Debra Suarez 

Debra Suarez  
President, TESOL International Association

Dr. Debra Suarez is the President of TESOL International Association.  With thousands of global members, in over 144 countries, TESOL International is the largest worldwide community dedicated to advancing the expertise of ELT professionals. Dr. Suarez comes to this executive position after a professional lifetime of serving multilingual learners of English and the educators and organizations who serve them. Debra began her career as a TESOLTEFL / teacher. After earning her doctorate, she served as graduate faculty, directing university MA and PhD TESOL programs, and publishing and presenting in the field. Her international development work includes creating TESOL teacher education programs in Panama, Korea, Mexico, Peru, and Ukraine. Over the years, she served as English Language Specialist for the US Department of State, providing teacher training seminars around the globe, including, West Africa, Eastern Europe, Mexico, the Middle East, South and Central America, and Southeast Asia. 
 
Debra expanded her impact into the realm of US national outreach when she joined the US Department of Education as the ELL Education Program Specialist, designing and leading national, multi-million-dollar teacher education projects. She also served as the Special Designee for the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA).  She led national strategic public-private partnerships in support of language minority populations as the Senior Advisor for the AAPI White House Initiative, serving on federal committees, and supporting White House Task Forces.
 
After her election as President of TESOL International, Debra departed from federal service to focus on new contributions to ELT. In addition to serving in the TESOL presidential-line, Debra is on faculty as an adjunct Professor with the Johns Hopkins University graduate program in International Teaching and Global Leadership. Debra recently founded Uplifting Teachers, LLC, a global social entrepreneurship. Debra continues her international speaking engagements, research, and book publications. Her current emphasis is on developing the next generation of strong, impactful ELT educators.
 
Debra holds a PhD in Language Education, MS-TESOL, MBA in education business management.  A favorite highlight of her career was when she was awarded Maryland TESOL’s Lifetime Achievement Award.  Connect with Dr. Suarez on LinkedIn.