TEAL Executive 2023-24
The TEAL Manitoba executive usually meet on the third Thursday or Saturday of the month, September to June.
Mojgan Asili - President / TEAL MTS PD Day Conference Co-Chair
Samantha Ursel - TEAL MTS PD Day Conference
Co-Chair
Marion Hutchings-Reimer - TEAL MTS PD Day Conference
Co-Chair
Melanie Davlut - Past President
Melanie is an EAL teacher working with EAL, ISP, and refugee students. She has more than 20 years experience in teaching EAL in a variety of contexts. As a member of TEAL, she has been a member at large, SAGE co-chair, Vice-President, and President. Her areas of interest are cultural proficiency, parental involvement, and the adjustment and academic success of newcomers.
Lisa Desmarais - Communications Co-Chair
Lisa has completed her B.A., B. Ed, and her CTESL at the University of Manitoba. In 2017, she completed her Masters in Education with a focus on English as an Additional Language. The focus of her studies was on acculturation, cultural identity and social empathy within the school system. She has taught overseas in France, South Korea and Egypt for many years. She is currently working in the St. James-Assiniboia School Division as an EAL teacher.
Luisa Igne - Treasurer
Luisa was born in the Philippines and immigrated to Canada in 1980. She’s been teaching EAL formerly ESL at DMCI (Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute) since 1998. For the last eleven years she’s been in charged of the EAL./LAL centre at DMCI where she teaches newcomer students with interrupted education. She teaches them basic English, Math, and Science before they enter the regular EAL courses.
Alison Giasson - Secretary
Sreemali Herath - Member at Large
Sreemali Herath is an Assistant Professor attached to the Faculty of Education of the University of Manitoba. She has experience teaching ESL/EAP as well as courses in Education and TEAL at both graduate an undergraduate level in Canada and internationally. Her research includes post conflict reconciliation, refugee settlement, teacher identity, action research and arts-based approaches to identity research.
Ariel Fernando - Member at Large
Ariel has been an educator for 20 years. He was a high school English teacher in the Philippines before coming to Canada in 2014.
He completed his B. Ed. and CTESL at the University of Winnipeg. Since then, he has been working with both youth and adult multilingual learners in Winnipeg.
He is currently working as a LAL/EAL teacher in River East Transcona School Division.
He is also involved in community events as the Director for Production of the MUSICA Singers of Manitoba, Inc., a Filipino community-based vocal ensemble.
Ian Lindal - Member at Large
Ian started his teaching career with EAL learners at an international school in Thailand, before joining Fort Richmond Collegiate. Over the 6 years as a teacher, he taught E-courses in English, Science, Computers, History, and Geography
Eunhee Buettner - Member at Large
Eunhee has been teaching education courses such as “Multicultural Education, “Supporting and Teaching Refugee and Immigrant Students”, and “Intro TEAL” at the University of Winnipeg since 2014. She taught English to a variety of levels and age groups in South Korea before immigrating to Canada in 2008. She holds Ph.D. in Education (TESL) from the University of Manitoba. Her research interests include bi/multilingualism, the impact of linguistic and cultural power on social integration and marginalization, intercultural communication, heritage language education, and multicultural education. She is recently interested in exploring the connection between K-12 and adult EAL education.
Manitoba Education and Training Representatives:
Jayesh Maniar
Diana Turner