ESL Instructor Bios

Dr. Niezgoda established the Intensive English Program at Wilkes University in June 2006 and built the M.S. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program, which she began coordinating in December 2009. She holds a doctorate in Higher Education Administration, with her research focusing on the impact of international students on Higher Education Institutions. Before joining Wilkes, she taught K-12 English as a Second Language (ESL).

Before joining Wilkes, Dr. Niezgoda spent five years, three as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer, in Olomouc, Czech Republic, where she trained future K-12 English teachers at Palacky University and became fluent in Czech. Following her time in the Czech Republic, she earned her M.A. in English as a Second Language from the University of Hawai'i in 1999. She then spent four years in Japan as an assistant professor of English, further advancing her expertise in language instruction.

Dr. Niezgoda serves on the board of UCIEP, a consortium dedicated to advancing university-governed Intensive English Programs. She is also a U.S. Department of State English Language Specialist, a highly selective role that reflects her extensive expertise in English language education. This prestigious position involves collaborating on global projects that advance English teaching practices and support educators worldwide.

Jordan Barrie was born in Canada where he earned his B.A. in Literature and B.Ed. in Secondary Education from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Since then, he has worked as a professional educator for over ten years in a number of different countries, and has taught all age levels from kindergarten to high school in public, private, and charter school settings. Jordan has experience teaching English, History, Project-Based Learning, and ESOL/EFL in both online, blended, and traditional modalities.

He graduated from the Instructional Technology M.S. program from Wilkes University and began working as an Instructional Designer for HACC shortly thereafter. As a certified Instructional Technology Specialist, Jordan supports educators in edtech training and in the development of online, blended, and web-enhanced courses to design learning solutions that meet the unique needs of diverse student groups.

David Fisher earned his BS in Elementary Education, with a concentration in Social Studies, from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. David enrolled in the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages program at Wilkes University, earning his MS in Education and his ESL certification. Upon completing the TESOL program, David continued with the University as an instructor for ESL 508.

David has taught the sixth grade classroom at The King’s Academy, the English as a Second Language mainstream second grade classroom in the Harrisburg School District, and he currently co-teaches the English as a Second Language third grade inclusion classroom in the Reading School District. David has also served as a member of the ESL leadership committee in the Reading School District, where 25 percent of the student body are English Language Learners.

Mrs. Melissa Myers is currently the Director of Middle Schools in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District. Throughout her career in education, she has served as an English as a Second Language Specialist, elementary teacher, special education teacher, English Language Development Program Coordinator, Dean of Students, and as a school principal in different schools, K-12. Melissa’s passion for English Language Development (ELD) began while teaching in London, England in a school hosting 40+ languages. She has served on the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s English Language Proficiency Standards and Assessment committee, presented numerous ELD professional development workshops at the school, district, and state department of education level. Melissa has worked extensively with second language learners, school level programming, and parent outreach with non-English speaking families.

Melissa is currently working toward completing the Doctorate of Education program through Wilkes University while teaching for the Wilkes’ TESOL program. She is also leading the Wilkes-Barre Area School District through many district level initiatives as a transformational leader such as the implementation of Instructional Coaching, Leadership Coaching, and a school-level teacher teaming pilot program that involves formative and summative assessments to drive instruction, teacher collaborative planning and best instructional practices.

Dr. Jessica Raczkowski is from the Wilkes-Barre area and is the third generation of her family to have taught at Wilkes University. She has a Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Language, Literacy and Culture from the University of Pittsburgh with research focused on teacher education and teacher perceptions regarding Oral Corrective Feedback (OCF). She also has a MS in Education in TESOL from Wilkes University. Dr. Raczkowski has also presented at local and international professional conferences, including the TESOL international conference.

Dr. Raczkowski has been a TESOL educator for over 10 years, teaching in the United States, Germany and China; she worked in China for three years teaching adult EFL for business and academic purposes. Dr. Raczkowski serves as a Senior Teacher 3 for Education First (EF) teaching adult ESL to international learners and has worked for EF since 2011. She is fluent in Italian, speaks French at the intermediate level and also speaks German, Spanish, Mandarin and Polish at the elementary level.

Genelle Sedon founded C & G Tutoring nearly six years ago, offering specialized tutoring for K-12 students, college-level courses, and SAT preparation. A proud native of West Pittston and an honors graduate of Wyoming Area, Genelle earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Scranton in 2004 and graduated summa cum laude with her master’s degree in 2007.

Genelle brings a wealth of experience as a bilingual educator, having taught at the middle, high school, and college levels. Her dedication to education earned her the 2021 Young Professionals Educator of the Year award and recognition as one of the Top 25 Women in Business by the Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal in 2022. In 2024, she was named WBRE/WYOU’s Most Remarkable Woman.

Active in her community, Genelle serves on the boards of the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Catholic Youth Center. Genelle and her husband, Chris, are the proud parents of two children and two rescue dogs.

Steffany Snell earned her BS in Education, with a concentration in Psychology from Millersville University of Pennsylvania. She continued her education at Millersville to earn an MS in Education, focusing on Language and Literacy, and earning her English as a Second Language certificate. Steffany is also a certified Reading Specialist.

Steffany has taught 3rd grade in Eastern Lancaster County School District. She has also taught ESL classes to grades K-5 in Wilson School District. Steffany has taught online English education to students from around the world and also volunteered at the local Literacy Council to tutor adults in English.

Steffany has presented at educator conferences in Philadelphia and Boston, including ASCD and PETE&C. She presented on topics focused on educating ESL students in the mainstream classroom including Total Participation Techniques, Higher Order Thinking Skills, Scaffolding, and more.

Steffany is passionate about language and culture. She believes in creating language-rich classrooms and advocating for ESL students and their families.