About Us

Prof. Dr. Vridhagiri Ganeshan

Prof. Dr. Vridhagiri Ganeshan was Professor of German at the Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages in Hyderabad/India from 1975 to 2007. He taught 7 years at Emory University, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech and Goethe-Zentrum in Atlanta. He has been a recipient of fellowships from the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), Konrad-Adenauer Foundation, Germany and was a Humboldt-Fellow (1987-1988 and 1994-1995) at the Universität München. He was selected for the “Jakob und Wilhelm-Grimm-Preis” of the German Democratic Republic (DDR) in the year 1990.

Barbara Warnock

Barbara Warnock has worked in English Language Education for more than thirty years as both a teacher and an administrator.  She has worked with students from a great variety of linguistic and educational backgrounds at the Community College pre-academic level as well as at non-profit and community organizations.  Her university teaching experience has included work with college and pre-graduate school students as well.  Her courses have included speaking, listening, pronunciation, reading, and writing as well as special topics classes helping students fine tune their English for science and technology as well as law, business, and music.  In addition, she has taught Civics English and Healthcare English.  Barbara has worked informally with her students for many years to help them find educational programs that match their interests and looks forward to continuing this work through OWL.

Miriam Oppenheimer

Born in New York, Miriam Oppenheimer is an experienced ESL professor with a Master’s Degree in Education (Intercultural Communication) from the University of Pennsylvania. She has been teaching English since 1989. She is an administrator and a professor at Online World of Learning.  Miriam uses diverse fun teaching techniques in order to engage different types of learners. Because she is multilingual, having spent significant time in France, Thailand, Benin, and Mexico, she understands how students feel. Her hobbies include volunteering, riding a purple bicycle, and reading while listening to funk music.  Miriam’s motto is “don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.”

Tori Conicello Emery

Tori Conicello Emery is masters level, board certified music therapist in the U.S. She has practiced in the field for over 13 years and has extensive experience working with a wide range of diagnosis and ages. She has worked in a pediatric hospital setting and currently works for  private practice. Tori has experience in mentoring students on the collegiate level and has recently accepted an adjunct position with West Chester University. She is passionate about helping others realize their passion in the arts and how that can translate into a career and everyday life. She believes that art in all of its forms is not something that is exclusive only to the “talented” but a basic human right. See how Tori explores the many facets of life through the lens of the arts.

Manisha Kaw

Manisha Kaw has a PhD in English Language Education (ELE). She has over 11 years of experience teaching English as a second language in America and abroad. She has been facilitating college readiness and advanced academic skills in reading and writing at Temple University since 2010. As she embarks on a new role as the director of OWL and the assistant editor of  OWL EdVenture, she is determined to make learning ‘affordable, accessible and effective’.

Rosanna R. Kosenski

Rosanna R. Kosenski earned her Master’s Degree from Teachers College Columbia University in International Education Development with a focus on ESL and Language, Literacy, and Technology. She has been a part of the Temple University Intensive English Language Program (IELP) since 2013, where she has been an instructor for teacher-training and mentoring, including teaching multiple groups of visiting teachers as part of the Brazilian English Teacher Training (BETT) program. She has also taught a broad range of ESL subjects, and she loved teaching English Literature as part of the English Department Rowan College at Burlington County. Rosanna has taught across the United States including in Los Angeles, Boulder, New York City, and Philadelphia. She also lived in Cairo, Egypt and was the Senior Training Advisor at SIRA –  Scientific Informatics Research Academy, where she established the English curriculum, trained the instructors, and recruited and mentored teachers and staff from across the Middle East. Rosanna also worked in Washington DC as the Program Director at the American Council for Trade in Services (ACT), where she honed her diplomatic and international skills while working with embassies and contacts from across the globe. Rosanna is excited to combine her extensive global experience and her intense passion for education to cultivate relationships and propel OWL forward in this evolving world of online learning.

Ellen Polsky

Ellen Polsky has a B.A. in Spanish Linguistics, a Master’s degree in Foundations of Bilingual/Multicultural Education (with a TESOL emphasis), and 30 additional graduate level credits in Linguistics. Her areas of interest are best practices in teaching ESL/EFL, phonetics, phonology, and dialectology. She has been in the field since 1975. She taught EFL in Colombia and ESL in the U.S.A. to teenagers and adults at universities and community centers. She has directed ESL programs, mentored teachers, supervised volunteers, and trained new and experienced teachers in linguistics and methodology for teaching English all over the world. Ellen has worked with students from 90 + countries who speak hundreds of languages. Training teachers to make a difference in their students’ lives is Ellen’s passion.