Melissa Potts Potts

Passionate and dedicated bilingual educator and researcher with a diverse background in the P-18 and non-profit sectors. Experience includes working as a teacher, instructional coach, teacher educator, librarian technician, literacy coach, and lecturer. Expertise lies in program and course design, professional development facilitation, project management, and curriculum development. Highly skilled in culturally responsive practices, English language instruction, literacy, and supporting multilingual learners. Core values revolve around embracing differences, approaching situations with inquiry, fostering community and collaboration, promoting equity, and finding joy in work.

2019 Service Learning Program: Community Partner Spotlight - Dominican University, San Rafael, CA

2013 Excellence in Teaching - ELS Language Centers, Princeton, NJ

• Human Trafficking Certificate, Oakland Unified School District, 01/01/22, Oakland, California
• Heinemann LLI Intermediate & Middle Grades 3-8 Certificate, Virtual Institute, 01/01/22
• TESOL Certificate, UC Berkeley Extension, 01/01/17, Berkeley, California
• TEFL Certificate-CELTA certified, Cambridge University, 01/01/13

• TESOL, 01/01/13, Present
• ELS Language Centers Curriculum Advisory Board (CAB), 01/01/17, 12/31/18
• Guided Research Committee, ELS Language Centers, 01/01/14
• Lesson Planning Team, ELS Language Centers, 01/01/13

• Abolitionist Leadership Working Group: Community Autoethnography, Collective Struggle & Joy, AERA Annual Conference, Chicago, Illinois, 01/01/23
• Abolitionist Leadership Working Group: Community Autoethnography, Collective Struggle & Joy, HICE Annual Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, 01/01/23
• Conceptualizing Abolitionist Leadership as Praxis for Equitable Education, AERA Annual Conference, San Diego, California, 01/01/22
• Conceptualizing Abolitionist Leadership as Praxis for Equitable Education, CAPEA Conference, Virtual, 01/01/22
• Cross-Cultural Communication in the International Workplace, The Rise Journey, Virtual, 01/01/22
• Creating Equity through Educational Autobiographies, WESTOP NorCal & Nevada PDS, Lake Tahoe, California, 01/01/18
• Promoting Critical Thinking in the Reading & Writing Classroom, CATESOL Bay Area Conference, Alameda, California, 01/01/17
• Creating Equity through Educational Autobiographies, ENGLISH USA PDC Conference, Monterrey, California, 01/01/16
• Innovative & Interactive Strategies for Teaching Grammar & Pronunciation, CATESOL Bay Area Conference, Santa Clara, California, 01/01/14
• Innovative & Interactive Strategies for Teaching Grammar & Pronunciation, TESOL Conference, Portland, Oregon, 01/01/14

• Dominican University, San Rafael, California, 01/01/22, Invited as subject matter expert to design and facilitate 'Culturally Responsive Approaches in Community Engagement' to both faculty and students. Collaborated on development of learning module focused on cultural humility.
• UC Berkeley Extension, Berkeley, California, 01/01/20, Incorporated project-based learning curriculum development for three courses for the Global Exchange Program.
• National Geographic Learning, San Francisco, California, 01/01/18, Critically reviewed National Geographic textbook for level-appropriate activities. Correlated ESL school programs’ descriptors with National Geographic textbook.

• Culturally Responsive & Inclusive Curriculum Development, Graduate College of Education, San Francisco, California, 01/01/22
• Abolitionist English Language Teaching, Service Learning Department, San Rafael, California, 01/01/22
• Intercultural Competency for Student Services Staff, International Programs Department, Berkeley, California, 01/01/20

• Service Learning Program: Community Partner Spotlight, Dominican University, San Rafael, California, 01/01/19
• Excellence in Teaching, ELS Language Centers, Princeton, New Jersey, 01/01/13

• Healthy Relationships for Newcomers, Oakland, California, 01/01/23
• LGBTQIA+ Ally Training, Oakland, California, 01/01/23
• Critical Race Theory Teach In, Hayward, California, 01/01/22
• Intersectionalities & Identity, Berkeley, California, 01/01/20
• Online Learning & SLIFE: Best Practices, Oakland, California, 01/01/20

• Social & Cultural Foundations of Education for Social Justice, California State East Bay, Hayward, California, 01/01/22
• Cultural Responsiveness in TESOL, UC Berkeley Extension, Berkeley, California, 01/01/20 - Present
• Learning Across America, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, 01/01/18 - 12/31/20
• Advanced Writing: Guided Research Paper, ELS Berkeley, Berkeley, California, 01/01/11 - 12/31/18
• Spanish I, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, 01/01/08 - 12/31/10