Administrators
Jon Malone, Associate Director
Mr. Malone joined the MEI staff in 2012 after over five years of experience teaching at the University of Oklahoma. He is passionate about the connections between research in the TESOL field and applications in the classroom. He especially enjoys the interpersonal element of language acquisition. At MEI, Jon oversees the Intensive English Program (IEP), manages the MEI Multimedia Center, coordinates testing procedures, and teaches in the Intensive English Program. He lives in the College Park area with his wife and children.
Jennifer Moore, Program Management Specialist
Ms. Moore joined the University of Maryland in 1994 in the student affairs division and moved to MEI in 2006. She earned her BA degree in Communications from UMCP. She enjoys working in an internationally diverse setting and is inspired by both faculty and students who take on the challenge of teaching and mastering the English language. In her free time, she enjoys the performing arts, writing and sports.
Raymond Smith, Curriculum and Instruction Coordinator
Mr. Smith has been the Curriculum and Instruction Coordinator of the Maryland English Institute since 2009. He started his career in the field of ELT upon completion of the M.A. TESOL program at the City University of New York (Hunter College) in 1993. Since then, he has taught English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in South Korea and the Czech Republic and has held a variety of positions, including teacher, teacher trainer, academic coordinator and director of studies. In addition to his M.A. TESOL, Mr. Smith has also completed the Cambridge CELTA and DELTA courses.
Faculty
Cornell Brellenthin, Lecturer
Dr. Brellenthin hails from the Midwest where she earned her Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee. She also holds an M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction, the thesis of which was the development of an online writing course that was immediately implemented by the Wisconsin Technical College System. She has been a lecturer of literature, academic writing, creative writing, and English as a Second Language at the University of Wisconsin—Whitewater and Harvard University and continues to teach in the English Language Program for the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences during the summer. Recreationally, she enjoys reading and writing fiction, running or strolling in scenic settings, meandering through art galleries, attending baseball games and classical music events, and traveling.
Marilena Draganescu, Lecturer
Ms. Draganescu is a native of Romania, where she received her B.A. from the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Philology. In 2001 she graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) with an M.A. in Comparative Literature and a second M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). As a graduate teaching assistant at UIUC, she taught introductory courses in World Literature and World Religions. After graduation, she decided to return to her home country temporarily and took up employment with the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest for four years, where she taught a variety of Business English classes. In 2006, she started her Ph.D. in the Language, Literacy and Culture Program at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Before joining MEI in 2010, she worked for four years as an English instructor at the English Language Center at UMBC where she taught advanced reading and writing classes.
Charles Duquette, Lecturer/Marketing Coordinator
Mr. Duquette began his working career in the sciences, earning a B.S. degree in Biology from Georgetown University and an M.S. degree in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University. He spent roughly 20 years in the computer industry, first as a Software Developer, later as a Director of Software Research & Development, and finally as a consultant and business owner. Always having done extensive tutoring in Math and English, he decided to pursue an M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and was awarded his M.A. in TESOL by American University in 2006. He joined MEI in 2008, where he has taught several levels of Listening & Speaking and Reading, Writing, and Grammar, as well as Advanced English Pronunciation (006) Advanced English as a Foreign Language (005) and Advanced Writing for International Students (007).
Annelies Galletta, Lecturer
Ms. Galletta loves languages and students, and teaching English is a great way to enjoy both at the same time. She taught English as a foreign language in Moscow, Russia, after obtaining her Master’s degree from the University of Maryland in Baltimore County. She has also taught English for students at community colleges, for private companies, for new immigrants, and for undergraduate and graduate students at the Maryland English Institute since 2010. Besides teaching, she has also worked as a curriculum developer and program administrator in various learning environments. She is originally from the Netherlands.
Louise Godley, Lecturer
Before joining MEI, Ms. Godley was an instructor in the English Language and Training Academy at American University. She has also taught English to adults at Washington English Center, and EC Washington, DC. She has an MA in TESOL from American University and a BA in History and Archaeology from the University of Winchester in the UK. Ms. Godley is British and also a naturalized Australian, having lived in Sydney, Australia from 2000-2012. During her time in Sydney, she enjoyed working in a multilingual office, which led to her career switch to TESOL. She also learned to play the ukulele, and the cajón, to dance salsa, and to ride a motorbike, all vital skills for a language teacher. Ms. Godley has studied French and Spanish and speaks several dialects of English.
Heather Mehrtens, Lecturer
Ms. Mehrtens pursued her undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, holding a BA in Linguistics with Highest Distinction, a BA in Germanic Languages and Literatures, and an MA in TESL. Before coming to Maryland, she taught at Boston University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, and the University of Illinois. She also served as an English Language Fellow in New Delhi, India. In addition to teaching, she has presented and published on various aspects of teaching English such as using content- and task-based methods to teach language more effectively, vocabulary acquisition, and world Englishes. Currently, she lives in Baltimore City with her husband and two dogs. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, drinking a good cup of coffee, thrifting, and trying new cuisines.
