Presently, all teachers have degrees in English or closely related fields. Many teachers have an M.A. in English and have taught English at the University of Central Oklahoma, other universities, or high schools.

Jim Stewart, President, incorporated Twashakarris, Inc, DBA English Language Center in 1982. He holds a PhD (ABD) in English from the University of Oklahoma.  He is Professor Emeritus from the University of Central Oklahoma, where he taught English for 20 years. He has written several novels and screenplays and has published some poetry.  His specialty is speech and phonology, which he continues to teach on a part-time basis.

 
Luemma Stewart , Director, has taught English at area universities since 1979, including seven years at the University of Oklahoma. She holds a PhD (ABD) in English from the University of Oklahoma. She has been an editor for McGraw-Hill Education Division and been published in national magazines and textbooks. She was a Writer-in-residence for the Oklahoma State Arts Council for three years. In 1981 she began teaching part-time for ELC and became Assistant Director in 1990. She became Director of ELC in 2004. She also taught international sections of English composition at the University of Central Oklahoma. Whenever necessary, she substitutes for faculty at ELC.

David Ferrari, Principal and Teacher, holds a B.A. in English from Drew University, Madison, New Jersey, and an M.A. in English (Composition and Rhetoric) from the University of Central Oklahoma. He currently teaches English composition to both international students and Americans at the University of Central Oklahoma and teaches composition, remedial English, and Humanities at Rose State College. In addition, he taught international sections of composition courses at Oklahoma City University in 2000.  He has been a member of Oklahoma Teachers of English as a Second or Other Language (OKTESOL) and served as Chair of Higher Education from November 2002 to November 2003. David also worked in the mental health community for twenty years prior to his teaching career. He has been teaching at ELC since September 1999.

Leyla Mirfakhraei, Office Manager, studied Business Administration, Minor in Graphic Art, at the University of Central Oklahoma. She has worked as office coordinator in the advisement office at UCO as well as the financial aid office. She was an active member of the International Student Council Association and former president of the Iranian Student Association at UCO. She has been at ELC since April 2010 and plans to finish her degree in the near future.

Shelly Derrick, Teacher, has a B.A. in English from the University of Central Oklahoma. She also worked as the director of a local high school foreign exchange student program where she attended NAFSA conferences and other international student workshops. In addition to teaching, she was a tutor for students at the University of Central Oklahoma in the Academic Support Center as well as a substitute teacher for Edmond Public Schools. She has been at ELC since September 2008 and plans to begin working on a master's degree in the near future.

Quentin Pratt , Teacher, has B.A. degrees in English and Philosophy from the University of Central Oklahoma and has completed a year of law school at the University of Tulsa. As an undergraduate, he was an editor for the New Plains Review at UCO. He has taught at ELC for two years and tutored at Raindrop Turkish House in Oklahoma City. He also does graphic and website design.

Sherry Vowel , Part-Time Teacher, holds a B.A. and M.A. in English from the University of Central Oklahoma, where she has taught composition classes since 1993. Previously, she taught at Oklahoma City Community College and has been a private tutor since 2007. Sherry has also completed three semesters of Japanese at the University of Oklahoma and is continuing students of the Japanese language. She began teaching at Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation for English Language Center in the fall of 2008.

Liz Seifert , Part-Time Teacher, has taught ESL at the college level for over 30 years. She has a B.A. in Psychology, an M.A. in Linguistics, and an M.A. in English (Creative Writing Emphasis). Also, she has completed 18 credit hours of Spanish. She has been published in various texts and journals. Presently, she teaches English to post-doctoral researchers at Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation for ELC.

English Language Center
1015-C Waterwood Parkway
Edmond, Oklahoma 73034-5325
Phone: 405-348-7602 Fax: 405-348-8291
E-mail: info@elcok.com