Amber is a Virginia Beach native. She holds a BA in English from Old Dominion University, dual MAs in TESOL & Applied Linguistics and Computational Linguistics from Indiana University, as well as a graduate certificate in Instructional Systems Technology from IU’s School of Education. She began her career teaching ESL to K-12 students for Virginia Beach City Schools. Her interests in language learning technology led her to Bowling Green State University where she was the Director of the Language Learning Center, a multimedia lab for language learners, as well as an adjunct instructor in the English Department, intermittently teaching undergraduate and graduate courses on communication and writing.

 

Amber joined CeLCAR in 2009. As the center's Language Instruction Specialist, she works with the language specialists to design and develop language learning curriculums and materials, providing methodological and pedagogical expertise. She collaborates with university faculty on pedagogical research, designs and leads professional development workshops, and coordinates the bi-annual Conference on Central Asian Languages and Linguistics (ConCALL). Additionally, Amber hosts the “On the Silkroad with CeLCAR” podcast, an educational podcast that features guests from different parts of Central Asian to talk about the people, the culture, and of course the languages of their country!

 

Amber is the co-author of Designing Effective Language Learning Materials for Less Commonly Taught Languages: A step by step guide for new materials developers, in addition to several articles in respected peer-reviewed academic journals. And in 2022 Amber was honored by IU's Center of Excellence for Women in Technology and IU Women in IT (IUWIT) as a 2022 Outstanding Staff Mentor/Advocate for her work as a diligent and supportive mentor and advocate for women and technology.