Blakeney A. Vásquez is a proud Dual Language parent of two D.C. Public Schools students and a multi-cultural enthusiast. She is also a Foreign Affairs Officer, and the regional Cultural Coordinator at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. As Cultural Coordinator for the Western Hemisphere, she advocates for people to people exchanges that support U.S. foreign policy throughout the region.  Since 2004, Blakeney has managed social inclusion initiatives including outreach to Afro-Latino and Indigenous communities through educational exchange. She has also worked briefly at the Foreign Service Institute. Prior to joining the State Department, she held a short-term assignment at the Inter-American Development Bank – Region III Social Programs Division. Blakeney began her career at Merck & Co., Inc., as a Professional Representative in 2000.  She received her MA in Latin American Studies from the University of California Los Angeles, and conducted graduate research on racial and cultural identity in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Brazil. Blakeney graduated from the Honors College at Hampton University with a BS in Marketing. She is 2010 graduate of the International Career Advancement Program (ICAP), and a Senior Fellow and 2013 graduate of the Excellence in Government (EIG) Fellows Program.

ElShadey Bekele is a board certified general pediatrician at the Children’s National Health Center community clinic in Northwest DC. She is involved in medical student and resident education. She has a strong interest in immigrant health and is a member of the DC Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics Immigrant Health Committee which works to unite medical providers and community services agencies who work with immigrants to provide the best well rounded care possible.  She also has an interest in reproductive health and heads the teen parent program at her clinical site which provides medical care to teen parents and their children as well as works to assist teen parents in achieving their educational and personal goals. Her interest in dual language immersion stems from her work with immigrant families as well as a common misunderstanding that dual language households cause communication delays in children. Dr Bekele earned her medical doctorate as well as a Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in International Health from Boston University. She did her medical training at Columbia University Medical Center.

Jimell is a Senior Communications Analyst at The Eagle Group and serves on various community organizations and boards of local non profits. Most of her professional career has been spent in the public and not for profit sector. Her deep connection with the grassroots and her work in the community give DC Immersion valuable knowledge, network and perspective on the needs of DC residents. She served on the Graduation Requirements Taskforce of the DC State Board of Education and holds a degree in Anthropology from Emory University and a Master in Business Administration from Ashford University.

Maria Tukeva is the Principal of Columbia Heights Educational Campus DCPS. After earning a degree in Spanish literature and journalism at Pennsylvania State University, Tukeva received a master’s degree in linguistics and bilingual education at Georgetown University. She worked as an educational specialist developing curricula for dropout prevention programs targeting Hispanics nationwide and started her own alternative high school. Modeled after a successful alternative school that mainly served black students in Philadelphia, in 1981 Tukeva launched the Multicultural Career Intern Program which became part of the D.C. school system in 1989. The program was one of the constituents of today’s Columbia Heights Educational Campus.

Maquita Alexander is the Head of School of Washington Yu Ying PCS. Prior to becoming Head of School in 2012, she served as the Principal of the school from 2009. She has led the educational effort of the School to develop a first of its kind Chinese immersion program and the School’s International Baccalaureate program. Maquita has honed a Chinese program team with whom she works closely to develop effective classroom management strategies for new immersion teachers. Maquita has over twenty years of teaching and administrative experience, including fifteen years in the Fairfax County Public School system, seven of which she served as an elementary school teacher. She has a Master of Arts in Educational Technology Leadership from George Washington University, a Master of Teaching in Elementary Education from Virginia Commonwealth University, and an administrative certification in Curriculum and Administration from George Mason University. She is a founding advisory board member of Chinese Early Learning Immersion Network. She has presented on Immersion Education at the National Chinese Language Conference and The American Council Teachers of Foreign Language multiple times.

Dr. Rivers has more than 25 years’ experience in culture and language for economic development and national security, with publications in second and third language acquisition research, proficiency assessment, program evaluation, and language policy development and advocacy. He is the immediate past and founding Chair of ASTM Technical Committee F43, Language Services and Products and chairs the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO Technical Committee 232, Education and Learning Services. He serves as a member of the America’s Languages Working Group of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is an honorary member of the Association of Language Companies. Dr. Rivers was one of the founding members of the Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL) at the University of Maryland and has served as a staff member and the Assistant Director of the National Foreign Language Center (NFLC) at the University. During his career, Dr. Rivers has also served as Chef Scientist at Integrated Training Solutions, Inc.; taught Russian, language policy, and second language acquisition at the University of Maryland; and worked as a freelance interpreter and translator His education consists of a PhD in Russian from Bryn Mawr College and a MA, BA, and BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland.