Meet Our Staff

NSE Team



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Lisa Greenman • NSE Director

Lisa GreenmanLisa has almost two decades of teaching experience in elementary, middle, high and post-secondary levels.  This experience also includes sponsoring NSE for over a decade. Lisa has experience directing nonprofit programs as well. She holds a Masters degree from Southern Methodist University and is multilingual.  She also has experience living overseas, including Mexico, Europe, and Central America.  Lisa enjoys spending time with her husband and children when not at work, and loves to read and travel.   

 

 

 

 

 


Wendy Simms • Program Coordinator

Wendy is a former overseas teacher, she has lived and worked in Africa, Asia, Europe, Central and South America before pausing for a while in Indiana. Her experience includes teaching, mentoring, and working at non-profits in many different capacities.  Wendy loves learning languages, growing and cooking food, travelling and talking with new people.

 

 

 

 


 

Lisa Berry • Program Assistant

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Lisa holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, and an M.S. in Internet Marketing from Full Sail University. She has over 12 years of experience in digital marketing for the higher education, e-commerce, and beauty industries. As a native Spanish speaker, Lisa has also served as a language instructor and translator. Lisa loves to travel! She spent much of her childhood in the Caribbean islands, and has also visited Spain, France, Germany, and Italy. When she is not working, Lisa is spending time with her daughter, meditating, writing, hiking, or cooking.

 

 

 


 

National Spanish Exam: Writers

 

 

Monica Hansen

 

Monica has 30+ years of experience teaching Spanish and Music to elementary, middle and high school students. A graduate of Monmouth College, Monica earned her Master of Arts in Teacher Leadership from Roosevelt University and currently teaches Spanish at Ridgewood High School in Norridge, Illinois where she founded the Sonia Sotomayor chapter of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica in 2017. In her free time, Monica enjoys singing, traveling, reading and baking.

 

 

 


Brandon Fitzsimmons

 

Brandon teaches Spanish to 7th and 8th graders at Sycamore School, an independent school for gifted youth in Indianapolis, Indiana. He also teaches Medical Spanish courses as an adjunct at nearby Butler University, in addition to serving as the Executive Director for a local non-profit called Coalition for Our Immigrant Neighbors (COIN). A foreign language and geography nerd since his earliest years of childhood, he has spent time studying Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Turkish, Russian, and Swahili and travels avidly for both personal and professional fulfillment. Currently at 55 countries visited, he has spent most of his time abroad in Ecuador (2 years over ten separate visits), Hong Kong (three summers with Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth), and Italy (ten months with the International Office of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Rome). His recent summer travels in Latin America have provided many vivid primary sources for NSE questions.

  


Additional NSE Writers:

See their bios below!

  • Claudia Adjemian de Kechkian
  • Alondra Pacheco
  • Andrea Nazelli

National Portuguese Exam: Writers

Dr. Celia R. Bianconi

Co-Director of Test Development

Dr. Célia Bianconi is a Master Lecturer and head of the Portuguese Language Program at Boston University, where she teaches courses on Portuguese language and Brazilian culture. She holds a PhD in Educational Studies from Lesley University. Dr. Bianconi’s main research and publication are devoted to teaching and learning of Portuguese as a foreign language (PFL) in the United States. She has experience in Portuguese Teacher training funded by Startalk, a national professional development program for critical language teachers. She is the coauthor of:  Brazilian Chronicles: The Reader, Third Edition.

 

   

 

 

 


 Dr. Nilma Dominique

Co-Director of Test Development

Dr. Nilma Dominique is a Lecturer and the Portuguese Language coordinator at the Global Languages ​​Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT. She holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Alcalá (Spain). Her research focuses mainly on the teaching and learning of Portuguese and as a second language, language and culture, language and identity and sociolinguistics.

Dr. Dominique is co-editor of Microgeopolítica da Língua Portuguesa and author of La Comunicación Sin Palabras. Estudio Comparativo de Gestos Usados en España y Brasil [Communication without Words. A Comparative Study of Gestures Used in Spain and Brazil].

 

 

 

   

NSE Leadership Council

Congratulations to the New

~ NSELC 2022 ~

 See the NSELC on YouTube: National Spanish Exams Leadership Council 2022


Lindsey McEwen 

Lindsey teaches Spanish 2 and IB at Franklin High School in Franklin, TN, where she has worked since 2009. She has earned a degree in Spanish and Secondary Education from Tennessee Tech University and studied Spanish in Spain. She is also a member of the TFLTA Board of Directors and sponsors her school’s chapter of Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica.  When she is not working, she enjoys cooking, reading and traveling. 

 

 

 

 



Claudia Adjemian de Kechkian *

Claudia holds a Master of Arts in the teaching of the Spanish language and Hispanic cultures from the University of Alcalá in Spain, and a Bachelor of Arts in the teaching of English from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina in Buenos Aires. She has been teaching Spanish and English to all age students for over 30 years, is a published author in Medical Spanish, and was awarded the Xperitas Language Matters Award by the AATSP in 2016. Claudia is currently serving as president of the AATSP Texas-Brazos chapter, has a solid background as Department Leader in continuing education workshops for teachers, and a vast experience in administering the NSE. She enjoys walking, traveling, being in nature, and spending time with family and friends. 

 

 


Rosa Bell

Rosa is Spanish teacher on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Bell has been awarded as Teacher of the year, Excellent in Teaching by the Hawaii Association of Language Teachers (2021). Rosa Bell is also the Hawaii State Director of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica (2021). Recently, Mrs. Bell created the virtual Professional Learning Community (PLC) Culture and Diversity group on FB, with her "cafecitos culturales." Cafecitos Culturales are weekly episodes that Bell hosts to encourage teachers to incorporate culture in their language classes. As an educational consultant, Bell provides professional development courses for World Language educators. 

 

 

 


Kat Peters

Kat holds degrees in Spanish and International Service from Valparaiso University, a Master’s in Education from Framingham State University, and a Master’s in Territorial Rural Development from the Latin American Faculty on Social Sciences in San José, Costa Rica.  She lived in Costa Rica for nearly a decade, where she served as the Assistant Director of the Institute for Central American Development Studies, a language institute and study abroad program.  Kat currently teaches Spanish at Indiana University Northwest, and lives in Valparaiso, Indiana, with her husband and two bilingual sons. 

 

 

 

 


Alondra Pacheco *

Alondra is a Spanish teacher at University School in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2018, she established her school's chapter of Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica. A graduate of the University of Delaware, Ms. Pacheco serves as president of Ohio's AATSP Chapter. She is also a National Geographic Certified Educator and has participated in the Youth Ambassador's program as an Adult Educator. 

 

 

 


Andrea Nazelli *

Andrea has 20+ years of teaching experience.  She has taught K-12 as well as at the University level.  Currently, she teaches 8th grade at a private school in the Metro Detroit area.  She loves being creative in the classroom and looks forward to serving on the Leadership Council!

 

 

 

 

 


 Bernard López

 Bernie has an extensive history in academia. He has taught Spanish and Italian to students of all ages over the years. His service goes beyond teaching: he became a school administrator, district administrator, President of the AATSP (for 18 years), and he is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for New World Prep Charter School. His high school Spanish teachers were his role models and as a result he feels an obligation to assist teachers in improving and aiding students to learn.