2023 Board of Directors - Slate of Nominations 

The election of directors will take place at the MATSOL Annual Meeting (Online) on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 at 5:00 PM.

Register for the Annual Meeting

Current members are welcome to attend and vote. 

Slate of Nominations

The MATSOL Board of Directors presents this slate of nominations to the MATSOL Board of Directors for a three-year term from June 2023- June 2026. 

• Michelle Boyle 
• Rachel Brainard
• Moira Greenson 
• Mary Hughes 
• Chris Montecillo Leider 
• Yuiko Shimazu 

Nominee Statements

Michelle Boyle 

I currently teach English and ELL at Natick High School where I’ve been for the past seven years. Prior to teaching in Natick, I taught at Jewish Community Day School in Watertown, MA, at English High School in Jamaica Plain, and at Detroit Community High School in Detroit, Michigan. It wasn’t until I moved to Boston and taught at English High School that I stepped into my first ESL classroom and was immediately hooked. For the past 17 years, I’ve been teaching English Language Learners of all ages, from elementary students to adults, and each year I feel more passionate than the next. I remain hopeful, perhaps naively, that this is the year that some big change is going to occur for the better: people will become more welcoming and less nativist, more empathetic and less ignorant, more multicultural and less provincial. Life for our EL students, however, continues to be unthinkably hard and scary, and so with each year, I fight harder and with more conviction than the last. I refuse to give up. Our ELs don’t have the luxury of giving up because the stakes are so high — sometimes even the difference between life and death. Being on the Board of Directors of MATSOL offers a profound opportunity to carry on this fight. 

Rachel Brainard

I am a graduate of Lesley University’s Master of Education Program in TESOL and am finishing my fifth year of teaching ESL in the state of Massachusetts. I currently teach high school ESL at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School in Roxbury, the only vocational high school in Boston Public Schools. While I am a first-generation college graduate, I have also become incredibly passionate about making vocational opportunities and education accessible to high school students, especially our multilingual students in Boston. The collaboration between academics and real-world experience has been fascinating to watch as an educator and learner, and my students work twice as hard to fulfill their requirements in both high school academics, in addition to their chosen trade. Furthermore, my high school is identified as a turnaround school by DESE and we offer one of the only SLIFE programs provided through a vocational setting in the United States. Unfortunately, it is for these reasons that my students are frequently looked over and therefore need representation. Now that I am settled into my early years of teaching, I would like to push myself to take on added leadership roles that give me the space and privilege to advocate for my students and their specific needs.

Moira Greenson

I have been a member of MATSOL for over twenty years and have served on the Board of Directors since 2020. Since this time, I have served as the Chair of the Program and Member Engagement Committee from 2021-2023. I am an active member of the Coaches SIG and have served on the steering committee from 2020-2022.  I have also facilitated several book studies on anti-racism. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to lead several professional presentations at MATSOL conferences. I would like to continue serving on the board to deepen my commitment in MATSOL’s vision of creating positive change in the field of multilingual learner education. I look forward to collaborating with my MATSOL colleagues in meeting our mission of equity and excellence in the education of multilingual learners.

Mary Hughes

I have had the privilege to serve as Treasurer on the MATSOL Board of Directors from 2018 to the present. I first started my service to MATSOL as a volunteer on the Finance and Audit Committee in 2016. In 2017, I was formally elected to the Board, and in June 2018, I was elected Treasurer. As Treasurer, I chair the Finance and Audit Committee, which helps to oversee and manage the financial affairs of MATSOL in conjunction with the Executive Director, Helen Solorzano. In 2019, I played an integral role in bringing our volunteer CPA, Helen Tang, on board, and she has greatly improved the efficacy of the committee. I firmly believe in MATSOL’s mission "to promote equity and excellence in the education of multilingual learners." My work with MATSOL keeps me informed about the current state of the field and allows me to participate in a professional network that is a great resource for my students at BU Wheelock as they begin to serve as professionals in the field. As a linguist and an educator working in the field of language education, I strongly believe in the MATSOL vision statement to create “positive change in the field of English Language Learner education.” I strive to promote the idea that multilingualism is an asset in education and in the larger global context. I would be honored to continue to serve as Treasurer for another term. If I am reelected, my goal would be to build the Finance and Audit Committee by recruiting current Board members and volunteers to the committee to maintain and grow MATSOL’s financial solvency.

Chris Montecillo Leider

Yuiko Shimazu

I would like to continue to serve as a MATSOL Board member because I am passionate about supporting the greater MATSOL community. As English is my second language, I have a deep and intimate understanding of English learners’ challenges and the needs of students and educators. I am also eager to create a safe and equitable learning and working environment especially for those students and educators who have been struggling with social justice issues. I co-founded my district’s Employees of Color leadership team and the Educators of Color (EOC) Affinity Group in order to initiate dialogue around these topics. Through continued involvement with MATSOL, I hope to advocate for English learners and their families as well as facilitate dialogues around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Specifically, I would strive to create a welcoming space and provide resources for all MATSOL members to engage in these sorts of conversations and more.

I have been a long-term member of MATSOL for over 10 years, serving on the MATSOL Board of Directors since 2017 and served as the Chair of the Program and Member Engagement Committee from 2018 to 2020. I also co-founded the MATSOL Educators of Color (EOC) SIG with my colleague from Lexington Public Schools, and we are facilitating monthly meetings. I am currently the Chair of the Member Engagement Committee since 2022, and I have had the opportunity to lead multiple professional presentations at various MATSOL Conferences.

I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with all of the members of MATSOL.