FACULTY

Claire Adams has a Master's in Asian Studies from the University of Hawaii. During her first year of graduate school, she established an exchange program with Peking University, where she studied Mandarin for a year. After her studies there, Ms. Adams helped launch GM's operations in China. Adams went on to work with the British MNC- Reuters, in the US and in Singapore. She has lived in Asia for over 16 years. Her four year old son will join the class.

Sally Burtnette-Leser, B.A. in French, German and Education; teaching degree in French and English from the Universität Göttingen and Pädagogische Hochschule. She taught for eight years in high school and adult education systems in Germany. 207-230-0098 sally@leser.us

Stewart Caswell grew up and attended schools in Belfast, Maine. He then attended USM and graduated with a BA in French Studies in 2007. He is 30 years old. Stewart has been a frequent contributor to événements français at Penobscot School since 2005, and has served as volunteer assistant for the French immersion weekends. He has taught French at the River School in Belfast and done substitute work for Belfast High school. Stewart loves the Internet, from where he finds many French resources, news and friends. He traveled with Up with People in the western US, Mexico and the Philippines in 2008.

Eva (Taran) Campbell is a native of Tallinn, Estonia, and grew up there in a bilingual environment (Russian and Estonian.) At university, she studied the Estonian language and literature for 3 and a half years, and then switched to Economics. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics in 1998 and moved to Maine in 2006.

Sachiko Clough B.A. German, Kyoto University of Foreign Language Studies. Sachiko is originally from Osaka, Japan where she taught English to children. She is a certified Japanese language teacher and also has licenses in Ikebana and Japanese tea ceremony, and she is a great cook. She currently teaches Japanese at Hall-Dale Middle School in Farmingdale.

Nan Cobbey studied French at the Sorbonne, and has lived and worked in the south of France and Haiti. She is an editor by profession. While in Paris, she attended a little cooking school where she learned secrets she is willing to share at her cooking class, such as the dessert, Marquise au Chocolat.

Winnie Easton Jones studied French at Hunter College, and then at the Alliance Française, while she lived and worked for four years in Nancy, Normandy and Paris, France. Returning stateside, she served on a team assigned with the University of Pittsburgh to create summer workshops in French pronunciation for that city's elementary school teachers, then went on to teach French at the Latin School in Chicago and in Maryland. She relocated to Maine in the 1975.

Nohora Estes who is a native from Colombia taught Spanish through Adult Education Program in Rockland Maine. She established the Spanish Program at Riley School eight years ago and has been teaching there ever since. Nohora also teaches private Spanish lessons to the community and has been sharing her love for Latin Dance with the people of Maine for several years. Nohora enjoys reading, walking and dancing. She lives with her sons Paul and Michael in St. George, Maine.

Julianna Gerrity, Russian native, grew up in the northern Caucasus Mountains. She graduated from the University in Nalchik with a degree in English and American Literature and afterwards taught English to children. 207-319-7709 therussian99@yahoo.com.

Elisabeth Goodridge has taught French for 40+ years, in Maine, Montreal and at Penobscot School. She holds degrees from Wells College, the Sorbonne, and recently completed her MA in French at UMO. She currently teaches at Appleton Village School. She loves acting, art, choral singing and sailing, and has appeared on stage with fellow thespians and local choruses. She also writes theater reviews on local productions.

Dennis Healy is a longtime student of French at Penobscot School. He is certified to teach in the public school system and teaches French adult education courses in Camden. Dennis previously hosted a French language radio program and he collects French language films. HealyD1@aol.com

Maho Hisakawa, who is Japanese and American, is a part-time sushi chef in Rockland. With her husband, Jeffrey, she makes weekly fresh tofu from local, organic soybeans to supply co-ops and restaurants. She grew up eating Japanese foods that her mother prepared in Japan, Wales, and the U.S., and started cooking when she became interested in natural foods and vegetarianism at 18. She combines traditional Japanese cuisine with natural foods and macrobiotics and cooks many meals at home.

Nobuko Kamecke studied in Japan privately with a calligraphy master, and now teaches workshops for adults and children in Maine.

Harry Kaiserian lived in Italy from 1974-76. He has returned often and since 2000, has been taking cooking lessons there from a noted Italian chef. Harry is a cooking columnist in Blue Hill and has been teaching cooking classes for ten years. He studies Italian at Penobscot School. 207-326-9309 hkaisber@mma.edu

Chef Ravin “Bas” Nakjaroen was born in Bankok, Thailand and as a small boy went to the market to purchase fresh ingredients and learned the art of Thai cooking in his home kitchen. He learned that the foundation of good cooking is fresh, quality ingredients, including the herbs and spices, and that flavor must not be compromised. He is now the Executive Chef at the newly opened White Lion Raw Bar and Bistro in Camden. He is using the best ingredients Maine has to offer and marrying them with the best ingredients from around the world to create his own contemporary Thai Fusion.

Carmelo Patané was born in Ponte San Pietro, Italy on March 4, 1981. He would like to have a career in teaching foreign languages, either in Italy or abroad. He graduated from the University of Catania, Sicily in 2005, in foreign languages and literatures. He has also received two scholarships to teach in France and Slovakia, and he worked as a tour guide in Dublin Ireland. While in France he taught Italian at a high school, and in Slovakia he taught English at a primary school. He has most recently completed post- graduate courses in the teaching of French and English at the University of Catania. He is interested in sports, art and poetry, and has written poems himself in national competitions.

Carl Putz has a Ph.D. in philosophy and taught at DePauw University in Indiana. Most recently he taught Humanities at JFK University in California and now relocated to Rockland, he continues to follow his interest in experimental education. 207-594-1794 putager@gwi.net

Francisco Rosa, the newest addition to our foreign native speaker faculty, is from Villa de Alvarez in the state of Colima in Mexico. Francisco is a graduate of the Facultad de Lenguas Extranjeras at Universidad de Colima. He is a licensed teacher of both Spanish and English, with experience teaching both adults and children at all levels. His English is charming and his Spanish is elegant.

Billy Smith is descended on his mother's side from an old Spanish family in the Dominican Republic. He received his B.A. in English, Music and French from Notre Dame, and his M.A. in English Literature from the University of Toronto. Billy also teaches Spanish at the Watershed Community School. 207-594-5877

Margot Stiassni-Sieracki, B.A. French, Williams College, M.A. Univ. Illinois, M.A. Stanford. She has frequently visited France and taught French and Spanish, K-12, in Vermont and Maine, often using music in her teaching. Margot created a family Music Together program in Wiscasset and has twice co-presented Methods Matter, Penobscot School's summer foreign language methodology seminar.

Steve Sulzer, B.A. Spanish Dartmouth College, 1972, studied in Salamanca, Spain and began his teaching career in New Hampshire. He then taught at Camden Rockport High School for 20 years, including leading student trips to Mexico and Spain. Steve loves word games, and raises Persian cats. 207-785-5269 ssulzer@midcoast.com

Renate Tower is a native of Germany and a native German speaker. She attended the Paedagogische Fachschule in Ludwigshafen. Since coming to the Midcoast Region she has taught at Penobscot School, Adult Ed in Rockland, Camden, and Belfast, as well as privately. She also was the owner of the Hansel and Gretel Gaststube, an intimate German eatery. Presently, she is creating several cookbooks and planning a German tour for Spring 2010.

Julie von Kamecke, B.A. Russian, SUNY Oswego '93, studied at Moscow State University and, while there, taught English to Russian students. In Albany, she worked with Russian immigrants as a translator and interpreter. Julie teaches Spanish at Rockport Elementary School. Laika6000@yahoo.com