Jana Dettlaff, Ph.D., Czech

Jana Dettlaff was born and raised in what is today the Czech Republic. After her college studies at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, where she gained a master’s degree in English and French, and Ph.D. in English linguistics, she moved to Wisconsin to pursue a teaching career in ESL (English as a second language) and Czech. She has taught at Beloit College (summer intensive Czech language classes), UW-Oshkosh (ESL Methods, Linguistics), UW-Green Bay (Foreign Language/ESL Methods, Linguistics) and currently is a full-time ESL instructor at St. Norbert College. She also does occasional English-Czech/Czech-English translations.

Sara Melgar, Spanish

Sara Melgar teaches adult Spanish classes through St. Norbert College and also Spanish II and III at De Pere High School. She finished her minor in Education and major in Spanish at UW-Green Bay in 2003. Sara has done studies in Spain, Honduras, and Guatemala. She has also led mission trips to Costa Rica and Mexico. Her husband is a native Guatemalan, and they have a daughter and a son.

Cinzia Toffolon, Italian

Cinzia Toffolon was born in Milan, Italy where she lived for about 20 years before coming to the United States. During that time, she earned a degree in accounting. In 1979 Cinzia moved to Green Bay with her husband in order to work for a cheese company specializing in Italian artisan cheeses. She left the company after the birth of her first child. In the summer of 2000, she started tutoring Italian, and in 2004 began to teach the non-credit courses for St. Norbert College and a local Italian Club. She resides in Green Bay with her husband and has two children.

Natasha V. Geyer, French

Natasha Geyer is a certified Foreign Language Instructor. She holds a degree from the College of New Rochelle, NY. She is fluent in French, English, Russian, and Ukrainian.  Natalia has been a foreign languages instructor since 1996. She has worked as a translator and interpreter internationally. She currently teaches French at Notre Dame de la Baie Academy in Green Bay and has been the summer program TRIO world languages instructor at UW-Green Bay since 2006. She also teaches French and Russian non-credit classes for St. Norbert College along with doing translation work for its Language Services Department.

Jeremy Wildenberg, Arabic & Russian

Jeremy Wildenberg is a former Department of Defense linguist proficient in Arabic and Russian. He currently serves as an Arabic instructor in the University of Wisconsin’s Collaborative Language Program at UWGB and is pursuing teacher certification with a minor in Spanish.

Ping Wang, Chinese

Ms. Ping Wang was born and raised in China. She had an undergraduate degree in Accounting and Statistics from Xiamen University in China. She moved to United States in 1986 and got her Masters degree in Math and Computer Science from State University of New York in 1989. She is currently holding a Systems Analyst position in a local company. Ping is very active in North Eastern Wisconsin Chinese Association. She participates in community events and supports area Youth Symphony. In her leisure time, Ping enjoys traveling, music and sports. Ping has great passion for tennis. She also loves teaching Chinese.

Basia Tota-Boryckz, Polish

Basia Tota-Boryczka was born in Krakow, Poland. She received her education and had a job as a high school teacher in Krakow. In 1998 Basia emigrated from Poland to the U.S.  She graduated with an accounting degree from Lakeland College in 2005 then got a part time job in accounting. Basia also worked part time as the Polish interpreter at hospitals, courts, and social organizations. Currently, she is counseling a student at Lakeland College, and is the executive director of the Global Outreach Exchange Student Program. She works with the high school exchange students from Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania.  She has two children and has taught for St. Norbert College since the fall of 2008.

Jeffery Gumz, Spanish

Jeff grew up in rural North Central Wisconsin and graduated from Colby High School in 1988. He graduated from UW Oshkosh in 1992 with a Bachelors Degree in Psychology, with a minor in Spanish. He spent 1992-1994 in the cloud forests of Eastern Ecuador working with sheep and guinea pig farmers as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He taught ESL and Spanish in Haysville, Kansas while earning a Masters Degree in Education from Wichita State University from 1995-1999. He has taught Spanish for NWTC in Green Bay and St. Norbert College in De Pere. He has been a teacher at historic Green Bay East High since 1999, where he began as a bilingual social studies teacher. Currently, he is teaching government/economics, psychology and AP psychology. In his free time, Jeff enjoys reading, taking long walks and visiting his wife’s family in México. Jeff resides in the town of Scott with his lovely wife Vianney and two sons, Jay and Santiago

Chris Robokoff, Spanish

Chris Robokoff  received a BA in Spanish and History from Ripon College and an MS in Curriculum and Instruction from UW-Milwaukee.  She taught for 10 years at St. Joseph Academy in Green Bay and for the last 26 years at Green Bay East High.  She has taught levels 1 through 5 and Spanish for Spanish Speakers.  She studied at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid as part of her undergraduate degree and has led several student trips to Spain and Mexico.  She enjoys reading, gardening, travel and spending time with her family.

Barbara Baumberger, German

Barbara Baumberger was born, raised, and educated in Essen, West Germany. After completing her education in Nuernberg, Germany (Dr. Sabel Hoehere Handelsschule) in International Business and Education, she received continuing teacher education traingin through Berlitz International School of Languages. She taught German for them for many years. She has taught German to soldiers from the U.S. National Guard unit from Green Bay. She has also taught for UWGB through their Outreach Program for adults and children. Married with three children, Barbara moved from Germany to the United States. After working and living in various states and an interesting year in Saudi Arabia, Barbara and her family settled in De Pere. She has been working with St. Norbert College doing German translations and teaching German since 1999.

  Randy Cornelius, Oneida

Randy Cornelius has been working with the Oneida Nation for twenty-four years.  He’s a graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.  His major was in psychology with a double minor in Native American studies and human development.  He’s been an Alcohol and Drug Abuse counselor, Case Manager, and Spiritual Advisor for the Oneida Social Services department.  For the past sixteen years he’s been working for the Oneida Language Revitalization program, ten years as an Oneida language and cultural educator and currently as the Oneida Language and Cultural Archivist.

He has more than thirty years of independent and academic study of the Oneida language and culture with fluent speakers from his community and continues to work extensively with Iroquoian cultural and spiritual elders and mentors from New York and Canada.   He’s been a part of the revitalization and preservation of the Oneida “Longhouse” where the ancestral political, ceremonial and spiritual ways of the Oneida Nation are being resuscitated.  Randy’s a “Faithkeeper” titleholder for the Bear clan, one of many from the three clans of the Oneida Nation who are invested with the responsibility of ensuring that the traditional ceremonial and spiritual teachings of the Oneida Nation will be forever preserved and practiced.

Rachel Tease, M.Ed., Spanish

Rachel Tease teaches adult Spanish classes through St. Norbert College and also a Spanish for Law Enforcement class at Puerta Hermosa Outreach Center in Menasha. She recently finished her M.Ed. degree in Adult and Continuing Education at National-Louis University in Chicago and completed her Undergraduate studies at UW-Madison in 2006 majoring in Spanish and International Business.  She has done studies in Spain and Chile as well as recreational travel throughout Central and South America.

Malgosia Daugherty, Polish

Malgosia was born in Poland and came to the United States at the age of 23. She graduated from Academy of Economics in Krakow, Poland and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. She is a treasurer and an active member of Polish Heritage Society in Green Bay. Malgosia blends her class sessions with a bit of Poland’s history, its culture and plenty of opportunities to practice speaking her native language. Her passion for her homeland and the Polish language keeps her constantly alert as to how she could meet each student’s personal goal for talking the class. She has been teaching for St. Norbert College since the fall of 2008.

Crystal Dory, Spanish

Crystal Dory received her Bachelor's degree in Spanish at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. During her undergraduate degree she studied abroad in Granada, Spain. After graduation, she traveled extensively through Mexico, Central America, and Brazil for 9 months. When she returned she completed her Master's degree and teaching certification through Concordia University. She has taught Spanish 1, 2, and 3 at Notre Dame Academy for the past four years and currently teaches levels 3 and 4. She has taught Spanish levels 1 - Advanced, as well as a year-long Spanish on-site course at a local company in Green Bay for St. Norbert Language Services.  Most recently she has been trained in the International Baccalaureate Program for Spanish.

Holtebeck, Jen

Jen Holtebeck graduated from the University of Wisconsin -- Eau Claire in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Education.  She has nine years of experience teaching high school and middle school Spanish, levels I-IV, and has traveled in Mexico and Spain.  Jen is currently a stay-at-home mom in De Pere, where she lives with her husband and two daughters.

Maiko Katie Thao, Hmong

Maiko Katie Thao's professional responsibilities include 13 years of experience as a high school counselor with the Green Bay Area Public School District. She is currently a high school counselor at Preble High School. She is one of only four Hmong school counselors in the entire district. In her current position, she is one of seven full-time high school counselors and is responsible for serving 9th through 12th grade students with the last names beginning T to Y. Her primary responsibilities include academic support and career advisement for students. She collaborates with parents, teachers, and administrators when necessary.

Katie is very active in the Hmong communities and considers herself an advocate for her local community. She has a passion to educate others about the Hmong, their history, cultures, values, and beliefs. Though born in Long Chieng, Laos, Katie and her family were forced to migrate to the United States when she was only five years old. She has personally experienced the rapid Hmong's cultural transitions, cultural shock, social anxiety, academic uncertainties, and challenges that many Hmong are faced with everyday. Thus, her experience allows her unique insight into the Hmong culture to enlighten and educate others. Her ability to read, write, and speak fluently in Hmong provides a rich experiential learning for all.

Nikos Efthimiou, Greek

Nikos Efthimiou was born and raised in Athens Greece. He graduated from a high school in Athens 1987 and moved to USA, Appleton, WI 1993. He graduated from UW Oshkosh in 2002 with a bachelors degree in Finance and minor international business.
He goes back home often with his American wife and two children. Currently, Nikos is managing a bank office in Kimberly. Providing residential and consumer loans to members. He enjoys playing and coaching soccer since he is from Europe, love watching Green Bay Packers and likes to travel.

Joana D’Arc Rodrigues, Portuguese

Joana was born in Piauí, which is a state in the Northeast region of Brazil.

She got her teacher associate degree in 1991, and worked for an elementary school. Having an opportunity to work for a Federal Bank, she attended to a Technical Degree in accountancy.

Joana moved to São Paulo in 1995, where she worked at Johnson & Johnson, and studied Architecture and Urbanism.

In September 2007 Joana moved to Wisconsin because her husband was transferred from PCMC Brazil to PCMC USA. This was a huge change and challenge in her life because she didn’t speak any English. It made her believe that is possible to learn a language when you are determined and persistent.

It has been a great experience since she has learned another
language and culture. Joana is married and has a thirteen-year-old son.

Joana and her family have met very friendly people, and they like living in America.  She is excited and passionate to teach her mother language to others.