Wende Crow has been an ESOL instructor at IRC Atlanta for 10 years. Before coming to IRC, she taught ESL in Korea and Tennessee. She is also is teaching an online poetry writing class for the International Writers’ Collective in Amsterdam. She holds a TESOL International advanced practitioner certificate and an MFA in creative writing from New School University in New York. Her poems, essays, and stories have appeared in Ploughshares, New Haven Review, Inquisitive Eater, Hartskill Review, and other publications. When she’s not teaching or writing, Wende enjoys reading, gardening, and making her own soap.
Katie Hibner is a second-year AmeriCorps member for the 2021-2022 year. Originally from Ohio, she studied Arabic, French, literature, and politics at Bennington College in Vermont. Katie has taught English at various organizations across the U.S. and Morocco, where she had the privilege of studying abroad. In her spare time, Katie enjoys reading, brushing up on her language skills, and trying new recipes.
Alyson Richardson has 15 years of combined ESL teaching and tutoring experience, working with students of all backgrounds and ages 5-65. Prior to becoming an ESL teacher, Alyson had a career in business with experience in several industries including hospitality, staffing and recruiting, and tutoring management. She has a passion for education and helping others maximize their potential. In 2004, Alyson first began working with teen and adult refugees as a volunteer ESL teacher, focusing on workplace English and interview skills. In 2006, she earned her TESOL certification and has taught privately and in intensive English programs here in Atlanta since then. Alyson joined the IRC Adult Education team in 2021. She believes that diversity makes a culture strong and celebrates the uniqueness of her students by creating a warm, open, culturally-sensitive classroom. In her free time, she enjoys caring for her chickens, cooking, hiking, and kayaking with her family, as well as studying Spanish.
Jennifer Wallin lives in the East Lake area of Atlanta with her husband, two daughters, two dogs and five cats. She earned her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State University while being an ESL intern with the IRC. She has taught Adult ESL classes with Catholic Charites Atlanta and the Latin American Association; and she has a penchant for pronunciation and linguistics as well as incorporating musical tasking into classroom instruction. When she isn’t teaching or studying, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family, walking her crazy dogs, working on her gardens at home, or attending live music events and sharing that experience with her kids. She couldn’t be more thrilled to be back at the IRC in a full-time capacity, and she looks forward to learning from and working with such a philanthropic, wonderful organization.
Amanda Wells is an ESL and Cultural Orientation AmeriCorps member for the 2021-2022 year. She is a recent graduate of Rutgers University, where she studied English, Spanish, and Political Science. She has taught English and writing for several years as an ESL writing tutor with Rutgers, a volunteer reading tutor for refugee children, as an intern with the IRC, and now as an Americorps member. Amanda loves drinking coffee above everything, and if you're in one of her classes, you'll definitely see her with a cup (or two....or three....).