Dr. William Nichols is the Associate Dean for the Honors College of Georgia State University. He received his Ph.D. in Spanish from Michigan State University. His primary research interest focuses on exploring the perceptions of Spain’s modern identity through the interrelation between politics, cultural production and capitalism in contemporary peninsular literature and film as well as other forms of cultural expression like music and museum expositions. He has published on diverse themes like detective fiction, corporate culture, tourism, food, genre, and globalization in such journals as the Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies, Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispánicos, Tabla Redonda, The Journal for the Study of Food and Society, and Symposium.

First appointed as a member of the Georgia State faculty in 2013, Dr. Hakyoon Lee’s expertise and community connections have made her a recognized leader in national conversations about LCTL research and pedagogy, especially as it relates to project-based learning and community-based learning. As a community advocate, Dr. Lee’s research interests lie at the intersection of social justice, language and identity, sociolinguistics, multilingualism, and immigrant education. Her research portfolio includes projects funded by the National Security Agency, the U.S. Department of Education, the Korea Foundation, and the Academy of Korean Studies. Recently, Dr. Lee served as the PI for Georgia’s foreign language teacher (PreK-K12) certification program in Korean, supported by the Ministry of Education in Korea. Additionally, she remains connected with the k-16 language community in Metro Atlanta, specifically through her input on Korean Dual Language Immersion programs in Gwinnett County School District and her collaborations with the Georgia Department of Education.

Jessica Willis is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of CULTR as well as fostering new partnerships to expand CULTR’s reach in the Atlanta area and beyond. She served as a Fulbright Scholar in Sri Lanka in 2018, and received her M.A. in Applied Linguistics from GSU. Jess has spent years in the classroom as an ESL instructor, educating a wide variety of students; she continues to teach with GSU’s Community Based Academic English Program, which focuses on serving adult refugees in the Clarkston area. Jess has presented and lectured locally and internationally regarding her research on the cognitive and emotional effects of childhood maltreatment on adult L2 acquisition and the best teaching methods to support these students in a communicative classroom. She is passionate about increasing cultural competency and understanding in our global age.

Roy Swygert, Multimedia Communications Specialist, Associate, assists the CULTR team in their mission through digital design, print design and technology. He received his Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from Middle Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Georgia State University. He is pursuing his master’s in Digital Animation at Kennesaw State University.

Dr. Tim Jansa is responsible for advising on strategy concerning issues in international education, language learning, and intercultural competence, as well as for delivering presentations, leading workshops, and moderating panels on an ad hoc basis. Additionally, he will assist with the proposed research projects and serve as a liaison to the Grants & Contracts team in the College. Jansa earned a doctorate (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership with a focus on higher education from Georgia State. His research centers on leadership at the intersection of college and university internationalization with postsecondary world language education. His studies have also granted him profound insights into the financial and organizational workings of institutions of higher education and greatly informs his management of budgets in keeping with institutional policies, procedures, and regulations, as well as staff leadership and development.

Vega Charron oversees the coordination of CULTR’s key events, connecting with teachers, students, and organizations from Atlanta and beyond, as well as cross-category research on language learning’s lasting impact. Recently graduating from Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Linguistics, Vega is excited to continue a lifelong passion for all things languages while working with CULTR.