Board Members

Dr. Ke Peng is the Director of the Chinese Flagship Program and associate professor of Chinese at Western Kentucky University. She received her doctorate in Chinese linguistics with a focus on Second Language Acquisition and Teaching from the University of Arizona. She earned her master’s degree in Foreign Language Education at Indiana University. She teaches modern Chinese language classes at all levels and offers courses in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching Methods of Foreign Languages to both undergraduate and graduate pre-service teachers. She also creates and delivers content courses to Flagship students on Chinese culture, history and Classical Chinese at the advanced and superior level. Her research interests include second language acquisition at the syntax-semantics interface, literacy development and K-16 teacher training. Dr. Peng is active in teacher training and serves as the team leader of the college group for Read-On K-16 STARTALK teacher program in 2012-2023. She also acts as the instructional leader for the 2021-2023 KACLT STARTALK residential program. Her goal is to build sustainable programs to help students make massive and transformational changes in life through wholistic learning and intercultural experiences.

Madeleine Sexton has worked as a Spanish teacher at Eastern High School in Jefferson County, Kentucky for the past 12 years. During that time, she has served as the school’s instructor for Dual Credit Spanish through Morehead State University; additionally, she brings aspects of Hispanic culture and history to the humanities department by teaching ballroom and social dance. In the classroom, Ms. Sexton is passionate about planning opportunities for students to use their language in authentic contexts. At the district level, she has worked on the World Language curriculum development cohorts and has facilitated a variety of Professional Development experiences for teachers, primarily focusing on effective implementation of technology for language learning. In 2016, Ms. Sexton received her M.A. in Spanish from the University of Louisville, including taking courses on teaching Español como Lengua Extranjera at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Jennifer is a French teacher at Louisville Collegiate School. While predominately teaching at the Middle School level, she has also taught all grade levels between Kindergarten through College-level French. During her time at Louisville Collegiate, the French program has seen tremendous growth in the Middle School with full classes and the opening of new sections. Jennifer is also secretary, treasurer, and social media director for AATF KY and also an item writer and reviewer for ACTFL’s AAPPL. Jennifer passionately believes that every student should have the opportunity to learn a World Language. Learning a language not only brings students undeniable cognitive and long-term professional benefits, it also opens up new worlds to them. Jennifer believes that learning another language also allows students, through listening and observation, to participate and connect with others, to become curious, empathetic, and engaged citizens of the world.

Prof. Jeanmarie Rouhier-Willoughby is the Chair of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Kentucky, where she has worked for 20 years. She teaches all levels of Russian language as well as courses on folklore and linguistics. She holds a Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in English, Russian and German from James Madison University. She is particularly interested in outreach to state language teachers and fostering connections that strengthen programs in schools and at the state’s universities. She is a member of ACTFL, KWLA, ASEEES, SEEFA and edits the SEEFA journal Folklorica. She is also on the board of American Friends of Russian Folklore and the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research.

Originally from Spain, Francisco teaches in the Dual Language Immersion Program in Fayette County Public Schools. He has been a teacher for 17 years and has experience teaching in two different countries. Francisco has a master’s degree in history from the University if Granada and a master’s degree in School Leadership from Eastern Kentucky University. He loves teaching content in another language and see the students grow and progress. He also loves to spend time with his family and travel together.

Jennifer teaches Spanish in Lexington, KY at Southern Elementary. In addition to being the Communications Director for KWLA, she is also the PD Committee Chair. At the district level, Jennifer has worked on the K-5 and Novice High Curriculum teams and writes and presents professional development as a district Proficiency Lead. Jennifer has also shared her passion for Rueda de Casino at the Kentucky Center’s World Languages and Arts Integration Academies and worked as an educational consultant for Kentucky Educational Television (KET). She is passionate about younger learners and think every child should get the opportunity to learn a second language starting in kindergarten.

Brenna Reinhart Byrd is an Assistant Professor of German in the Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures Department at the University of Kentucky. She received her PhD in Germanic Linguistics from UCLA in 2010 and has been working at the University of Kentucky since then as Director of Beginning German, overseeing the curriculum and training of instructors for the first three semesters of German. At the University of Kentucky, she regularly teaches classes on language pedagogy, linguistics, and Norse mythology. She is a recipient of numerous teaching awards, including the 2016 KWLA Outstanding Teacher Award and the 2017 SCOLT Teacher of the Year Award, and was a finalist for the ACTFL Teacher of the Year Award in 2017. She also created a language based off of Proto-Indo-European with her husband and fellow linguist, Andrew Byrd, for an internationally successful video game, Ubisoft’s Far Cry: Primal. Together they are working on creating their own educational video game to teach about the prehistoric world of the Proto-Indo-Europeans, for which they received an NEH Digital Projects for the Public Discovery Grant in 2019.

I am in my 7th year teaching French at Lexington Christian Academy. I teach all levels 7th-12th grade and serve as the WL Dept. Chair as well as Beta Club and French Club faculty sponsor. Since I began teaching at LCA, I have made it my goal to advocate for WL at the middle school level (currently optional at LCA) to strengthen our school’s programs and we are beginning to see an improvement in enrollment. The WL classroom is a unique space for students to build connections with each other and with the world. It is an invaluable part of the overall educational experience and it is one of my greatest passions to see it grow and thrive. Outside of the classroom, I enjoy spending time with my husband and two young children, and traveling as much as my schedule will allow.

Pilar has been an educator for eighteen years. She currently teaches Spanish at Anchorage Public School in Anchorage, Kentucky. She earned her Master’s degree in Education from Cumberland University and is a National Board Certified Teacher.

I am currently working as a Chinese instructor at Modern Language Department of WKU. I ​received my master’s degree, TCSOL—Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages from Liaoning University in China in 2012 and a K-12 Kentucky teacher certificate in 2014. I have been teaching Chinese for the past 10 years, 3 years in a Korean high school, 3 years in an American K-12 public school district and 4 years at Western Kentucky University.

Elena Kamenetzky is currently in her 12th year of teaching Japanese at Eastern High School in Louisville, Kentucky. She began her teaching career as participant in the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program, teaching English to elementary and middle school students in Shimoina County in southern Nagano Prefecture. After three years living and teaching in Japan, Elena returned to the United States and earned her Master of Arts in Teaching from Northern Kentucky University, then immediately began teaching Japanese at Eastern. Elena has previously served as president of the Kentucky Association of Japanese Language teachers, is currently serving as the organization’s treasurer, is now returning for a second term as president, and is also a member of the Bluegrass Area Japanese Speech Contest Committee. She was also honored to have been chosen as ACTFL Teacher of the Year in 2021.

Currently in her tenth year of teaching Latin in Kentucky public high schools, Lucianne Junker has developed her own curriculum and utilizes active Latin in her classroom. Lucianne has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Classics and Philosophy, a Master’s of Arts in Teaching World Languages, and a Graduate Certificate in Latin Studies from the University of Kentucky. Lucianne received the Swift-Longacre-Scaife Fellowship in 2009 and the Outstanding Latin Teacher of the Year in 2018. As a participant and discussion leader in the active Latin community in Lexington both during the school year and summer conventiculua, Lucianne continues to develop her active language use by reading Latin literature and conversing in Latin both in and outside of the classroom. Lucianne credits her professors of the MATWL and Institute for Latin Studies programs at the University of Kentucky for her active Latin capabilities and pedagogy.

With over 15 years of experience as a Spanish teacher, Nadine appreciates being a part of a community of dedicated educators. As a teacher in Jefferson County Public schools in Louisville, Kentucky, Nadine enjoys creating project based learning experiences. She is currently working on her dissertation at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as she continues to explore the parent perspective of early language learning programs. Her experience as a past president of the National Network for Early Language Learning, NNELL, strengthened her lifelong passion to advocate for every child to have an opportunity to learn another language.