Instructors

​Steve Copley received his B.S. from Georgetown University and his M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction, Teaching English as a Second Language from George Mason University in Virginia. For more than 30 years he has enjoyed working with ESL learners, as well as undergraduate and graduate students, and teachers from around the globe. He has presented at many conferences, written for Voice of America radio, developed an ESL TV series, lived...

I was born and raised in Northern California. I received my B.A. in History with a Minor in Spanish from Brigham Young University in Utah. I also had the opportunity during that time to live in the Canary Islands. This experience allowed me begin my acquisition of a foreign language, and it was also my first time living abroad which was very exciting. After receiving my degree, I decided to...

In 2017 I decided to refocus my career on teaching, and I’ve never been happier! Armed with a Master of Arts in Communication Studies, I spent ten years working in various communication roles from marketing to public relations and development, which involved public speaking with a deep focus on communicating clearly and effectively. I have worked and lived in Hong Kong, India, Colombia, and Italy; I also speak French, Spanish...

I have always had a passion for language learning which encouraged me to study and receive a B.A. in Spanish and a minor in German from the University of Oklahoma. While studying at OU, I had the privilege of living and studying abroad in Spain for one year. In Spain, I found opportunities to tutor Spanish students to help with their English courses, which was my first introduction into the...

Born and raised in Tehran, Iran; Ali started learning English as a second language from the age of 10. At the age of 22, he left Iran for the Philippines, where he earned his Bachelor`s Degree in Broadcast Communication from the University of the East Manila in 2013. Having been a University President Scholarship recipient, allowed him to start his Master`s program at Far Eastern University in Manila in June...

Jasmine Newell received her B.A. in English at Metropolitan State University of Denver and her M.A. in English with an emphasis on Rhetoric and the Teaching of Writing from the University of Colorado at Denver. She is a Colorado native with a passion for teaching and writing. Jasmine has been teaching composition courses for four years and has been a part of the ESL Academy team for one year. She...

Kerry has been with the ESL Academy since the summer of 2019 and loves UC-Denver and the professional staff and teachers. She has stated, “I’ve never been so privileged to be a teacher with the finest in the world.” Since this is her “last rodeo,” she is giving it her all every day! Kerry comes from Wisconsin, by way of Denver, Europe and back to Denver in her teaching of...

Kyra Odom received double Bachelor’s degrees from Arizona State University. After that, she spent time working in corporate training, where she taught job skills and management skills. It gave her the opportunity to travel the United States and the world. However, she decided to go back to school to earn a Master’s in Linguistics and Graduate Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from San Jose State University...