The Summit Participants
Thirty-one “demand-side” participants from large, medium, and small-sized companies as well as local and state government agencies helped articulate the need for language skills in the workplace. Twenty-five “solution-side” representatives from the education sector and the federal government also participated.
- Dr. Itty Abraham, Principal Investigator
Texas Language Summit, University of Texas at Austin - Sylvia Acevedo, President and CEO
CommuniCard LLC - Dr. Kamran Aghaie, Director
Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas at Austin - Traci Andrighetti, Research Associate
Texas Language Summit, University of Texas at Austin - Belinda Angoori, Social Services Manager
Travis County Health and Human Services - Dr. John Antel, Dean
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, University of Houston - Armando Ayala, Program Administrator
Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Patsy Benavidez, Program Supervisor
East Austin Neighborhood Center, City of Austin - Dr. Carl Blyth, Associate Professor
Texas Language Technology Center, University of Texas at Austin - Dr. Nathan Bond, Associate Professor
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Texas State University - Terry Bosien, Diversity and University Relations Manager
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation - Dr. Richard Brecht, Executive Director
Center for Advanced Study of Language, University of Maryland - James Buchanan, Principal
Communication Arts High School, Northside Independent School District, San Antonio - Irma Calderón Woodruff, Director of Business Development
Web Head Group - Jeanette Chen, Lecturer
Department of Asian Studies, University of Texas at Austin - Sharon Choi, Research Associate
Texas Language Summit, University of Texas at Austin - Judy Cortez, CABA Systems Administrator
Travis County Health and Human Services - Korey Darling, Senior Planner
Research and Planning Division, Travis County Health and Human Services and Veterans Services - Dr. Susan Duggan, Senior Strategic Planner
The Language Flagship - Amanda Estrada, Program Coordinator
Community Care Services Department, City of Austin - Leslie Friedrich, President
Friedrich Software Resources, LLC - Dr. Terri Givens, Vice Provost
University of Texas at Austin - Martin Gonzalez, AHFC Bond Programs Manager
Neighborhood Housing and Community Development, City of Austin - Nathan Haley, Market Human Resources Manager
Wal-Mart - Martin Harris, Manager
Health and Human Services, City of Austin - Shirley Heald, Senior Operations Manager
Ryder/North Texas District Export Council - Beverly Helfinstein, Assistant Superintendent
Elementary Education, Round Rock Independent School District - Teresa Hernandez, Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization Project Director
Avenida Guadalupe Association, Inc. - Sarah Houston Green, Associate Director
South Asia Institute, University of Texas - Virginia Jones, Languages Other Than English Liaison
Round Rock Independent School District - Claire Kahrobaie, Principal
Kahrobaie Meetings and Events - Sandy Kaiser, Contract Administration and Process Review
Texas Water Development Board - Dr. Susan Kelly, Senior Program Officer
U. S. Department of Defense - Rebecca Leppala, Senior Workforce Planner
WorkSource - Shawn Levsen, International Account Executive
United Parcel Service - Pauline Lewis,
Bridge360 - Sandra Macias del Villar, Graduate Research Associate
Center for Applied Second Language Studies, University of Oregon - Fran Maples, Foreign Language Coordinator (retired)
Garland Independent School District - Sharon Nishizaki, Director of Fellowships and Grants
The Language Flagship, Institute of International Education - Dr. Michael Nugent, Director
The Language Flagship, National Defense University - Josie Olvera, Director, Human Resources
WorkSource - Mitsi Pair, Research Associate
Texas Language Summit, University of Texas at Austin - Dr. Sally Pell, School Board Member
Georgetown Independent School District - Rosanna Pérez, Instructional Specialist
International Languages, Northside Independent School District, San Antonio - Dr. Elaine Phillips, Project Director
Texas Language Summit, University of Texas at Austin - Arun Prakash, Hindi Teacher
Bellaire High School, Houston Independent School District - Dr. Esther Raizen, Chair
Department of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas at Austin - Lucy Rodriguez, Public Relations and Reservations
Southwest Airlines - Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza, District Clerk
Travis County District Court - Carolina Safer, Regional Director: Americas
Economic Development and Tourism, Office of the Governor of Texas - Tanya Schneider, Interpreter
Language Line Services - Dr. Robert Slater, Director
National Security Education Program, National Defense University - Dr. Rupert Snell, Associate Director
Hindi-Urdu Flagship, University of Texas at Austin - Darryl Thornton, Vice President, Human Resources
The Dallas Morning News - Gladys Tinsley, Assistant Director of Systems, Planning, and Policy Development
Civil Rights Office, Texas Health and Human Services Commission - Paula Traffas, Accessibility and Compliance Coordinator
Civil Rights Office, Texas Health and Human Services Commission - Maria Treviño, Director of Languages Other Than English
Texas Education Agency - Dr. Herman Van Olphen, Director
Hindi-Urdu Flagship, University of Texas at Austin - Sharon Venable, Vice President of International and Technology Business Development
Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce - Dr. Galal Walker, Principal Investigator
Chinese Flagship, Ohio State University - Tonya Watson, Criminal Courts Program Manager
Travis County Criminal Courts - Jenna Watts, Policy Director
Texas House Committee on Public Education - Anissa Wicktor, Research Associate
Texas Language Summit, University of Texas at Austin
