Cassandra is originally from upstate New York and graduated from Marist College with a BA in Spanish, a minor in Latin American and Caribbean Studies and a concentration in Bilingual Education/ESL. She earned her Master's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she now works as the Teaching Coordinator of the ESL Writing Program. Her work includes teaching academic writing for international students and working with the other ESL instructors on teacher training, professional development, classroom instruction, and technology in the classroom.