People are the reason ON Language exists: We're bringing worlds together. ON Language employs empowering language and policies that promote global leadership among all learners, administrators, faculty, and staff. We are an international partnership, seeking and growing international and cross-cultural partnership and learning opportunities. Contact us or learn more about how to join our team.
Diana Coetzee, M.A. Applied Linguistics & TESOL
Program Director
Diana Coetzee has been teaching academic English and working in higher education settings for a decade. She has an undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Education, a minor in Italian Language and Literature, and a certificate in Environmental Studies from Florida Atlantic University; she also has an M.A. in Applied Linguistics and TESOL from Georgia State University. Starting in 2012, she spent five years teaching English abroad. Diana had the privilege of teaching in Thailand, Turkey, Slovakia and Hungary. She also worked in the environmental education field in both New Zealand and Australia. During this time, Diana became devoted to working with international students. After returning to the US, Diana worked for Campus Compact of Oregon, where she taught Social Problems and built a successful cross-curricular service-learning program model for higher education. In 2016, Diana moved to Georgia. Before committing to a master’s program, she expanded her skills in higher education as the Student Services Coordinator for an aviation college. In this role, Diana was able to continue working with international students as an advisor and DSO, as well as be the campus retention and engagement specialist. In 2018, Diana felt called to educational pursuits and began studying at Georgia State. During graduate school she worked for the U.S. Department of State’s Office of English Language Programs creating content for over 4 million followers on social media. As a linguist, she is fascinated by corpus linguistics and phraseology, specifically within the disciplines of law and medicine. For several years, Diana has worked closely with the Director of Academic Success and LL.M. programs at the Georgia State College of Law, where she conducted analytical research and taught discipline-specific writing workshops. She has presented at several national and international conferences on the use of legalese and formulaic language in the Georgia Bar Exam. Diana also has experience with machine learning in medical linguistics. Diana has been an English language faculty member with ON Language, at Brenau University, since July 2019. During her time with ON Language, she has further refined her leadership and management skills in a university-based Intensive English Program setting, playing a key role in ongoing research and curriculum development and training a growing team of professional faculty members. Diana is passionate about ON Language’s mission to combine language education and global leadership. Outside of professional pursuits, Diana enjoys spending time with her South African husband and their daughter, playing the piano, hiking and gardening.
Dra. Ana Bermudez
Outreach Specialist
Ana is a physician from Colombia, graduated from Universidad Tecnologica de Pereira in 2008. She also completed a program in 2012 obtaining a degree in Occupational Health Management from Fundacion Universitaria del Area Andina. Ana worked as an emergency room physician for ten years after graduation from 2008 to 2018. Later, she worked for a large insurance company called NUEVA EPS as an occupational physician. Ana has lived in the United States since January 2018. She graduated from the English program at ON Language in 2019. Currently, Ana is preparing to take the medical board exam and practice medicine in the U.S.
Erika Alcantar Anguiano, M.A. Applied Linguistics & TESOL
English Language Faculty Member
Born in Uriangato, Guanajuato, Mexico, Erika has lived in Gainesville, GA, with her family since 2002. As an English language learner herself and a servant leader at heart, Erika desired to teach English when she noticed members of her family and community struggling to communicate in English, and she would often translate and interpret for them. Wanting to be equipped to do more, Erika pursued an education at Georgia State University, and in Spring 2019, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Linguistics, a minor in French, and a certification to teach English as a Foreign Language. Then in Summer 2020, Erika graduated with a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics and a certification to teach English as a Second Language. Before and during her university years, Erika taught English to a variety of students in different places such as Hispanic adults in Gainesville, children in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and international students within the Intensive English Program at Georgia State University. In her free time, Erika likes to spend time with her family, and learn and practice other languages.
Lenore Morales, Ph.D. Global Leadership, M.A. TESOL
Founding Partner
Acting Business & Compliance Manager, Gainesville (GA) site at Brenau University
Lenore loves to put people together and make positive things happen. She has been helping organizations and individuals achieve their corporate and educational goals for over 30 years, including as a consultant for intensive English language program and university clients through her company LM Consulting. She earned the Ph.D. in Global Leadership/Organizational Management at Indiana Tech. Previously, Lenore received her master’s degree in TESOL from Greensboro College after spending 15 years raising her son and daughter as well as working part-time in the literacy and journalism fields. She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from UNC-Pembroke. Lenore has been teaching English learners professionally for two decades. Lenore values traveling and working with her minister-husband “Dallas” and spending time with family and friends. She enjoys learning about people and cultures, crafting communications, walking the beach, writing and singing original songs and other art, and leading worship. For Lenore, life is “a music”.
Jessica Drexler, B.F.A. Art, with English
Student Services Coordinator
Jessica is originally from Iowa but has called Georgia home for many years. She has a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan College, where she studied English Literature and Studio Art. After graduating in 2001, she combined her interests in Asian art and culture by moving to Japan where she taught English for two years with the Japan Exchange Teaching Program (JET) and traveled in Southeast Asia. Then, moving back to Gainesville, she began an art and jewelry design business inspired by her travels and love of history. After joining Brenau University’s tutoring program in 2018, she found herself looking for even more opportunities to work with international students. Jessica joined the ON Language team in Summer 2019. She is passionate about working with students from other cultures and backgrounds. She believes that there is always something we can learn from each other and is inspired by students' determination to learn English and work towards their dreams. Her hobbies include photographing forgotten places, creating art, and she also enjoys swimming and enjoying nature.
Jess Willis, M.A. Applied Linguistics and ESL
English Language Faculty Member
Jess Willis is originally from Maryland and is still a Marylander at heart. After getting her B.A. in Applied Linguistics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), she spent a year doing environmental conservation for the state park service as an AmeriCorps member. Life brought her to Atlanta, and soon after the move, she left for an English Teaching Assistantship in Sri Lanka via the Fulbright Program. While working at an NGO in the tea plantations of Sri Lanka, Jess fell in love with teaching such vibrant, dedicated students. Here, she decided she wanted to devote her career to developing students’ potential English and leadership skills. After the 2019 Easter bombings in Colombo, Jess was sent back to the US and took the opportunity to pursue her Master’s in Applied Linguistics & ESL at Georgia State University. Her research focus at GSU extended her undergraduate focus on the pragmatics of emotionally abusive language, as well as interrogated the long-term linguistic effects of childhood trauma. Jess has spent two years teaching and developing GSU’s new Community-Based English for Academic Purposes courses, and she has had the pleasure of teaching Atlanta-based students from all over the world. Now, Jess lives in Buford and enjoys baking, sewing, and gardening with her composer/percussionist partner and their cats, Turkey and Gravy.
Maha Ammar, M.A. TESOL
English Language Faculty Member
Maha Ammar is originally from Cairo, Egypt. She has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Cairo University, Egypt. Maha arrived in the United States for the first time in 2017 as a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant. Maha's Fulbright experience inspired her to pursue a master's degree in the U.S. In 2022, she graduated with a Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). Maha has been teaching English as a foreign language for almost 5 years and English as a second language for one year. Moreover, Maha has taught Arabic as a foreign language for one academic year as a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant at Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA. Maha has a passion for ongoing learning and development, and she likes to help others learn. In her free time, she likes to watch movies and hang out with her friends.
Khalid Ibrahim, Ed.D. Applied Linguistics/TESOL; M.A. TESL/Linguistics
ON Language President
Dr. Khalid has an undergraduate degree in English language and Arabic translation, an MA in applied linguistics/TESOL, and the Ed.D. in Applied Linguistics and TESOL at Anaheim University. Khalid is in his second decade of teaching English and Arabic as second and foreign languages. He has also worked as a professional translator/interpreter with the United Nations and the U.S. Army in Iraq and in the U.S.A. Khalid has designed and developed various language teaching programs, teacher training curricula, assessment instruments, and has presented at regional conferences. Khalid’s research interests include teaching approaches and methodologies, task-based language teaching, curriculum development, cross-cultural communication, teacher training, and program evaluation. Khalid is an avid reader and is currently working on writing a collection of short stories in English. He also enjoys playing ping pong, tennis, chess, and practicing martial arts.