English Language Center Faculty

The IEP encourages active student participation. Each teacher is responsible for establishing a caring and stimulating environment which lowers the affective filter and allows students to actively and fearlessly practice a multitude of linguistic structures. Teachers are mentors who focus on meeting the needs of students, thereby ensuring academic and personal success both in and out of the classroom.

Wilkes teachers are hired for their expertise in the field of ESL, their cross-cultural sensitivity, and their unwavering commitment to meeting the needs of the IEP’s students. Teachers use the curriculum to maintain structure and consistency across the board, but are allowed individual freedom and control within the classroom. Personal teaching philosophies heavily influence the shape and structure of individual classes, and teachers are encouraged to utilize their personal pedagogical outlooks to best meet the needs of the students.

The objectives and teaching practices at Wilkes are dedicated to providing exemplary services to assist all the IEP’s students in achieving academic and intellectual excellence in the liberal arts, sciences, and professional programs. It is our goal that the language skills and learning strategies students learn in our program remain with them from their initial transition to college through their progress to postgraduate studies and into their professional careers.

Dr. Kimberly Niezgoda

Director IEP/Program Coord
English Language Center

Conyngham Hall 203
kimberly.niezgoda@wilkes.edu
(570) 408-4170

Vito Balice

ESL Program Specialist
English Language Center

vito.balice@wilkes.edu

Domicella Balice

ESL Program Specialist
English Language Center

Hollenback Hall
domicella.balice@wilkes.edu
(570) 408-3854

Cheryl DeFrain

ESL Program Specialist
English Language Center

Conyngham Hall
cheryl.defrain@wilkes.edu

Lissette Dishmey

ESL Program Specialist Spanish Language
English Language Center

lissette.dishmey@wilkes.edu

Laura Escobar Trujillo

ESL Program Specialist
English Language Center

laur.escobartrujillo@wilkes.edu

Dr. Henry Haduck

ESL Program Specialist
English Language Center

henry.haduck@wilkes.edu

Deborah McNally

Substitute ESL Instructor
English Language Center

deborah.mcnally@wilkes.edu

Natasha Young

ESL Program Specialist
English Language Center

Ctr for Career Dev/ Internship 201
natasha.young@wilkes.edu
(570) 408-3856