Dr. Samantha Chung is an Assistant Professor at Lehman College, City University of New York, and the founder of Empower{ed} Teaching and Learning. With extensive experience as an instructional coach, researcher, writer, and speaker, Samantha is a highly accomplished educator. Her expertise and passion lie in culturally relevant practices, cultural competence, and literacy practices. Through her work, she empowers educators to create inclusive classrooms and engages students from diverse backgrounds. As the founder of Empower{ed} Teaching and Learning, Samantha collaborates with schools and educators, offering consultations, professional development, and curriculum development services. With a commitment to continuous growth, she remains dedicated to making a positive impact on education.

Marcus Artigliere has served in a variety of roles in the K-12 and higher education contexts. He is currently a full-time, tenured faculty member and Clinical Lecturer at Hunter College as well as a doctoral candidate in TESOL at Teachers College. Prior to these positions, he was a Teacher Team Leader, Instructional Coach, and middle school ENL teacher supporting TESOL K-12 teachers and Multilingual Language Learners across New York City. Marcus’ work has earned multiple awards and grants including the New York City District 20 Teacher of the Year award, a Fulbright-Hays grant to study language and literacy in Mexico and Columbia and the Hunter Presidential Award for Excellence and Teaching. His current research interests include technology, artificial intelligence, human development, and the integration of these areas into second language learning in the K-12 context. A link to his CV is found here and his Linkedin profile is found here.

Alexis Cate is an accomplished Clinical Social Worker, trauma specialist, behavioral health educator, and founder of Empowered Psychotherapy, LCSW, PLLC. Alexis Cate has a demonstrated history working in hospital and community-based agencies throughout NYC. She is skilled in Trauma-Focused Therapies, Crisis Intervention, Mindfulness, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Group Work, and various Family Therapy interventions. Alexis is an experienced educator and consultant in behavioral health and psychosocial wellness. She strives to provide comprehensive offerings to fellow professionals and collegiate-level students. Alexis ensures she bridges theory and practice throughout her offerings, regardless of time or platform. She is a compassionate and highly motivated self-starter with a strong desire to empower the individuals, families, professionals, and learners with whom she works.

http://www.empoweredpsychotherapy.org

Nikki is an educator of multilingual learners (MLLs) from Kindergarten to adult with over a decade of experience. She is formerly the ENL teacher and coordinator for a middle school in NYC and currently works with staff development across the city to promote best practices for MLLs. She is also passionate about incorporating equity for diverse learners through literacy and collaborates with public and school libraries in curating their collections. Nikki has a BA in English Language and Literature, an MA in TESOL, and an MA in Educational Administration from CUNY Hunter College. She currently lives in New York .