Ann Ramos, Associate Director for External Programs
M.A. Linguistics/TESL, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

Ann has been working with and teaching English to International students for more than 25 years. Before coming to Alabama, she taught in university Intensive English programs in Illinois, Missouri and Niigata, Japan. She has lived in Japan and visited countries in Asia and Europe.

Kim Andrus
M.A. TESOL, Bowling Green State University

Kim is originally from Hagerman, Idaho. He earned a B.A. in English at Idaho State University, through which he gained a great appreciation for poetry and English literature. Kim spent two years in Guatemala, where he became a fluent speaker of Spanish.He has taught English since finishing his M.A. in TESOL in 1997, first spending two years at the Center for English as a Second Language at Southern Illinois University. He has been teaching at the ELI since 1999. Kim's professional interests are in use of multimedia and technology in the classroom.

Marci Daugherty
M.A. TESOL, Monterey Institute of International Studies

Marci has taught EFL overseas for 3 years in Hefei, Anhui, China and for 2 years in Liberec and Jablonec nad Nisou in the Czech Republic. She has also taught ESL in Texas and California.

Catherine Dockery
M.A. TESOL, University of Alabama

Catherine completed her master’s degree in May, 2006, and is proud to be a member of the ELI faculty. She has taught ESL to children, college students, and adults. She is especially interested in teaching English through Literature, but enjoys all aspects of ESL education.

Tony Hall
M.A. TESOL, The University of Alabama

Tony taught in Japan and in Florida. While in Florida, he created and taught English for Flight courses while earning a private pilot certificate. His favorite course to teach at ELI is writing. He enjoys travel, flying, and playing guitar.

Laura Hebert
M.A. Teaching English as a Foreign Language, American University in Cairo, Egypt

Laura has been at the ELI for 14 years but has also taught ESL in Illinois and California.  She has 7 years of experience teaching abroad in Egypt, France and most recently Japan. As an undergraduate, Laura spent a year studying in France.

Brad Hodges
M.A. Applied Linguistics/TESL, Georgia State University

Originally from North Carolina, Brad has lived, worked and studied in three French-speaking countries (France, Gabon, and Canada). His second language is French, and he enjoys learning about the syntax and cultural inferences of other languages. Before coming to the ELI, he taught in Gabon for three years, in a university ESL program in Atlanta, and in Canada during an exchange. He especially enjoys teaching essay organization, common academic vocabulary, and word- and sentence-level stress and other pronunciation issues.

Kelly McPherson
M.A. TESOL, University of Alabama

Kelly is originally from Nashville, TN. He taught for 2 years in Okinawa, Japan and has been teaching classes in Alabama since 2003. Kelly enjoys travelling and has visited 23 different countries.

Jay Robbins
M.A. TESOL, Boston University

Jay has been teaching at the ELI since 1987. He also taught English for one year in Pusan, Korea, and one year in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Jay enjoys reading, playing tennis, and learning about other cultures.

David Taylor
M.A. TL - TESOL, The University of Southern Mississippi

David comes to the ELI after a year teaching at the Alabama Language Institute in Gadsden. He also taught ESL, Literature, Art and History for 3 years overseas in Ecuador, South America on the high school and college levels. He earned his master's degree from USM in 2000. David is also an accomplished photographer. He has taught photography on the university level and has had numerous gallery shows of his images across the south. He enjoys the creative process, whether it is in the field of art or in the classroom.

Kendall Yates
M.A. TESOL, The University of Southern Mississippi

Kendall grew up in Selma, AL and just recently completed her graduate degree in TESOL from the University of Southern Mississippi. Prior to graduate school, she spent a year teaching English in Beijing, China. Besides teaching, Kendall enjoys traveling to other countries and learning about different cultures.