Adult Learning Center
Program Staff
Administrative Staff:
Susan Erno is our Program Coordinator with over 15 years experience in adult education. Susan has been with CCS Adult Education since 1998. Contact information: Susan.Erno@ccs.k12.va.us or 245-2825.
Stephanie Whiting is our Administrative Assistant. She has over 20 years of administrative experience with medical, local government and private industries. Contact information: Stephanie.Whiting@ccs.k12.va.us or 245-2817.
Don Jones is our Clerical Assistant; he mans the front desk in the evenings and helps us keep the Learning Center organized. Prior to joining the Adult Learning Center, Don managed two local businesses for many years; he is also an active volunteer.
Regional Specialist:
Carol H. Coffey is our Regional GED Examiner; she offers expanded GED testing opportunitiesin Charlottesville, Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna and Nelson counties. Carol has been working with the Governor's Race to GED Workforce Development Initiative for the last three years as an instructional designer and regional assessment specialist. She holds a MS Ed in Adult Education and Human Resource Development from JMU anda BS in Education from VA Tech.
Teaching Faculty:
Monica Adams has been associated with the Adult Learning Center since
2000, including over two years as GED Instructor at the regional jail.
She also teaches part-time at Piedmont Virginia Community College. She
has a master's degree in English from the University of Wisconsin -
Milwaukee, with a special interest in poetry.
Zakira Beasley has lived in the Charlottesville area for 25 years. She received an undergraduate degree in business at Mary Baldwin College and completed a graduate certificate program in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at UVA. She started as a volunteer with CCS Adult Education and then joined the staff in 2004 as a teacher of the ESL 100 level. Currently she offers extra reading support for our lowest level students.
Sheila Bowles has a BA in History. She taught history at Charlottesville High School for several years and now teaches GED Fast Track for the Adult Education Program.
Leora Brown has an undergraduate degree in Government and studied public health policy in the developing world. She is a certified teacher with endorsements in both Spanish and ESL. Leora has taught ESL since 1997, both to children and adults. She has taught English in camps for migrant farm workers, in public schools, and in the regional jail. Here at the Adult Learning Center she teaches ESL level 101.
Lisa Climer works in the GED testing program as a GED Examiner and as a Vocational Coach with teenage GED students. Lisa holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia and a Master of Social Work degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. Since 1994 she has worked for several community agencies serving children and families in Charlottesville.
Barbara Edwards holds a graduate degree in Christian Education from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA. Her experience includes working with the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority and as a substitute teacher for the city and county schools. Currently she teaches GED at the Albemarle County Regional Jail.
Leslie A. Furlong, PhD Cultural Anthropology. Trained and certified in Laubach Literacy, she has been teaching ESL since 1994. She is the Health Curriculum C-cooordinator and Editor of the Multi-Cultural Brief, our student newspaper. Leslie also teaches ESL level 102.
Kathy Garrou has a BS degree in Human Services and 18 years experience in Adult Education. Currently she does GED marketing and outreach.
Heidi Gordon, did her graduate work in Teaching English as a Second Language at the School for International Training, and her undergraduate work in animal science at Pennsylvania State University. She has taught ESL in Mexico, Malaysia and Japan. Currently, she teaches ESL to newly arrived refugees at the International Rescue Committee, facilitates the Dialogue Cafe and co-coordinates, with Debra Tuler, the Charlottesville Festival of Cultures.
Jim Gordon became interested in teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) while in the Peace Corps in Liberia. He subsequently returned entered the MA in Teaching English as a Second Language program at the School for International Training. Upon graduating he taught one year in Spain before moving, with his wife, Heidi, to Japan where he taught English for 12 years. He has been teaching ESL at the Adult Learning Center since 2000. Jim teaches levels 101 and 103, and is Co-coordinator, with Leslie, of the Health Curriculum. He also assesses new students for placement into classes.
Anne Haile has a BA in History with a minor in Education. She has taught GED classes since 1986 (at the Joint Security Complex, at UVA, with Evenstart, and at the Adult Learning Center). She has also taught Basic Computer Skills classes for the Charlottesville Public Housing Authority.
Suzanne Hamilton has a BA in English and Speech. She has taught high school for over 30 years with various sabbaticals teaching and doing missionary work in Tanzania and Yemen where she taught both ESL and a whole range of other school subjects. She has taught GED to adults in Louisa County and currently is the GED Fast Track writing teacher.
Dian Howe holds a BS in Education. She has been a math teacher since 1971, primarily in high school. She began teaching GED classes at the Adult Learning Center in 2006.
Chip King, BA in English Literature from Tulane University. Chip joined the staff in 2003 and teaches two classes, a level 103 class at the Learning Center and a class for employees at the University of Virginia. Prior to joining the Adult Education Program he owned his own business, worked in a youth program, tutored, and made wine at a local vineyard.
Mignonetta (BJ) Thomas has been an Adult Basic Education and GED teacher for the Adult Education Program since 1990. She has also worked with various other programs associated with the Adult Education Program, including workplace classes for City employees and the VA Department of Transportation, Motheread/Fatheread, and GED teacher and tester at the Regional Jail. BJ has an undergraduate degree in Communications.
Ann Smith has a BA in Elementary Education, a specialty in Elementary Science Curriculum and Instruction, and a Masters of Education in Counseling. She taught in the Charlottesville City Schools for 32 years before retiring and joining the Adult Learning Center staff. Ann teaches a GED contract class with the Dept. of Social Services (Connecting People to Jobs) and at the Regional Jail.
Kate Steers has a BA in History. She began at the Adult Learning Center as a volunteer and now teaches ESL level 100 as well as a class at UVA for Housing staff.
Cherry Stewart has a BA in Public Relations and in German. She received TEFL training through the Peace Corps and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Poland, where she taught English at a high school. Since then she has taught ESL to children and adults in the Czech Republic, England, South Korea, Thailand, and the United States. Cherry is the ESL Special Registration Counselor for the Charlottesville City Schools and Volunteer Coordinator, Speak Up, Charlottesville! Organizer and instructor for ESL 102 pm at the Adult Learning Center.
Sabra Timmins has a B.A. in Latin American Studies with graduate work in both Spanish and Instructional Technology. Formally a H.S. Spanish teacher she now teaches ESL at the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail. She also teaches GED preparation and helps with Instructional Technology Integration at the ALC.
Debbie Tuler has an undergraduate degree in Linguistics and a Masters degree in Cultural Anthropology. She began teaching ESL in 1988 in the Boston area, and has been with the Charlottesville Adult Education Program since 1998. She currently teaches ESL 104 Advanced Communication. She is also the ESL Specialist for the Program and co-coordinator, with Heidi Gordon, of the Charlottesville Festival of Cultures.
Dorita Wood has a BS in Education. She teaches workplace GED Preparation classes to UVA employees and city workers.