GSC Steering Committee

Nasiba Norova is a Ph.D. Candidate in Applied Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Nasiba holds a BA in English Philology from Uzbekistan, her country of origin, an MA in Applied Linguistics from Universitat Politècnica de València, and an MA in English TESOL from Minnesota State University Mankato. In addition to her research related duties, she also teaches English as a Second Language at UMass Boston. A few of her research interests are second-language writing, Global/World Englishes, culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies, racial literacies, and racial ill-literacy. International students' experiences with race and racial literacy are the subject of her doctoral dissertation. She is the mother of three wonderful children. As the Graduate Student Council co-chair, she seeks to advocate for additional benefits for members. Her goal is to ensure another Ramadan Friendly AAAL conference in 2025 in Colorado. Among Nasiba's accomplishments is her Erasmus Mundus Target II fellowship.
Nasiba can be reached out at nasiba.norova001@umb.edu
More info on my website:
https://nasibanorova.netlify.app 

And in ResearchGate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nasiba-Norova 

John Wayne N. dela Cruz is a PhD candidate (Educational Studies - Language Acquisition) and SSHRC Bombardier Scholar at McGill University. John’s research examines critical plurilingualism in the context of language education and Canadian mono/bilingual policies, and he is particularly interested in the plurilingual practices and identities of immigrants acquiring Canada’s official English and French languages as additional languages. His research praxis draws from being a Filipino immigrant to Canada, and from being a plurilingual language learner himself. Outside of research, John organizes GradTalks—a speaker series for and by graduate students—at McGill’s Plurilingual Lab, and works as a language teacher and teacher trainer: he has taught ESL using plurilingual pedagogies to learners at various levels, as well as undergraduate and graduate courses for pre- and in-service English and French teachers. In addition to his role as GSC's Steering Committee co-chair, John serves as a student representative in AAAL's Executive Committee (EC), and as chair of the Distinguished Service and Engaged Research Graduate (DESERG) Student Award in Relation to Diversity Efforts. Feel free to reach out to him at john.delacruz@mail.mcgill.ca.
 

John A. Odudele is a second-year master's student of Applied Linguistics and a teaching assistant in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. John holds a Diploma-in-law and bachelor's degree in Linguistics and Communication Studies. He has taught English in three countries (Nigeria, his home country, Turkey, and the USA). John's scholarship addresses power, race, and inequality in language education, with particular attention to world Englishes, critical anti-racist, and culturally responsive pedagogy. John teaches undergraduate English proficiency courses and is a senate member of the Associated Students of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (ASUAF). John currently leads the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) subcommittee (via AAAL GSC) with the team vision to include scholars from Global South, improve parent students' conference experience, improve child-care responsibilities, and increase conference first-timer experience. John can be reached at jaodudele@alaska.edu. 

Furkan Kir is a PhD candidate and instructor in the Department of English at the University of Washington. He is a member of the team organizing the 2025 AAAL conference and AAAL’s Event Planning Sub-committee. He is also a member of System’s Student Editorial Board. His research interests include the use of English as a medium of instruction, language teacher identity, and social justice in language education. His research has been published in such journals as Multilingual and Multicultural Development and Language and Education. 

Sarah Howard is a Ph.D. Student in the Language, Equity and Educational Policy program at Oregon State University. Her research interests include English language teacher training, equity in English language pedagogy, matters of identity in the language teaching context, collaborative writing and teaching, family literacy, and family engagement. Previous research investigated language identity, imagined communities, and learner motivation for adult English Language Learners in an Intensive English Program. Sarah’s professional expertise includes teaching academic and workplace English at the college level and serving as a teaching assistant for pre- and in-service teacher preparation ESOL endorsement courses. Currently, she serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, Administrative Assistant, and Research Assistant for the Teachers Educating All Multilingual Students (TEAMS) program at Oregon State. As a member-at-large and Newsletter Sub-Committee Leader for AAAL GSC, Sarah’s responsibilities include coordinating the publication of two newsletters showcasing different student works and leading sub-committee meetings. Sarah can be reached at howasara@oregonstate.edu.

Myssan Laysy is formerly a Lecturer in Writing, Rhetoric, and English for Specific Purposes in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and currently a Teaching Associate and a PhD candidate in Composition and Applied Linguistics at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, United States. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in English Language, her minor degree in Mass Communication, and her Master’s Degree in Sociolinguistics from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Besides teaching, Myssan continues to work extensively in corporate training, copywriting, and English/Arabic translation. Her research interests include ecological influences on teaching and teachers, teacher psychology, critical pedagogy, as well as teaching and learning in crisis contexts, among others. In her free time, Myssan is an animal rescuer and a travel enthusiast. She can be reached at missans@gmail.com.