Dr. Mat Schulze
Mat is the principal investigator of all projects at SDSU-LARC. He is a member of the SDSU Senate and co-edits the bilingual academic journal Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German (Wiley and American Association of Teachers of German).
Email: mschulze@sdsu.edu
Phone: (619) 594-0958
Dr. Chris Brown
Co-Director, LARC; Director LTC
Chris supports the director and other LARC team members in the design and implementation of LARC’s externally funded international programs and initiatives. He holds graduate degrees and certificates in Second Language Instruction, Spanish Linguistics, and Higher Education Leadership. His doctoral dissertation is titled “Discursive Leadership: Exploring the “black box” challenge in transcultural leadership studies.” His research interests focus on the intersection of organizational theory and behavior, leadership, and transcultural communication.
Email: chris.brown@sdsu.edu
Phone: (619) 594-7131
Dr. Shahnaz Ahmadeian
Director of Programs
Shahnaz has been directing two of LARC’s externally funded programs, STARTALK and SAILN. In addition, she provides support to LARC’s contractual instructors by organizing and supervising class visits, ongoing professional development programs, and teacher reflections. Shahnaz holds a PhD in Education from San Diego State University and Claremont Graduate University. Her primary areas of interest in research include teacher self-efficacy, professional development for world language teachers, and heritage language education.
Email: sahmadeianfard@sdsu.edu
Phone: (619) 594-0846
Mari Ocando Finol
Learning Technologies Coordinator
As a Learning Technologies Coordinator, Mari is responsible for managing the conceptualization, design, operation, and evaluation of the language space at LARC. She holds a PhD in Spanish from Arizona State University, where she specialized in computer-assisted language learning. She previously taught Spanish and English as a second language for over ten years.
Email: mocandofinol@sdsu.edu
Julie Millet
Instructional Coordinator
Julie Millet coordinates language training projects with military partners and provides support for course logistics and instructional methodology. Prior to working at LARC she taught and developed adult language and culture training courses for 20 years. She worked with U.S. military schoolhouses for 10 of those years, managing curriculum development projects and providing Cross-Cultural Competence training at the Navy. Julie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics at Brigham Young University and her Master’s degree in International Education from The George Washington University.
Email: jmillet@sdsu.edu
Marcia Ledezman-Macias
Information Technology Consultant
Marcia is the Information Technology consultant for the LARC Center. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science in Computer Science from SDSU.
Email: mledezma@sdsu.edu
Phone: (619) 594-4475
Evan Rubin
Program Specialist
Evan Rubin is the SDSU Project Global Officer (GO) ROTC scholarship coordinator, LTC program coordinator, and SDSU Summer Intensive Language Program coordinator. He also volunteers as the International Association of Language Learning Technology (IALLT) co-webinar coordinator, a monthly webinar series that invites exceptional and visionary world language instructors, language lab directors, and language program coordinators to discuss their research, projects, and/or publications in an online interactive webinar format. Evan has his BA in Sociology from UC Santa Barbara and MA in Latin American Studies, with a specialization in education technology, from SDSU.
Email: erubin@sdsu.edu
Phone: (619) 594-1223
Breshna Aziz
Program Specialist
Breshna Aziz has an MA in Education Learning Design and Technology and a BA in Russian language and Communication from San Diego State University. In addition to teacher development, Breshna teaches elementary-advanced courses in Dari and Pashto languages. She is a fellow and professional developer at SAILN/California World Language Project (CWLP) and an ACTFL – OPI Dari and Pashto tester.
Email: baziz@sdsu.edu
Phone: (619) 594-1259
Visit the Afghanistan Language and Culture Program Website
Iman Bakour-Aziz
Program Coordinator
As a program coordinator, Iman is responsible for running the Levantine Immersion program, managing the administrative and logistical aspects of the program, and performing other, related administrative duties, such as policy research, development, evaluation, and operational and fiscal analysis. She holds an Engineering degree from the University of Damascus, as well as multiple diplomas in advanced Spanish studies, and is a licensed translator of Arabic and Spanish.
Email: ibakouraziz@sdsu.edu
Phone: (619) 594-5684
Ghadah AlSaadi
Arabic Instructor
Ghadah is the lead instructor and curriculum developer of the Arabic language at LARC. She teaches elementary-advanced level Arabic (MSA and the Iraqi Dialect) intensive courses for the LTC program. Ghadah has a MA in Arabic Language and Linguistics, and a BA in Arabic Language and Literature from the California University of Pennsylvania. Ghadah's other fields of study include Translation, Humanities and Fine Arts, Communication and Language Arts, and Social and Behavioral Science.
Email: galsaadi@sdsu.edu
Dr. Cecile Nedellec
Program Specialist
It is Cecile's passion to support and mentor teachers that led her to earn a PhD in curriculum and instruction. Her doctoral dissertation is titled, "Teachers' understanding of differentiated instruction in Swiss elementary schools." Cecile started teaching languages (French & English) in 2005. She became a mentor for K-12 teachers and a California World Language Project (CWLP) Fellow in 2009. At SDSU-LARC, Cecile contributes to the planning and implementation of SAILN and STARTALK activities, coordinates project resources, and liaises with project stakeholders to collect and disseminate project information. She is also the SAILN Strand A lead.
Email: cnedellec@sdsu.edu
Dr. Nadezda Novakovic
Program Specialist
Nadezda has a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Cambridge. She has over ten years of research experience in the areas of language testing and assessment both in the European and US educational context. She has a special interest in less commonly taught languages, performance assessment, and learner motivation.
Email: nnovakovic@sdsu.edu
Phone: (619) 594-8968
Bernhard Blaette
Information Technology Consultant
Bernhard Blaette is LARC's specialist for social media and language learning technology. He develops applications such as The Lesson Plan Generator (LPG) and the Computer Assisted Screening Tool (CAST). He holds a MA in Computer Science and contributes his technical expertise, innovative ideas, and programming skills to LARC.
Email: and bblaette@sdsu.edu
Phone: (619) 594-3816
Tatyana Iverson
Special Consultant
Tatyana is a team member for the Diagora project at SDSU-LARC. She is also a Russian instructor for the STARTALK program. Tatyana holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Teaching Foreign Languages and a Master’s Degree in Economics from Kazakhstan, where she was born and raised.
Email: tiverson@sdsu.edu
Kevin Kylis
Special Consultant
Kevin provides support and guidance for our military services and has been the continuity for the active duty and reserve components. Since becoming part of the team in 2010, He has coordinated training for the USMC, USN and USAF through creative methods while focusing on efficiency and effective training for commanders and the individual linguist.
Email: kkylis@sdsu.edu
Phone: (951 477-7476
Directors Emeriti
Mary Ann Lyman-Hager, PhD
Former LARC Director: 1997-2017
Mary Ann Lyman-Hager, PhD, is Professor of European Studies and French at San Diego State University, where she was the director of the Language Acquisition Resource Center (LARC).
Email: mlymanha@sdsu.edu
Phone: (619) 594-5480
View Dr. Mary Ann Lyman-Hager's Profile
Gail Robinson
Founding Director of LARC: 1990-1997
Gail Robinson was the Founding Director of the national Language Resource Center at San Diego State University in 1990 and served until 1997, continuing as Professor of Linguistics and Spanish at San Diego State University.
Email: grobinso@sdsu.edu
Phone: (619) 594-6929
View Dr. Gail Robinson's Profile