MA ESL Alumnae Honored

MA ESL alumnae Andrea Echelberger and Erin Cary received awards at the state Minnesota English Learner Education (MELEd) conference on November 17. Erin represented the collective of #IamABE.

Andrea Echelberger, a teacher at Robbinsdale Adult Academic Program and frequent ATLAS presenter. Andrea received the Harold B. Allen award, an annual award given to an educator who has demonstrated particular dedication to the profession and to the MinneTESOL organization. Andrea was nominated for her many contributions to the field of ESL across the state and the nation, particularly around adult emergent readers, trauma informed instruction, pronunciation teaching, and professional development. 

MinneTESOL believes strongly in the importance of advocacy for immigrant and refugee English learners in Minnesota. They honor advocacy work with the Mary Diaz Award for ELL Advocacy. Mary Diaz was one of the founders of Hamline University’s ESL and bilingual programs.  This year’s recipient of the Mary Diaz award is #IamABE, and Erin Cary was present at the MELEd conference to receive the award on behalf of the group. #IamABE is, first and foremost, a collective of grass-roots educators. The #IamABE group is extraordinary in its advocacy efforts for adult education in Minnesota.