Presenters

Our all-star lineup.

Meet the Team

Presenters will be updated once confirmed.

Scott Benedict

Scott Benedict is a distinguished language educator, renowned for his expertise in comprehension-based instruction. Since 2001, he has been at the forefront of transforming Spanish language education through his venture, Immediate Immersion. Scott's commitment to innovative teaching techniques shines through his presentations, both in-person and online, which he has been delivering since 2008. His impactful sessions have featured at prominent conferences such as NTPRS, the Agen Workshop, and iFLT, as well as various school districts.

Ben Fisher-Rodriguez

Ben Fisher-Rodriguez is a high school German teacher located in Seattle, WA. He has presented at national, regional, and local conferences on lesson planning, high-leverage teaching strategies, and issues of LGBTQ+ inclusion. Ben is a German Embassy Teacher of Excellence, the WAFLT TOY for 2022, and the PNCFL TOY for 2023. He blogs at MrFisherSays.com and is on Twitter @mrfishersays.

Lynne Hendrick

Guten Tag! I am a teacher just like you. I have spent 20+ years working in public schools and the past 10 learning and using CI/ADI in my classroom. I enjoy the community, happiness, and joy that CI/ADI brings to my classroom. I am also the co-founder and organizer of EdcampCIVa in Virginia, a free PD for teachers based in Virginia Beach, VA. In my free time, I enjoy reading and baking and I am figuring out life with my two children away at college, this empty nest thing is fun but an adjustment!!

John Sifert

John Sifert has been a Spanish teacher in Iowa and Texas for the past 26 years. His focus in the classroom is to provide comprehensible input through stories, novels, and song. He is also passionate about teaching students about life-long skills such as perseverance, respect, and kindness. John has presented at ACTFL, Practical and Comprehensible, IWLA, CI Iowa, KSWLA, Comprehended!, Conference in the Cloud, Growing with Proficiency, and CI Reboot.

John also creates a variety of classroom materials and is the author of La isla más peligrosa, La decisión más peligrosa, Seis nombres, L'isola più pericolosa del mondo, with several other novels in the works.

Nothing is more important than family, so when not focused on language acquisition, John spends all his free time with his wife and 5 children in the tiny, (but amazing) town of Belmond, Iowa.

"World language teachers teach the world more than language."

Jennifer Degenhardt & Theresa Marrama

We are Jennifer Degenhardt and Theresa Marrama and we have taught languages for over 50 years combined (not each!). Having taught French and Spanish from the elementary through college level, we believe that students - no matter their age or language level - must be engaged with the second language in accessible, but purposeful ways. Enter onto the scene: short novels written consciously with the language learner in mind. Between the two of us we have over 160 books in five different languages - and that number is growing! Our books run the gamut from mystery to real life adventure, biography to fantasy; within those that feature cultural, social, economic and political themes, inclusion of underrepresented populations, identity and more.

Michele Whaley

An ACTFL ToY finalist in 2017 as well as the recipient of multiple state (Alaska) and regional awards (PNCFL), Michele Whaley’s Comprehensible Input journey took off when she discovered that teaching with CI turned language acquisition into a true collaboration with her students.

As a result, she built a strong community in classes. From there, students felt as though their growth was much more natural — though to Michele, it seemed like magic.

Now retired from public school, she’s still “Profe” to her elementary Spanish school students and teaches adult Russian online. Michele is thrilled when she can help teachers find their way to methods that support their own CI journey.

Maureen Lamb

Maureen Gassert Lamb is a Latin Teacher, Dean of Faculty, and Dean of Academic Technology and Innovative Pedagogy at The Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, CT.

Lamb is also the American Classical League’s Technology Chair, was named the Connecticut Language 2016-2017 Teacher of the Year, and was the recipient of the ACTFL/IALLT Award for Excellence in World Language Instruction Using Technology (K–12) and the Society for Classical Studies Excellence in K-12 Latin Teaching in 2022. She is committed to an inclusive, differentiated classroom environment to support her students.

Annabelle Williamson

Annabelle Williamson was christened “La Maestra Loca” by her students long ago, but what she is really crazy about is building a positive, inclusive, success-oriented language community that promotes equity and anti-racist education. Annabelle’s love of students, people, languages, and of life is contagious, while her deep understanding of the nuts and bolts of teaching for communicative competence will leave you eager and inspired to return to your classrooms and start implementing all of her strategies for equitable engagement! She’s currently in her eleventh year as an educator, teaching middle school Spanish in New Orleans at Bricolage Academy. Annabelle has her master's degree in education with an emphasis on linguistically and culturally diverse education.