John Kunkle

John is the newest member of the Las Vegas IAE faculty. He grew up in Ohio, taught there and received his B.A. in English and French from Heidelberg College and his M.A. in Romance Languages from Case Western Reserve University. He then taught in the Wisconsin University system and received his Ph.D. in Second Language Education. Moving to the University of Louisiana, he directed a 2000-student ESL program and was heavily involved with the French-English bilingual programs there, and published some 20 books, articles and papers. In 1980, he and his family moved to Saudi Arabia, where he worked for the world's largest oil-producing company, teaching ESL, French and opera appreciation (!) in the evenings. John came to Las Vegas in 1997, working first as an educational consultant to the Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, and then five years with FLS, while also teaching French and ESL to performers and staff at  Mystère and Ka, and ESL to employees in casinos in Las Vegas and Primm. He currently also teaches at the Community Multicultural Center. John has sung with and directed several choral groups, and in 2004, went on a singing tour of European cathedrals with one of them. He is an avid swimmer and occasionally teaches swimming and diving.  John enjoys Las Vegas and IAE, but also likes to visit his five grandchildren in Florida.

Loretta Dutt

 Loretta earned her Master of Arts Degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1995. She has taught ESL at the intensive English institutes at the University of Illinois and Ohio University and EFL in Madrid, Spain. She enjoys using the internet to teach and tutor students, which she first did as a reading/writing tutor for native speakers at the St. Louis Community College, and in other ways helping language learners reach their goals. Loretta lives in Las Vegas with her wonderful husband, Timothy, and their "sweetest dog in the world," Belen.

Arlene Tedesco

Arlene received her B.A. in Science at Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island and went on to earn a TEFL/TESL certificate from Transworld Teachers in California. She started teaching ESL with the Literacy Volunteers of America in Boston, Massachusetts, before going to Florence, Italy and teaching ESL in private language school and companies for seven years.  She frequented the University of Florence and received a proficiency certificate in the Italian language.  Recently she has taught through the University of Las Vegas as well as The College of Southern Nevada. Arlene has been teaching ESL at the International Academy of English since 2001.  her hobbies and interests include cooking, eating out, and going to shows, as well as being a world traveler.  She speaks Spanish and Italian and is currently a trustee with the Sons of Italy organization in Las Vegas.

Linda Tannenbaum

Linda has been an educator for the past eighteen years.  After graduating from college in Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Psychology, she returned to New York and began her career as a teacher for the New York City School System.  Linda worked as an instructor of English Language Learners and Special Education children for ten years and during that time she completed a Masters Degree in education at the City University of New York.  Linda relocated to California with her husband and two children and worked in California as an instructor and an administrator while completing a second Masters in Educational Leadership.  In 2005 she moved to Las Vegas with her family and began working for IAE.  Linda has a great deal of experience and training in literacy and has worked with Foreign Language Students at all levels.  In her spare time she enjoys gardening, traveling with her family, and exploring all that the Las Vegas environment has to offer!

Marisa Suescun

For the past nine years, Marisa Suescun has dedicated her professional life to public education, having begun her career as a member of the first cohort of the NYC Teaching Fellows. Her impressive background includes working for the NYC Teaching Fellows, teaching SAT preparation in Brooklyn, and instructing ESL classes in Ecuador. Most recently, Marisa served as Assistant Director of the Exploring Leadership program at the Coro New York Leadership Center. In addition to her work within the field of education, Marisa has published dozens of articles and reviews in several publications.

Currently, Marisa teaches intermediate-level grammar and conversation, and serves on the Founders Group and Curriculum Committee of Active Minds Institute, an organization set to open a public charter school in Saint Louis in September 2010.

Marisa holds a Bachelors degree in American Studies from Wesleyan University, and a Masters in Education from City College of New York.

Debra has been teaching ESL for the past two years. After graduating from Stony Brook University in 2001, she taught Global History and Sociology at a Long Island high school. With a strong desire to experience life in a different place, she ventured to Santiago, Chile in 2007. There, she taught English as a volunteer through Harvard University's World Teach DuocUC program. Debra has been with the academy since February of 2008. She currently leads upper-intermediate grammar and conversation classes, as well as a special elective class for phrasal verbs and idioms. She enjoys the challenge of

developing innovative, fun ways to help her students internalize proper written and spoken grammar. Her inspiration in life and teaching is derived from sunshine, her husband and, of course, her terrific students!