Meet Our Staff

All of our teachers are certified by the New York State Department of Education and start working here after extensive ESL experience and/or ESL teaching certification training. All our instructors are highly experienced, and each must complete a thorough orientation prior to teaching with NYLC. Additionally, instructors are observed frequently by a supervisor to ensure their effectiveness.

Dara Madnick

  • M.A. in TESOL, Long Island Univerity at CW Post
  • B.A. in Sociology, SUNY Albany
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I have my Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language from Long Island University at CW Post, and I am an experienced New York State certified English as a Second Language instructor. I began my career as a teacher in 1995, working for the New York City Department of Education in an elementary school in Queens, and remained teaching there for nine years. I have also been fortunate enough to teach English to adults at New York Language Center for almost two years. I have had the great opportunity to work with many students of diverse nationalities and cultures. As a result, I have the experience and dedication needed to teach English language learners the skills to become proficient in English.
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Joe Yu

  • Bachelor of Journalism, University of Missouri - Columbia
  • B.A. in Russian, University of Missouri
  • TESOL Certification, Global TESOL College
I love the world of languages and writing, and I enjoy helping students reach personal and professional goals as they become more proficient in English. I believe that learning a language should be enjoyable but progressing to a higher level, especially in a short period of time, requires dedication, and students who balance fun with a good dose of hard work are the most successful.
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Kim Hutchinson

Paras Ghelani

  • B.A. in English, University College, London
  • M.S. in Social Anthropology, English, University College, London
  • 4 years teaching experience in Spain
  • 3 years of teaching experience in Vietnam
  • 2 years of teaching experience in London
  • 1 year of teaching experience in Japan
  • TESOL Certification, Cambridge CELTA
After ten years teaching in Japan, Vietnam, Spain and Peru, I moved to NYC to settle down and impart my skills to the wonderful international groups that I have the opportunity to teach here. I am also a high school English Literature teacher and have extensive experience teaching Business Communication and exam preparation classes. My main interests are in the evolution of language, and as a keen student and speaker of six languages myself, I hope to learn as much as I teach!
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Jessica Gallagher

  • B.A. English Literature & Rhetoric, Catholic University of America
  • 2 years teaching experience in Prague
  • 1 year teaching experience in Australia
  • TEFL Certification, from TEFL Worldwide Prague

Benjamin Sanford

  • B.A. Government, Cornell University
  • 1 year teaching experience in Japan
  • TEFL Certification, i-to-i

Brendan Gahan

  • B.A. English Literature/Writing, Marist College
  • 1 year teaching experience in Prague
  • TEFL Certification, The Language House, Prague

Kai Peronard

  • B.A. Communications, CUNY Hunter College
  • 4 years teaching experience in Chile
  • TESL Certification

Harris Spencer

  • B.S. Psychology, Northeastern University
  • 5 years teaching experience in Vietnam
  • CELTA, Teaching Housing, New York
  • TOEIC Teacher Training, Vietnam