistically and culturally diverse students, working with many school districts in all regions of the U.S. over the past 34 years. Spotlighted by the national and international media, their award-winning national research studies have had a substantial impact on school policies throughout the world. A popular speaker, Dr. Collier has given 248 keynote speeches and 511 invited and refereed presentations to international, national, state, and local conferences over the past 39 years. She and Dr. Thomas have conducted educational leadership training for superintendents, principals, and education policy makers in 32 U.S. states and 15 countries.

Drs. Collier and Thomas are authors of five new books that summarize all their research of the past 34 years: Educating English Learners for a Transformed World (2009), Dual Language Education for a Transformed World (2012), Creating Dual Language Schools for a Transformed World: Administrators Speak (2014, with 24 collaborative authors), Why Dual Language Schooling (2017), and Transforming Secondary Education: Middle and High School Dual Language Programs (2018, with 19 collaborative authors). 

Wayne P. Thomas, Ph.D
Dr. Thomas is Professor Emeritus of Evaluation & Research Methodology in the Graduate School of Education at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. His Ph.D. training and primary professional experience are in program evaluation methodology and social science research methods. He also has extensive experience in designing large-scale databases and developing computer software for purposes of student testing, program evaluation, and educational data management. His research and publications focus on the evaluation of school effectiveness for linguistically and culturally diverse students and Title I students and the evaluation of educational technology applications.

Since 1985, he has collaborated with Dr. Virginia Collier in work on school effectiveness for linguistically and culturally diverse students. Currently, he is senior author (with Dr. Collier) of the largest studies ever conducted to investigate the long-term school success of English learners. Their award-winning joint research has been utilized by many school systems in the U.S. and abroad to reform the education of linguistically and culturally diverse students and to promote school improvement for both native English speakers and English learners

Dr. Kate Kinsella
Dr. Kate Kinsella develops custom coursework for K–12 educators in San Francisco State University’s Center for Teacher Efficacy. She provides consultancy to state departments of education throughout the U.S., school districts, and publishers on evidence-based instructional principles and practices to accelerate academic English acquisition for language-minority youths. Her professional development institutes, publications, and instructional programs focus on career and college readiness for English learners, with an emphasis on high-utility vocabulary development, informational text reading, and writing. She is the author of instructional programs to support English learners and under-resourced classmates, including READ 180 Universal, English 3D, and the Academic Vocabulary Toolkit.