Cassandra works as the Assistant Director and a Senior Lecturer of the Illinois English as a Second Language (ESL) Program. Her work focuses on directing the teaching support, training, and development of the ESL Program Lecturers and TAs, who teach academic writing and oral communication to our degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate international students. Her teaching interests and experiences have developed particularly in the areas of instructional design, student success initiatives, educational technology, inclusive pedagogy, and digital accessibility.

Recently, Cassandra was appointed as the LAS Dean's Fellow for the Academy for Educational Excellence, to develop the initial programming and a phased-in approach for this new academy. For more information, see Academy for Educational Excellence - In Development (PDF).

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 and a Graduate Certificate of Specialization in Diversity & Equity in Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she is proud to continue her work today.