Sustainable Growth for English Teachers: Goal-Setting and Self-Care for the New Year

Sherry MacKay is founder of Transformational Learning Communities, an English Language Specialist for the U.S. Dept of State, and co-facilitator for Transformative Circles. She is based in southern California and her work supports educators to go deeper in self awareness and equips them with self regulation strategies that they can use for themselves and for their students. She has served as a virtual plenary and workshop presenter on trauma-informed SEL for national English conferences in Russia (NATE) and Ukraine (TESOL-Ukraine), California and TESOL international. Currently, she leads bi-monthly trauma-informed workshops for a nonprofit supporting English teachers in Afghanistan. She is passionate about the power of human connection, supporting people’s emotional well being and using the transformational potential of mindfulness.

Tarana's twenty-year TESOL journey includes working and managing ESOL programs in the US, China, and India. Her work is currently focused on the Ladakh region of India as an advisor to Goldenmile Learning, an NGO involved with ESOL teacher training in remote area government schools in India. Tarana is most interested in teacher development themes such as teacher identity and SEL. She is pursuing her Ph.D. in Depth Psychology and Integrated Healing Practices at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Tarana received the Young Alumni Achievement Award from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, her alma mater, for her ESOL projects in India. Tarana stands for peace, equity, and harnessing the full potential for herself and others.

Shélynn (Shey) Riel is an international English language educator, teacher trainer, and podcaster with a Master's in TESOL and over 15 years of experience. She serves as Bridge's Expert Series Moderator and an instructor in Bridge's graduate-level TEFL program, the IDELTOnline™. Throughout her career, Shey has held leadership roles in curriculum development and program administration at U.S. universities and non-profits, facilitated digital exchanges for global English teachers, and delivered professional development workshops in Argentina, Bangladesh, and China.