Who We Are
Our teaching staff includes full-time faculty and administrators, affiliated faculty, and graduate student instructors. All of our staff have graduate level training in linguistics, TESOL, and/or speech-language pathology. We look forward to working with you.
For more information on how to join our team, please visit our Get Involved page.
English Language Programs Full-Time Staff
Julia Moore, PhD
Senior Director, English Language Programs
Phone: 847-491-5776Email: jmm@northwestern.eduEnglish Language Programs Affiliated Instructors
Lizzie is a professional speaker and public speaking coach. She specializes in working with non-native English-speaking individuals who are looking to build clarity and confidence in everyday conversations, meetings, presentations, and interviews. She has built her public speaking and coaching expertise through a combination of experience including an 8-year tenure at Google, graduate experience in speech language pathology, and years of intensive acting and improvisation training. Lizzie currently owns her own public speaking coaching business (Unscripted Speech). She holds a Master's Degree in Speech Therapy from New York University, an Undergraduate Degree in Marketing from Miami University, and professional acting and improvisation training from New York University, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, and iO Chicago. She delivered her first TEDx talk in 2024, "How AI Unlocks Communication and Connection".Raef is a fourth-year PhD student in the Linguistics department. He has a BA in Linguistics and Computer Science from New York University. His main research interests include sociolinguistics, pragmatics, and linguistic bias and discrimination. His research focuses on how physicians perceive a patient's pain based on their race, gender, and linguistic choices. Raef is multilingual, growing up speaking Arabic and Urdu, and has studied Japanese and German in the past. He enjoys helping students gain confidence in their English abilities and looks forward to learning about language/cultural differences from students. In his free time, you can probably find Raef in the ceramics studio making pottery.Anna is an affiliate instructor in English Language Programs with a master's degree in linguistics from Northwestern University. She oversees our Supported Online Speech and Language Training courses (LING 483), and is an instructor for LING 482 and our Instruction and Practice small groups. Her recent research areas of interest are rhythm and intonation in speech perception and production as well as interactions between language and music. While working towards her bachelor’s degree at the University of Oregon she completed the Second Language Acquisition Teaching (SLAT) certification and was a tutor and conversation partner for two years at the University’s American English Institute. She enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and rock climbing, playing piano, and acquiring as many plants as possible.Veronika Schmitt is a PhD candidate in Slavic Languages and Literatures at Northwestern University. She earned her master’s degree in Comparative Literature from LMU Munich following her bachelor’s in philology from Moscow State University. At Northwestern, she has taught Russian language courses and completed the Reflective & Effective Teaching (RET) Certificate through the Searle Center. Veronika also taught German at Moscow State University and gave private English lessons in Russia. Her academic work explores translation and cross-cultural dialogues between Russian and European literary traditions.Graduate Student Instructors & Interns
Jennie is a PhD candidate in Management & Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management. Her research examines how organizations and individuals unintentionally (re)produce inequality, with the goal of improving education, professional, and life outcomes for marginalized communities. An aspiring polyglot, she can speak Korean, Japanese, and Spanish, and is currently learning German and French in her free time.
Şebnem is a Turkish international student and a PhD candidate in Psychology at Northwestern University. Her research examines how narrative identities are shaped by broader historical contexts and how these processes connect to psychological well-being. Beyond academia, she is passionate about media and has worked as a radio host and writer for several local newspapers.
