Meet Our Team

Dr. William Nichols is the Interim Associate Dean for the Honors College of Georgia State University. He received his PhD 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.

Kristy Winkler oversees the daily operations of CULTR, including management of student workers, project management, meeting and event coordination, dissemination of information, correspondence, scheduling, and purchasing, networking and outreach to expand CULTR’s reach and create new partnerships, well as other duties as requested by the Director. Her passion for languages and cultures led her to teach high school French, and later to the Cultural Services of the Consulate General of France in Atlanta to promote the French language Francophone cultures. She continued this work as Education Director at the Alliance Française d’Atlanta. In this role, Kristy was able to witness the valuable impact of language learning on underserved students. She is thrilled to apply her experience in the education, diplomatic and non-profit sectors to support the CULTR mission in the advancement of language learning for all students.

As the Multimedia Communications Specialist, Associate, Roy Swygert is responsible for maintaining and enhancing the CULTR website as well as the following: directing data analysis, developing and distributing digital communications, newsletters, presentations, and event registrations, creating and supervising the development of digital publishing and layouts for printed materials, oversight social media development, assisting the Project leaders with the technology aspects of their projects.

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 University. 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.