Michelle Benegas, Ph.D., is an associate professor of TESOL at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. A former secondary English Language (EL) teacher, her career began in a newcomer high school. She now prepares English language teachers, as well as general education teachers, to meet the needs of linguistically diverse students. She is co-author of Teacher Leadership for School-Wide English Learning (2020, TESOL Press), and co-creator of the School Wide English Learning (SWEL) Professional Development Series for TESOL Education. Benegas has prepared over 600 EL teacher leaders across the country. Her scholarly interests include EL teacher leadership, teacher leader identity, systemic approaches to improving EL services, and etymology. 

Michelle Benegas works with educators! Learn more at benegasconsulting.com/

Natalia Benjamin, EdS is the Director of Multilingual Learning for Rochester Public Schools and prior to that, she taught high school Ethnic Studies and Multilingual Learners in Rochester, MN. She is dually licensed in K-12 ESL and reading and holds a master's degree in Language Acquisition and Teaching. She advocates for multilingual and multicultural education and is part of the Facing Inequities and Racism in Education - Racial Equity Advocates (FIRE-REA) program. She is also a trainer in Cultural Competency for Education Minnesota. She has been a member of several organizations that support teachers and students: Education Minnesota League of Latinx Educators, Employees of Color Resource Group and Rochester Education Association for her district, and the Women Issues Committee for the National Education Association. She is passionate about the liberation of marginalized students and works on important issues such as identity work, Heritage Speakers, and humanizing pedagogies in education. She is an active member of MinneTESOL and TESOL, and was named Minnesota Teacher of the Year in August, 2021. She has presented at the MELED conference in Minnesota, WITESOL conference, the WIDA conference and the MCTLC conference in Minnesota. She also works with districts nationwide to provide professional development and keynotes on multilingual learning topics.