MEET OUR FACULTY

Bryan Fox: has a BA in Philosophy/English and MA in Applied Linguistics/TESOL from Melbourne University. He has worked for over 20 years as a teacher and a teacher trainer in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. 

Kimberly Bayer: holds an M.A.  in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. She has worked as an English Language Lecturer, ESL Instructor, and Adjunct Professor at various colleges and universities in New York City. She teaches ESL, First-Year Writing, and English Composition with an emphasis on critical thinking.Mimi also has a second master in Information Science.Saint Michael's college, Westchester Community College, Pace University, and Hunter College, where she has been happily teaching in the IELI program for ten years.

Palmer Glass: MA TESOL, Hunter College. He’s been teaching for almost twenty years and has taught all levels and skills including TOFEL and online classes for various companies. He taught overseas in Japan for one year. When he returned to New York he worked at many private schools and started working for Hunter College as well as LaGuardia Community College. He loves working with students from around the world. His other interests are video production and writing.

Sevil Gurlemis: Holds M.A. in Linguistics from CUNY - Graduate School and M.A. in Foreign Language Teaching from the University of Istanbul. She has taught advanced ESL Learners and native English speakers reading and writing skills and prepared them for CUNY’s assessment test of reading and writing (CATW/CATR). Sevil has joined the outstanding IELI faculty in 2004 and has been teaching all skills/ levels and developing course materials sensitive to students’ needs. She finds joy in interacting with students and seeing them improve their English skills. 

Michael Horvilleur: Experienced English Second Language Teacher with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in lesson planning, curriculum development, public speaking, teacher training, and implementing technology into the classroom. Strong education professional with a Master's degree focused in TESOL from Fordham University.

Mimi Kaven: holds an M.A.  in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. She has worked as an English Language Lecturer, ESL Instructor, and Adjunct Professor at various colleges and universities in New York City. She teaches ESL, First-Year Writing, and English Composition with an emphasis on critical thinking.Mimi also has a second master in Information Science.

Young Hae Kim: An experienced Teacher with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in English as a Second Language (ESL), Literacy, Literature, Classroom Management, and TOEFL. Strong education professional with a Master of Arts (M.A.) focused in Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor from Hunter College.

Veronica Martir: Has a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a master’s degree in TESOL, both of which were earned at Hunter College. She has been teaching ESL at the IELI since 1995, specializing in reading and writing courses on the intermediate level. She has also been serving her local community since 1993 by teaching an integrated skills ESL course for newly arrived Latino immigrants at Inwood Community Service in northern Manhattan; as a result, in 2014, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award for her years of service.

Lee J. Nelson: Has a master's degree in English from New York University and in TESOL from Hunter College. He has been teaching English at LaGuardia Community College since 1980 and ESL at the IELI at Hunter College since 1990. His publications include THE BOY IN THE BOX, a novel, published by Bridge Works Publishing (Rowman & Littlefield) in 2003. His short stories have appeared in various literary magazines, including Central Park, Asylum, Avec, Reed, ONTHEBUS, and in two anthologies, Unscheduled Departures (Asylum Arts Publishing) and Literature Around the Globe (Kendall/Hunt Publishing).

Kate Neuman: Holds an MA in English Literature from Columbia University and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Hunter College. She has taught at IELI since 2005; she also teaches creative writing in Hunter's English Department and acting at The Barrow Group Theater Company and School. Her writing has been published in the New York Times, The Iowa Review, and Six Hens. As an actor, she has appeared on Broadway, Off and Off-Off-Broadway, at regional theaters, on TV, and in film. 

Fiore Sireci: PhD, University of Edinburgh, Fulbright Teacher Trainer in English literature and pedagogy. Eighteenth-century scholar. Classical flautist. Publications include The Spiritual Vindications of Mary Wollstonecraft and Growing Up in Coney Island. Teaches humanities and academic writing at Hunter College and Parsons the New School for Design.

Michele Thomas: Started teaching at Hoover Street School, inner city Los Angeles, California in 1967. Studied at Summer Hill, England with A.S. Neil the facilitator of the open classroom. Became a Language Arts/Reading Specialist for the L.A. City Schools and training teacher for U.S.C. Created a district anthology of students' poetry. Developed a student-run school newspaper.
Moved to the south of France in 1974. Co-edited Fountains, a bi-lingual French/English literary revue based at la librairie Paradox, Aix-en-Provence. Taught English at ecole inlingua and lycee La Cordaire, Marseille. Returned to New York in 1984. Taught ESL at La Guardia Community College, St. John's University and Hunter IELI. She has created the American Theatre Course at Hunter, presented at TESOL conferences, wrote independent biographies for a French publisher, and participated in teacher training at Duk Sung University in Seoul, Korea. She enjoys traveling extensively for work and pleasure.

Linda Troiano: MA in Teaching English as a Second Language, Hunter College and BFA in Drama, The Boston Conservatory. Enjoys traveling and studying contemporary dance, pilates, and watercolor painting. Has taught ESL at Baruch and Kingsborough College and has done work-site English language tutoring at companies, including AXA and UBS. Currently teaches high intermediate grammar in the IELI's evening program.