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.

NYLC proudly accepts the following certifications.

Dara Madnick

  • M.A. in TESOL, Long Island Univerity at CW Post
  • B.A. in Sociology, SUNY Albany
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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Benjamin Sanford

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

Kai Peronard

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

Andy Travis

  • B.F.A. Theater Performance, C.C.P.A. at Roosevelt University, Chicago
  • 2-year post-graduate diploma, Estudis de Teatre (Lecoq method), Barcelona, Spain
  • Trinity CertTESOL, Oxford House
Since 2011, I have used my creativity as an actor, singer, dancer and painter to infuse my ESL classes with fun and focus in both Barcelona and NYC. I have also been invited to give ESL instructor workshops about theatre games and pronunciation. Aside from ESL, I also teach ELE (Espanol como Lengua Extranjera) in NYC and do Spanish to English translation and interpretation.
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Briony Bristow

  • B.A. in English Literature, University of Stellenbosch
  • 2 years teaching experience in South Korea
  • TEFL Certification

Ozan Sapso

  • B.A. in English Language and Literature, Ataturk University, Turkey
  • 9 years teaching experience in Turkey
  • TEFL Certification Ataturk University

Izzet Akin

  • B.A. in English Language Teaching, Uludag University, Turkey
  • M.A. English Language Teaching, Yeditepe University, Turkey

Antionette Jones

  • M.A. TESOL, CUNY City College of New York
  • B.A. TESOL, CUNY City College of New York
  • 3 years teaching experience in Japan

Grace Persico

  • M.A. TESOL, CUNY Hunter
  • B.A. English Language Arts, SUNY Stony Brook

Jesse Noppe-Brandon

Brenda Lopez

  • B.A. In Communications, University de Leon, Mexico
  • ICELT, Cambridge

Viviana Grigware

  • B.A. in English- Creative Writing, Westminster College
  • 10 months teaching experience in Thailand
  • TEFL Certificate, The Council on International Educational Exchange

Brianna Colon

  • B.S. in Marine Biology, SUNY Stony Brook University
  • 1 year teaching experience in Germany