Michaela Colombo University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA, University of Massachusetts, USA

Michaela Colombo has been involved in the field of educating English language learners for nearly 20 years. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Leadership in Schooling program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where she teaches courses in methods of sheltered content instruction. Prior to accepting a full-time position at the University of Massachusetts, Dr. Colombo worked for five years as Supervisor of the English Language Acquisition Program for the Methuen, Massachusetts Public Schools. Here, she drew upon her background as a bilingual education and ESL teacher to plan and implement professional development for mainstream teachers and supervise teachers of English language learners. Dr. Colombo is an active member of the Massachusetts Department of Education’s English Language Learners/Bilingual Education Advisory Council. Her dissertation, which was recognized as semi-finalist for best dissertation by the National Association of Bilingual Education, investigated the effectiveness of professional development for mainstream teachers of Latino students. Dr. Colombo has presented professional development for mainstream teachers of English language learners at national and state conferences.