Learn more about the 2025-2026 Ignite Professional Learning Community (PLC) facilitators and topics below.
PLC Facilitators
YE “JANE” HE
Professor, TESOL | UNC Greensboro
Dr. Ye He has served as the TESOL program coordinator at UNC Greensboro since 2006. UNC Greensboro offers various teacher preparation programs and professional development workshops to prepare preservice teachers and support inservice teachers working with English learners, dual language learners, and their families. Currently, she serves as the Co-Principal Investigator for Project Ignite, a five-year National Professional Development project supporting teacher preparation.
Ricardo A. Bernal De la Ossa
Ph.D. student | Project IGNITE Graduate Assistant | K-13 ML Educator | TED Associate Instructor | Teacher Education and Development, School of Education | UNC Greensboro
As a 32-year professional in the field of language education, Ricardo has worked in multicultural/multilingual settings in both public and private sectors, internationally and locally. He received his M.Ed. in Teacher Education-TESOL from UNCG in 2016, and holds an M.A in International Education, English concentration, and a B.A in Language Teaching Education – double major in English and French. He is currently in his fourth year as a Ph.D. student in the Teacher Education and Development program, TESOL concentration, at UNCG.
Since 2005, Ricardo has been working with Guilford County Schools as an ELD teacher, instructional leader, teacher mentor, community liaison, interpreter, and advocate, formerly in middle school and currently with the early/middle colleges.
An avid reader, swimmer, and traveler, Ricardo enjoys learning about countries, peoples, languages, and cultures, and is extremely passionate about working with and serving our local immigrant community.
Betsy Román
DLI Instructional Coach, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools
Betsy is entering her 25th year in teaching. She graduated from Kean University in Union, New Jersey with a B.A. in Elementary Education with a Bilingual option. She also holds an ESL teacher certification and completed UNCG’s EnACTed program for the Dual Language add on. She began her career as a self-contained Bilingual middle school teacher. Once in North Carolina, she taught in a Spanish Immersion elementary program for several years. Betsy later became a K-5 ESL teacher, and currently is one of the Bilingual Program’s Instructional Coach for the district. As a product of Bilingual Education, she believes in the program and is passionate in advocating for her students, teachers, and community. She loves learning and growing professionally and personally. When not working, she enjoys time with family and friends and listening to and dancing to all genres of music. Also, she enjoys learning about all countries and their cultures.
Najoua Benramak
Arabic Teacher, Seventy-First High School (Cumberland County Schools)
Najoua Benramak is an Arabic and English teacher with a passion for language education and cultural exchange. She has over eight years of teaching experience – six years in Morocco and two years in the United States – helping students develop their linguistic skills and deepen their understanding of different cultures. Currently, Benramak teaches Arabic at Seventy-First High School in North Carolina, where she strives to create an engaging and immersive learning environment.
Beyond teaching, Benramak is dedicated to fostering cross-cultural connections through interactive projects, such as virtual exchanges and cultural events, that bring students from different backgrounds together. She strongly believes that learning a language is more than just acquiring words; it’s about embracing new perspectives and building meaningful relationships. Her goal is to inspire her students to be curious, confident, and open-minded global citizens.
Fatimah Cruz
English Teacher, Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School (Wake County Public Schools)
An educator for over 20 years, Fatimah Cruz began her journey as a preschool teacher and later earned her B.A. in English 6-12 with a Cross-cultural, Language, and Academic Development (CLAD) Certificate and her MFA in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Poetry at National University in San Diego, Calif. Cruz earned her Master’s of Arts in Educational Leadership at Gardner-Webb University, where she is currently working on her Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership.
Cruz has been teaching in Wake County since 2013. During her time in Wake County, she has been an English teacher, tennis coach, theatre advisor, teacher mentor, and a few other things. This has allowed her the privilege of working with students and educators from various ethnic and language backgrounds.
Throughout Cruz’s personal and professional journey, she has always been passionate about multilingual education. Being raised in a multilingual family and city (San Diego), she spent her life surrounded by the beauty and injustices that come with it. Her goal has always been to ensure that all students regardless of language receive an equitable education.
Victor Hiraldo
DLI/Global Languages Coordinator, Durham Public Schools
With extensive experience in multilingual education, Victor Hiraldo specializes in supporting educators who work with multilingual learners and their families. As a Global Languages/DLI District Coordinator, he provides leadership in curriculum development, program evaluation, and professional learning communities (PLCs). Hiraldo has a strong background in instructional coaching, data-driven decision-making, and bilingual education program development. His expertise includes leading professional development for K-8 Dual Language and Global Languages teachers, facilitating educator collaboration, and ensuring effective instructional practices. Additionally, he engages in outreach and advocacy efforts, including marketing events and school tours, to promote bilingual and dual-language programs.
Jennifer Langdon
Behavior Specialist, Henderson County Schools
Jennifer Langdon has been in education for 15 years, teaching both internationally and locally. She graduated from Appalachian State University in 2005 with a B.S. in Social Sciences, concentration in Sociology. She kicked off her career teaching English as a second language in Suwon, South Korea, at Avalon English Academy. There, Langdon was the Foreign Lead Teacher responsible for not only teaching K-12 English and advanced level debate classes, but was also in charge of recruiting other foreign teachers for the program. Since 2013, Langdon has worked for Henderson County Schools as an American Sign Language Interpreter, Special Education Teacher, and as a Behavior Specialist.
She is passionate about growing as an educator and looks for professional development opportunities every chance she gets. Langdon has a love for travel, reading, good food, and meeting people from around the world.
Nelsie Lawing
K-5 ML Teacher, Isenberg Elementary School (Rowan Salisbury Schools)
Nelsie Lawing has been in been in elementary education for over 24 years in Rowan Salisbury Schools. She has taught all grade levels of elementary education. For the last three years, she has taught ML in K-5 setting. Lawing works with all, L1 to L4, pulling kids out for either 45 or 90 minutes a day. This way, she gets to know her students and their families well. She believes that this is the best part of being a ML teacher.
Her passions are getting strategies that can help her ML succeed in the class, but also take home to their families and help them to grow. Lawing feels like when students go home with a something they master at school and can teach it to their family, they will want to learn more. Many time the families will ask for more help so they can help their child too.
Dr. Shaneeka Moore-Brown
Senior Director of K-12 Academic Enhancement, Wake County Public Schools
A proud three-time graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a graduate of North Carolina Central University, Dr. Shaneeka Moore-Brown has been blessed to be a North Carolina educator for almost 25 years, serving as a teacher, interventionist, coach, assistant principal, and principal. In her current role, she is a strong advocate for educational outcomes, enrichment, and access for all students, especially those who are our most resilient learners, including multilingual learners.
Her hard work and advocacy for multilingual learners is rooted in the power of translanguaging, asset-based engagement and expectations, and the engagement of MLs’ full support networks (schools, communities, faith, and families).
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with loved ones, traveling, volunteering, and enjoying new food and fun spots.
M. Cristina Ordóñez
Dual Immersion Teacher, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools
M. Cristina Ordóñez is a dedicated bilingual educator with a passion for teaching and learning. She holds a Master’s of Education and a Bachelor’s of Science in Communication. With 18 years of teaching experience, she has had the opportunity to work with multilingual students in various settings including Ecuador, India, Florida, and North Carolina.
Her journey in education has been enriched by a strong interest in computer science and software development, which she has been studying for the past five years and incorporating into my classroom. In her previous position in Florida, she started a Coding Club and created a STEM Lab for students from kindergarten to middle school, demonstrating her commitment to enhancing technological skills among her multilingual learners.
Currently, she serves as a Dual Immersion Program teacher in Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools, where she continues to support multilingual learners on their educational journeys.