Director and Instructor

Professor Najoua K. Hotard, Ph.D.

President Professor Najoua Hotard, the institute director, is a native of Tunisia. She completed her graduate studies at the Ecole Normale Superieure in Tunis, University of New Orleans, and Louisiana State University. She conducted her doctoral research in the area of International Relations/Middle Eastern Studies, French Literature, and Business. She started the French Advanced Language and Literature of the College Board Advanced Placement program in High Need Schools (inner city of Baton Rouge) in 1993. Professor Hotard taught the College Board Advanced Placement French Language and Literature as well as Arabic Honors classes. She is currently the adjunct professor in charge of the Arabic program at Tulane University. Dr. Hotard is one of the national readers for ETS who grades advanced literature essays. She is also the Arabic adjunct professor at Tulane University in New Orleans. As a highly qualified professional, Najoua Hotard served the local public school system in many capacities. She served on the committees, which developed grades, 9-12 foreign language curriculums, and she also worked on the LA State Foreign Language Standards and Benchmarks. Professor Hotard developed the Arabic language curriculum for the public school systems in Louisiana. She served as a Diversity trainer for the Office of Strategic Initiatives at LSU. She works closely with Teach Baton Rouge Summer Institute as a Teacher Advisor, Content Seminar Leader, and co-Director. The institute trains professionals from the community to teach in high need/inner city schools. Najoua Hotard's work as an interpreter and translator with the Military Intelligence and U.S. Department Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program allows her to bring community resources to students. Dr. Hotard is a National Endowment for the Humanities Scholar (Writing Africa: Comparative African and European Palavers and Perspectives, summer 2004), and one of the recipients of National Geographic Grant for a project entitled "Strengths in Diversity." She presents workshops in different school districts around the United States dealing with diversity issues in the classroom and workplace. Her presentations in professional foreign language organizations deal with innovative and effective methods to teach foreign languages which address various learning styles. Dr. Hotard has been a major advocate for Equity Education Program implemented by the College Board. She has been one of their speakers at the yearly Equity Conferences. Professor Hotard, founder and President of the Institute of Critical Languages and Cultural Exchange, Inc., is the recipient of the $99,962.00 STARTALK grant for summer of 2008. This grant is administered by the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland. Her proposal "Al-Bab Maftooh: Arabic Proficiency within Cultural Dimensions" will select 25 high school students from around the United States to learn Standard Arabic and explore diverse cultural issues.

Co-Instructor

Professor Adel Fathalla Mohammed Amer El-Daba

He is the Chairman of the World Language Department K-12, (Spanish, French and Arabic) at the Cairo American College. Mr. El-Daba also serves as the Arabic advisor/trainer at Narmer American College in Cairo, Egypt. He is one of the radio announcers at Egyptian TV and Radio Union (his various responsibilities include editing, reporting, translating, and directing). He is also an adjunct professor of Arabic at the University of Alexandria, Egypt, and a Kung Fu trainer at the YMCA in Alexandria, Egypt.
Adel El-Daba is a linguist and professional teacher specializing in International Baccalaureate classes and administering International Baccalaureate level exams in high school Arabic. He has developed instructional materials and assessment instruments for native and non-native speakers at all levels including elementary. He has designed and implemented the first well-articulated Arabic program for grades K-12 for the American College in Cairo. He has recently led the international Baccalaureate Arabic workshop in Dubai (March 5 through March 9, 2008), where he trained 14 teachers from all over the world for Arabic. His presentations and research interests focus on educational methodology and media use in foreign language instruction. He has expertise in determining achievement levels at all steps of proficiency. He will coauthor the standard-based content of the listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities component of the curriculum. Mr. El-Daba’s research will empower the student participants at the institute with well-articulated lessons conducive to functional proficiencies.

Visiting Lecturers

Dr. Pavel Samsonov

Dr. Pavel Samsonov is another supporter committed to the Institute of Critical Languages and cultural Exchange’s mission. He serves currently as Assistant Professor of Educational Technology and Educational Leadership, at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette. He is working with Dr. Najoua Hotard and the ICLCE to develop innovative technological instructional and assessment strategies to teach world languages and the cultures associated with them based on ACTFL’s standards and guidelines. His expertise will implement the building of a data base related to a variety of standard-base assessment materials meeting different learning styles. His contributions to the adaptation of technological tools to Foreign language instruction and achievement measurements are numerous and valuable. His will develop the online design for the Arabic instructional curriculum used in the programs offered by the ICLCE. He will assist in creating blogs and multimedia instructional documents to be used in the programs offered by the institute (i.e. tests, quizzes, games, listening, reading, speaking and writing activities). Dr. Samsonov is a committed educator who specializes in Russian as well as technology instructional tools. His contributions to enhancing foreign Language instructions are numerous. The following list only includes the recent ones: Finlekstein E., & Samsonov P. (2008). PowerPoint for Teachers: Dynamic Presentations and Interactive Classroom Projects Grades K-12. Jossey-Bass, A Wiley, San Francisco. Samsonov, P. (2008). This Ain’t Your Momma’s PowerPoint or What: Creating Interactive Images in PowerPoint. In C. Crawford et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2008 (pp. 3918-3924). Chesapeake, VA: AACE; Samsonov, P., Daspit, T., Edith, M. & Briggs, C. (2008). Making a Difference for Middle School Teachers: When University Faculty Go to Schools to Help. In C. Crawford et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2008 (pp. 3913-3917). Chesapeake, VA: AACE; Samsonov, P., Pedersen, S., and Hill, C. (2006). Using Problem-Based Learning Software with At- Risk Students: A Case Study. Computers in the Schools, 23(1/2), 2006, pp. 111-124; Samsonov, P. & Finkelstein, E. (2007). Creating Interactive Images Using PowerPoint. In G. Richards (Ed.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2007 (pp. 1819-1825). Chesapeake, VA: AACE; Samsonov, P. (2007). Simple Techniques to Create Interactive Reviews in PowerPoint. In G. Richards (Ed.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2007 (pp. 1826-1834). Chesapeake, VA: AACE; Samsonov, P. & Briggs, C. (2006). Mavericks, Late Majority and Laggards: Our Experience Implementing Blackboard in a High School. In P. Kommers & G. Richards (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2006 (pp. 3062-3069). Chesapeake, VA: AACE; Samsonov, P. (2006). Creating quizzes and clickable maps with PowerPoint. In P. Kommers & G. Richards (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2006 (pp. 1437-1438). Chesapeake, VA: AACE; Samsonov, P. & Beard, M. (2005). Our Experience Implementing Blackboard Delivery System in a High School. In G. Richards (Ed.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2005 (pp. 1079-1086).
Dr. Samsonov will lecture on the physical and human geographical aspects of the Arabic-Speaking World with virtual trips and a wealth of informational sites and maps.

Dr. Kevin Mulcahy

Dr. Kevin Mulcahy is the Sheldon Beychok Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Louisiana State University. His research focuses on public policy with specific emphases on governments and the arts and comparative cultural policymaking. His areas of expertise also include American foreign policymaking and cultural diplomacy. Professor Mulcahy was named Fulbright Distinguished Fellow as the Laszlo Orszagh Chair in American Studies in Budapest for 2002-2003. Dr. Mulcahy is also the Executive Editor of the Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society. His publications include Entrepreneurship or Cultural Darwinism: Perspectives on the American System of Cultural Patronage." 2003. Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society; "The State Arts Agency: An Overview of Cultural Federalism in the United States," Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society. 2002. 32: 67-80, "Cultural Imperialism and Cultural Sovereignty: U.S.-Canadian Cultural Relations," Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society. 2002.31: 265-278, with Margaret J. Wyszomirski. 1995. "America's Commitment to Culture: Government and the Arts". CO: Westview Press, 1995, with Cecil V. Crabb, Jr. 1990. "American National Security: A Presidential Perspective". Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. His commitment to education in global perspective is exemplary. He served on the Arts & Science College Senate, (Member, Committee on Academic Oversight). He is member of Committee on Development and Chair of the Huber Humphrey Lecture Series. Professor Mulcahy is also a member of the Committee on the Humanities Research and Development Group (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research), the Professional Research Council, Arts and Architecture Department at the University of Oregon, the Conference on Social Theory, Politics and the Arts, and the . International Conference on Cultural Policy Research 2. As a dedicated and committed educator and supporter of the arts and global cultural policy initiatives, Professor Mulcahy will facilitate cooperative cultural exchange programs pursued by the ICLCE, Inc. His expertise in the area of cultural policies will facilitate the implementation of grants funding to organize exhibits, namely from the Middle East, North Africa, and China. Troy Hotard Art Studio will engage the community in exploring art and architectural heritage from these areas in collaborative grant proposals with ICLCE. For a closer look at Professor Mulcahy scholarly publications and cultural exchange expertise refer to this link:
http://appl003.lsu.edu/artsci/polisci.nsf/$Content/Kevin+Mulcahy/$file/mulcahyvitae07.pdf
Dr. Mulcahy will explore with the students the cultural identity issues and concept of Arabization in North Africa.

Neva Cramer

Neva V Cramer, Ph.D. is an instructor in the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education in The Department of Educational Theory, Policy, and Practice at Louisiana State University. She currently teaches reading in the content areas: elementary reading, writing, and oral communication, and supervises student teachers. Neva began her undergraduate work at Southwest Texas State University and completed her graduate work at Louisiana State University. She also received specialized training in learning through the arts through the Harvard Graduate School of Education program “Project Zero”. Neva holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction specializing in reading/writing through the arts.
With over twenty years experience as a teacher in the areas of theatre, speech, English, reading, and language arts, Neva now combines her background in the performing arts and her education in the language arts to promote “literacy as a performing art” (Cramer, 2003). She has presented for the International Reading Association, the NCTE, the College Board, and other significant organizations. She also trains preservice teachers for the alternative certification program at Louisiana Resource Center for Educators. Her most recent publications include: N. Cramer, Ortlieb, E.T., Cheek, E.H. (2007) Multiple Ways of Knowing: A Theoretical Framework for Drama and Literacy in a Contemporary Curriculum, The Reading Matrix. Cramer, N., Ortlieb, E.T., Cheek, E.H. (2007) Changing Our Students’ Perception About Reading, Academic Exchange Quarterly. Ortlieb, E.T., Cramer, N., Cheek, E.H. (2007) The Art of Reading: Dramatizing Literacy, Reading Improvement.
Neva will be presenting a workshop on Middle Eastern literature in order to 1) enhance understanding of Middle Eastern cultures, including the three major religions in this area. 2) to provide an opportunity for students to vicariously live through some of the life experiences of the peoples of the Middle East. 3) to create a personal connection to the people of the Middle East by discovering similarities and appreciating differences through literature. Using a variety of research based literacy stategies including visualization/guided imagery, multi sensory response journals, reader’s theatre, and many other learning through the arts methodologies, she will create an authentic and interactive learning experience for workshop participants. Examples of children’s and adolescent literature to be used in this workshop include: The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq, by Jeanette Winter; Miriam’s Cup:A Passover Story, by Fran Manushkin; The Light of the World:The Life of Jesus for Children (in true Arabic settings), by Katherin Patterson; Muslim Child:Understanding Islam Through Stories and Poems, by Rukhsana Khan; Forty Fortunes:A Tail of Iran, by Aaron Shephard; Snow in Jerusalem, by D. daCosta, and many others.

Troy Hotard

A professional artist for over 25 years, Troy Hotard describes himself as a Post-Modern Renaissance artist because he has mastered a wide variety of media and techniques. These include everything from, oil paint, watercolors, and mixed media to graphite, stained glass, and bronze casting. Troy Hotard can also work in various styles ranging from photorealistic to impressionist to total abstraction. Recently, Troy has concentrated on his main passion: Scuba Diving. Through this new genre artwork, he hopes to raise awareness and educate the public about the beauty and fragile nature of the ocean's coral reef systems, and the sheer wonder of discovery through scuba diving. To him, the ocean represents the last frontier to be explored and protected. Troy Hotard is bringing a representation of this modern vanishing wilderness to the general public. He is a passionate supporter of several organizations that seek to protect the world's reefs and marine ecosystems, such as the Reef Check Foundation, Dive for the Cure, and Save the Manta. It is Troy's hope that his donations of original paintings to these organizations will help raise awareness regarding the vulnerability of the world's reefs as well as stressing the urgency of safeguarding the underwater world, which is crucial to our own survival.
As an educator, Troy Hotard is an Artist in Residence for the East Baton Rouge Parish Gifted and Talented Program. For the last 7 years, Troy's innovative approach to art education has earned him the College Board Sponsored Katrina Scholarship and certification in Teaching Advanced Placement Art History at the Art College in Chicago. His method incorporates higher order thinking skills implemented by his design of unique interdisciplinary units. His travels throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, North Africa, the Middle East and the Far East has afforded him the possibility to assemble a unique slide collection that enhances his lectures and presentations. Many examples of his work can be seen in his hometown of Port Allen, Louisiana where he designed the logo for the West Baton Rouge Parish Recreation Department as well as logos for several other local businesses, including numerous public murals. The West Baton Rouge Parish Library and the West Baton Rouge Parish Museum both house permanent collection.
Troy Hotard will lecture on Islamic Art and Architecture. Special thanks to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. which allowed Artist Troy Hotard to use a magnificent wealth of materials and resources. Troy Hotard with direct the Arabesque stained Art project to be exhibited at LSU.

Board Members

Yolanda Rodriguez Byrd

Yolanda was raised in Louisiana. She is of Mexican and Apache decent. As the daughter of a deaf adult, she has acquired vast experience and skills in the area of American Sign Language and Spoken English Sign Language. Yolanda served as the dorm counselor at Louisiana State School for the Deaf for three years. As the wife of a deaf husband and the mother of a deaf child, she has a passion to help all members of the community understand and communicate with deaf citizens. She has been active as an interpreter and counselor. Most importantly, her considerable work in promoting programs for the deaf and disabled in general in conjunction with the hearing community makes her a true committed citizen working to achieve equity for all our citizens and children. Her role as consultant for the Institute of Critical Languages and Cultural Exchange is to recruit students for ICLCE/STARTALK summer programs and educating parents and children in the deaf community about scholarships and opportunities in the area of critical languages and cultural exchange.

Hialeah Miranda

Mrs. Miranda was raised in the Greater New Orleans area. At the age of 12 she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. She lost her eyesight at the age of 21 due to severe complications from diabetes. She is married to retired Navy officer Dan Miranda. They have five children. Mrs. Miranda has a passion about teaching children and providing them with equitable and educational opportunities. She is an active member of the organization Mothers of ADHD Children. She is in charge of a blog where parents and educators share and exchange ideas to help accommodate ADHD children. She is an active advocate for programs that mainstream challenged children and provide them with equitable access to educational opportunities. Part of Hialeah's heritage is Native American. She appreciates and values the important component of cultural competency in the lives of all our children. She has published two childrens books exploring Louisiana's rich and diverse cultural heritage. Like Professor Najoua Hotard, Hialeah Miranda believes that the future of our country relies on educating our children equitably. Truly equitable educational programs and institutions strive to empower all challenged individuals with programs that will open the doors of opportunities. Hialeah’s role at the Institute of Critical Languages and Cultural Exchange is to recruit students for the ICLCE/STARTALK summer critical language programs. Her knowledge with effective Braille teaching strategies, technology skills, and accommodations for the visually impaired will ensure successful educational experiences in the area of critical languages and cultural exchange.

Mentors and Intern

Monica Torrez

Monica Torrez is a student from Riverside Community College in California. She is studying to become a special education teacher because she loves to help other children. Monica has the patience for what she is doing. Not only is she able to communicate effectively with children, but she is also a very kind young lady that everybody loves and trusts regardless of the age. If there's a debate around a sensitive topic, Monica is the one who has the capability to compromise between the teams. She has the greatest smile that is very true almost all the time. It's very rare to find this great deal of maturity at such a young age. I highly recommend her for any leadership position for her colleagues as she has a lot of common sense in her judgment and on the other hand she is a wonderful young lady all around.

Ezekias Mondesir

Ezekias Mondesir is a Lafayette, LA resident and is currently a sophomore at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is an International Relations major with a minor in German. He is curently an employee of Dangerfield Law Offices on a part-time basis. For five years Ezekias has been in charge of an Orphanage. His daily task was to provide basic needs for underprivileged children. He is fluent in French, Spanish and, of course, English. Ezekias credits his interest in the STARTALK program to the fact that he always had Arabic-speaking friends, which made him want to learn more about the language and culture. With that said, Ezekias sees this summer opportunity as a great starting point for him to learn more about the Arabic language and culture while at the same time serving as a mentor to the students.

Christine Hullemeyer

Christine Hullemeyer is from Georgia and is going to be a freshman at Georgia State University majoring in Early Childhood Development. She was on the debate team at her high school and was a National Qualifier in Humorous Interpretation. Some interests include music and teaching. She was interested in the program because she feels its important to learn about different cultures. By being a part of this program she feels this is a wonderful opportunity to learn Arabic as well as be an Intern.