Michelle Benegas

Michelle Benegas, PhD, is an associate professor of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) in Hamline's School of Education and Leadership.

As the principal investigator of the ELM (English Learners in the Mainstream) Project, a $1.5 million National Professional Development grant initiative through the US Department of Education - Office of English Language Acquisition, she led a state-wide initiative that prepared 402 teacher leaders. Based on this work, she published Teacher Leadership for School-Wide English Learning (SWEL) (TESOL Press) with Amy Stolpestad in 2020. The second edition of this book is forthcoming (March, 2025). Now expanded for a global audience, TESOL SWEL is currently one of TESOL International Association’s top professional development opportunities with five facilitators and over 400 teacher leaders trained around the world.

Co-authored with Natalia Benjamin, her new book, Language of Identity, Language of Access (LILA): Liberatory Learning in Multilingual Classrooms (August, 2024) offers a guide for educators who are committed to expanding learners’ linguistic repertoires while maintaining home language skills.

Benegas has presented her research across the country at conferences and invited lectures in Bahrain, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Northern Ireland. In June of 2024, she was selected as an English Language Specialist by the US Department of State and Georgetown University. She traveled to Bahrain to engage with teacher educators at Bahrain Teachers College and leaders of the Bahrain Department of Public Administration.

Active in TESOL International Association (Teacher Education Interest Section Chair in 2020 and MN Affiliate President in 2015), she is engaged with the global community of English language educators. Additionally, she was a vocal advocate and contributor to the Minnesota LEAPS Act (the most comprehensive legislation for English learners in the nation) and she serves on the Minnesota Department of Education English Learner Task Force. Her research interests include teacher leadership, systemic approaches to improving services for multilingual learners of English, and sociolinguistics.

Benegas believes in creating learning spaces that feel like community. Committed to teaching courses that are grounded in the greater sociopolitical context, she encourages students to bring current events in the field of education as well as professional experience into critical discussions that examine the intersections of schooling and society. Her enthusiasm for culture and languages are evident in her love for teaching.