Washington, D.C. – The Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) is pleased to announce the appointment of four new board members to its Board of Trustees. These esteemed individuals joined at the start of this calendar year, bringing valuable expertise and insights to the Board.
CAL Board members serve three-year terms and conduct meetings twice annually at the organization’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. They are committed to supporting CAL’s mission of promoting language education and cultural understanding.
New Board Members:
Francis M. Hult, Ph.D., is a professor of education at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Discourse studies and sociolinguistics are among his specializations, and his research focuses on multilingualism in policy and practice, including national language policies, policy formation and implementation, language teacher engagement with educational policy discourses, and visual language use in multilingual communities. He has received numerous awards, including the Early Career Award of Merit from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Visit his profile here.
David Cassels Johnson, Ph.D., is a professor of multilingual education at the University of Iowa and a visiting professor of language policy and planning at Shanghai International Studies University. He earned his Ph.D. in educational linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania. His areas of expertise include sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, and ESL and bilingual education. Cassels-Johnson has held faculty positions at Washington State University and Texas A&M University. Visit his profile here.
M. Adelaida Restrepo, Ph.D., is a professor in and Chair of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of South Florida. She directs the Bilingual Language and Literacy Laboratory, focusing on identifying optimal language assessment and intervention practices for bilingual children at risk of academic difficulties. Dr. Restrepo is also a bilingual speech-language pathologist specializing in oral language and emergent literacy development. Her research explores oral language and literacy interventions for underrepresented language groups in the U.S. Visit her profile here.
Shelly Spiegel-Coleman, M.Ed., is the strategic advisor for Californians Together, where she previously served as executive director for 13 years. She has been instrumental in advocating for the success of California’s English learners, addressing systemic inequalities. Spiegel-Coleman’s career encompasses roles as a teacher, principal, and district specialist, and she holds a master’s degree from Whittier College, among other distinguished credentials. Visit her profile here.
CAL’s Board of Trustees Chair, Dr. Liying Cheng; President and CEO, Dr. Joel Gómez; Board of Trustees Nominations Committee Chair, Dr. Shondel Nero; and other Board members welcomed the new Board members and expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity to work together to help the organization achieve its goals.
About CAL:
Founded in 1959, CAL is a non-profit organization guided by a mission to promote language learning and cultural understanding. CAL is a leader in research, policy analysis, and the development of educational resources in language education. Learn more about the CAL Board of Trustees here.
