2026 NYSAFLT Annual Conference

2026 NYSAFLT Annual Conference

Welcome to the 109th NYSAFLT Annual Conference!

1:00pm EDT

Building Confident Communicators through Proficiency-Oriented Teaching High Street 26Ivan Ferrero Encouraging Belonging and Empowering Storytelling in the WL Classroom High Street 28Alexis Nicholas • Oumar Sarr PhD Scrolling to Speaking: Turning Today’s Media into Tomorrow’s Proficiency Shaker RoomJustin Seifts Authentic Connection Through Authentic Communication Fort Orange 5Christina Margiore From First-Year Scare to Veteran Flair: Managing a World Language Classroom Fort Orange 7Swaz Piron • Zoey Baird From Points to Proficiency: Our Journey Transitioning to the AAPPL Exam High Street 24Shawnna Sweet • Rachel Hakes Reaching your Assessment Destination Town Hall AmphitheaterJoshua Wigle-Harris Streamlining Your Seal of Biliteracy Workflow Fort Orange 9Kurt Hassenpflug Unlocking Publication Potential: How to Get Published in the NYSAFLT Journal High Street 22Erin Kearney

2:30pm EDT

Leveraging Assessments for College and Career Readiness Shaker RoomJennifer Carson Attention, Memory and Technology: How to get our students back? Fort Orange 5Patricia Martínez de la Vega Mansilla • Abi Cleary Curious Minds: Undergraduate Research and Projects Fort Orange AtriumKate Kagan From Silence to Confidence: Strategies for Speaking and Writing High Street 28Elizabeth Boghosian • Kimberly Giammichele Interpersonal Speaking: Cultivating Competencies That Spark Joy High Street 26Robin Birnbaum It’s Checkpoint C, not Checkpoint ZZZ! Keeping Upper-Level Students Engaged Fort Orange 7Evelyn Ledezma • Marna Meltzer-McMorris Low Stakes, High Impact: Activities That Build Communication and Community Town Hall AmphitheaterAlexandra Cabrera The Care and Feeding of a Student Teacher High Street 24Will Anderson • Jennifer Nesfield Toolbox for Level 1 Success: Strategies That Stick Fort Orange 9Kyle Davis • Jimmy Peralta-Gamez

4:00pm EDT

Elementary International Exchange: Penpals between the US and Cuba Fort Orange 7Thomas Millington • Kaci Sciarabba M.A. A Smarter approach: Native & Heritage speakers in the World Language class High Street 26Andrea Hernandez • Gallegos Doreen Rose Bringing Art to Life: Engaging Checkpoint B Learners Through Communication Shaker RoomTatyana Qadiri Engaged & Empowered: Practical Strategies for Novice Instruction Fort Orange 5Marissa Coulehan • Wendy Torres Leveling Up Your Practice: Engaging with Professional WL Organizations High Street 28Michele Ortiz Ana • Aguiar-Mady Museum Mania, Great Galleries and Excellent Exhibits: Fantasy Trips for All Town Hall AmphitheaterLori Langer de Ramirez Partnering With Multilingual Families to Build Cultural Capital High Street 24Marcia Ranieri

8:30am EDT

Connecting Language Acquisition and the Science of Reading Town Hall AmphitheaterMartina Bex All Things IPAs (6-12) Fort Orange 9Jenny Maldonado Beyond Points: Constructing Proficiency-Aligned Grading Systems Fort Orange 7Sarah Woodward-Jones • Amie Dubos • Shari Ebert • Pamela Stano Higher Education Committee - Methodologists' Roundtable High Street 22Erin Kearney • Marisol Marcin Maximizing All Modes of Communication Through Podcasts High Street 24Steven Lopez Screen-Free, Student-Focused: Energizing Your Classroom Fort Orange 5Daniela Casadei-Berwind • Katina Price • Faith Tripp Turning Ideas into Action: Designing a Compelling MEAD Proposal High Street 28Elcie Douce

11:30am EDT

Capital-East Regional Breakout Session Fort Orange 7Shannon Lundgren • Meghan Chance Central New York Regional Breakout Session Fort Orange 9Brianna Jaspersohn • Erica Stark Mid-Hudson/Westchester Regional Breakout Session Fort Orange 5Kaleigh Thomas • Elcie Douce NYC/LI Regional Breakout Session Shaker RoomDavid Schultz • Maria Quintanilla Western NY Regional Breakout Session Town Hall AmphitheaterAnna Cartwright • Joshua Wigle-Harris

1:30pm EDT

The Wi-Fi Is Down: Quick Pivots for Real Communication High Street 28Kate Sanders Bridging Language and Culture: Using AI to Deepen Cultural Understanding High Street 26Trinidad Arizmendi Gen AI and Language Pedagogy: Practical Applications Fort Orange 5Shanaaz Mohammed Google Slides to Make Paper Documents... What the TECH?! Town Hall AmphitheaterMeredith White Implementing Free Choice Reading Program in Checkpoints B/C Shaker RoomNicole Alberico-Farr Leaders of Tomorrow information session Meeting Suite 120Melanie Thomas • Shannon Lundgren Past President Advisory Council High Street 22Françoise "Swaz" Piron Safe Spaces for DEI in 2026 and Beyond (formerly the DEI Roundtable). High Street 24Abi Cleary • Diana Zuckerman Supercharge your Seal of Biliteracy Program Fort Orange 7Candace Black • Yunxiao Zhang Talk, Read, Talk, Write: a student-centered approach to NYS World Language Fort Orange 9Maria Quintanilla

2:45pm EDT

Building a Week of Comprehensible Input: Simple Routines That Work High Street 28Qin Wu 2 Worlds Colliding: Special Ed and WL- They can thrive! Fort Orange 9Shannon Lundgren Megan McGinnis Addressing Needs to Empower the Heritage Learner and ELL High Street 24Emilio Sosa • Daniel Rodriguez • Karla Hernandez Assigned but Unprepared: Supporting New Teachers Without Burnout Fort Orange 5Nicholas Amster Auditory Processing Disorder in the WL Classroom High Street 26Anna Cartwright • Daniel Cartwright AuD Enhancing Language Learning Through Interactive Notebooks Shaker RoomCarina Morales Hauser Grab and Go Games and Activities for the World Language Classroom Town Hall AmphitheaterValerie Greer Member Organizations Round Table High Street 22Wendy Mercado Stop the Freeze: Helping students think less and talk more Fort Orange 7Shari Ebert