Beth Clark-Gareca, PhD, is associate professor and director of the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) K-12 program at the State University of New York’s Binghamton University, where she works with pre-service and in-service English teachers in public schools. Before coming to Binghamton, Clark-Gareca was a lecturer and coordinator of the TESOL K-12 program at Teachers College, Columbia University and an assistant professor and coordinator of the TESOL K-12 program at SUNY New Paltz. Her research interests relate to teacher preparation, high-stakes and classroom-based assessment for English learners, and access and equity for multilingual learners in the US. Clark-Gareca has worked with English teachers as a Fulbright scholar and specialist and as an English language specialist for the United States Department of State in Argentina, Indonesia, and Bahrain. She has collaborated with teachers and scholars in other programs in China, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. Clark-Gareca works as an English and bilingual assessment reviewer with the United States Department of Education and the New York State Education Department. She serves as the co-chair of NYSTESOL’s Teacher Education Special Interest Group and as a member of the Hudson Valley Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network (RBERN) Steering Committee.

Mina Lee, PhD, is currently working as an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work at the State University of New York’s Binghamton University. Before joining Binghamton University, she completed her degrees at the University of Chicago, University of Michigan, and Seoul National University. Her research focuses on the well-being and socioeconomic mobilities of immigrants encompassing various age groups of young and older adults.

Ala Marciuc is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Leadership at the State University of New York’s Binghamton University and a Fulbright alumna (2022). She is deeply engrossed in studying refugee education and integration. Her scholarly work focuses on the mechanisms through which national education systems accommodate and support refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants. Marciuc’s research is focused on the rigorous examination of educational practices and methodologies employed by schools and educational authorities to address the multifaceted needs of Ukrainian refugee students. This includes efforts to mitigate trauma, overcome educational barriers, and address these students’ challenges, providing them with a supportive learning environment. Before her doctoral journey, Marciuc acquired substantial experience in the non-governmental sector, significantly contributing to the American Councils for International Education from the Republic of Moldova’s work since 2011 through her involvement in the implementation of national and international projects.

Hattie Quarnstrom-Figueroa is the director of operations at the New York State Office for New Americans (ONA). Created in 2012, ONA was established to welcome immigrants and to help them in achieving their American Dream. Through its statewide network of community-based providers, ONA assists all new Americans in accessing and navigating a variety of free services and supports their inclusion as an integral part of New York State’s diverse cultural fabric.

As director of operations, Quarnstrom-Figueroa oversees the many different programs offered by ONA, including English language programming. Quarnstrom-Figueroa has been with ONA for over 10 years and has been part of the organization’s growth. Quarnstrom-Figueroa holds a master’s in teaching from Fordham University and a master’s in public administration from Syracuse University.

Dina Refki is the director of the Center for Women in Government & Civil Society (CWGCS) at the University at Albany. Refki studies and researches the interplay of gender with institutional structures in the US and international context. She applies gender mainstreaming and budgeting analysis from transnational perspectives. Prior to assuming leadership at CWGCS in 2009, she held different positions at the Center, including as director of the Immigrant Women & State Policy Program, which facilitated interagency collaboration, promoted dialogues with civil society and immigrant women at the state level, and worked to identify and address barriers to the integration of immigrant women in the social, economic, and political fabric of local communities. Refki studies the challenges of migration, the barriers facing immigrant women and their families, and the structural changes needed to better respond to the needs of immigrant women.

Sawsan Werfelli received her undergraduate degree in English from Tripoli University, Libya, and her master’s degree in linguistics, as a Fulbright scholar, from Florida International University. Werfelli is currently a doctoral candidate in the education program at the State University of New York’s Binghamton University, and her area of interest is inclusion, specifically the inclusion of refugees in education, arguing for the importance of a sense of belonging for their learning. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, Werfelli worked in the education field for ten years, and her interest in refugee education was informed by her appointment as the education program manager with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Libya. Currently, Werfelli is pursuing her dissertation research in this area in the hopes of making a difference in such injustice through a lens that education should be accessible to all.