MEET OUR TEAM

Daniella is a native of the Chattanooga area. She has a BA in English Literature from UTC and an MA in American Dance Studies from FSU. From 1999-2000, she spent a year abroad in Florence, Italy, getting in touch with her Italian heritage and studying art at Florence Academy of Art. While there, she learned Italian via lessons and immersion. After graduate school, she spent a year teaching English in Orvieto, Italy, and in Ascoli Piceno, Italy. Upon her return to the US, she became an Italian Language flight attendant for Delta Airlines, where she worked from 2007 to 2019. She could be found flying to and from Venice, Rome, and Milan making announcements and translating for passengers in English and Italian. She taught private lessons in Italian and English as a Second Language and in more recent years has picked up a newer love of the Spanish language and culture. Daniella currently teaches Spanish to a local family with young children and is excited to share her love of language with others!

Deborah is a native Korean speaker and has traveled significantly, not only as a military child, but also as a military spouse. After a life of military moves, she and her family excitedly chose to call Chattanooga home in 2021.

Growing up with Korean as her first language, she has put her bilingual expertise to practical use over the years, from working as a translator for professional organizations and businesses in college, to being the office manager at a Korean medical center. She feels so much gratitude to have had those opportunities to uniquely develop her language skills in a native setting and is passionate about relaying her love of languages into her teaching.

Deborah recently earned an Advanced Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) for completing the Teaching Business English course from The TEFL Org.

A teacher by trade, she loves working creatively with her students to meet their potential.  She has a deep passion for her Korean culture and language, and looks forward to empowering others on their language journey.
She loves traveling and learning about other cultures, and truly believes we are all connected in this amazing world.

Emil was born in Jordan in the Middle East where he received two bachelor’s degrees in Agricultural Science and Theological Science, and later in 2014 he received a master’s degree in Biblical Studies.

He has more than 30 years of experience teaching and training leaders, which includes his extensive work with The Program of Theological Education by Extension in Jordan. Emil’s experience in training tutors has given him the opportunity to travel and train in other countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. He also taught a vocational curriculum for one year for the Amman Baptist School in Jordan for grades 5-11. Emil moved to the USA in 2006 and has lived in Chattanooga since. He has been teaching Arabic language at Covenant College since 2008.

Emil also enjoys learning other languages, including French, Italian, NT Greek, and OT Hebrew. Currently, he is learning the Syriac-Aramaic language.

Born and raised in France, Emmanuel has lived in North America for more than 25 years and worked in software and telecom sectors, using the French language in companies in the United States and Canada.

He joined Chattanooga School of Language in 2012 as a French teacher and then decided to focus his efforts on CSL's Travel Immersion program. In Emmanuel's role as Language Immersion Program Consultant, he designs and packages language immersion trips for high schools, universities and groups of adults for French and Spanish learning. He is also currently the President of the Tennessee branch of the French American Chamber of Commerce.

Gabriela is a native Spanish speaker who was born and raised in Costa Rica. She received a B.A in communications (major), marketing (minor) from Universidad Latina de Costa Rica. After graduation, she worked in Costa Rica and volunteered for a year doing community service in Latin America and Asia. She started her teaching career after moving to the United States and has more than fifteen years of experience teaching Spanish to elementary and middle school students as well as to adults. Gabriela can use a variety of teaching techniques in her classroom which has helped her to be more aware of the different ways of learning and identifying each student’s needs, interests and personality. She enjoys foreign languages, other cultures, travel and active community service.

Grace began speaking the Chinese language at age five in Southern China. While her parents taught English at a Chinese university, she attended a local kindergarten and primary school. There, as the only American student, she learned to read, write and speak Mandarin. For almost 18 years she spent summers in Chattanooga and the school year in China.
When it came to time to choose a university, Grace followed her passion for translation, linguistics and International Business. She graduated in 2021 from Xiamen University with a bachelor's degree in Chinese Language Studies with a focus on International Business.
Grace’s desire is to pass on her knowledge and love of language. She understands the importance of cultural influence and interpersonal relationships when it comes to studying any language. She, herself, loves mastering languages and believes that one should never stop learning. Her goal at CSL is to create a safe, engaging and fun environment for her students. She believes that "you cannot fail, as long as you have tried.”  In her free time, she loves to brunch with friends, go to concerts and make Asian cuisine.

Janet was born in Brazil, and she grew up speaking both English and Portuguese. In college, she majored in French and German. She has been teaching ever since in public, private, and home schools, as well as a couple of years in a secondary school in Sárospatak, Hungary.

Since college, Janet has added Spanish and basic Hungarian to her languages and promotes being a polyglot everywhere she goes. Besides languages and traveling, Janet enjoys music, reading, and most of all her grandchildren. She is thrilled to be back at CSL.

Fun fact: Janet was one of CSL’s first teachers when the school was founded in 2011!

Chattanooga native but a traveler at heart, Laurie has a passion for different cultures and languages. She has more than 12 years of experience in the Spanish language and culture through teaching, studying, working and living abroad. She holds a B.A. in Communications with a minor in Spanish from Berry College and spent a summer in college attending the Universidad de Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain.

After graduation, she moved to Costa Rica to attend a language school and immerse herself fully in the language and culture. It was this experience that inspired her to create the Chattanooga School of Language in 2011.

In 2018 Laurie led her CSL team to win the honor of Small Business of the Year (1-20 employees) from the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and was also selected for first place in the TVFCU Idea Leap Grant competition with the award of $20,000. She currently serves as the VP of Programs for the Southside Council of the Chamber of Commerce. She previously served as a member of the Chattanooga Breakfast Rotary Club and on the Board of Directors for the International Business Council of the Chamber. She is a graduate of Leadership Chattanooga (2018-19) and was selected for Chattanooga's "20 Under 40" in 2018.

Liz was born and raised in San Salvador, El Salvador. She graduated from the Evangelical University of El Salvador with a master’s degree in Business and Human Resources. After teaching as a professor at her alma mater, Liz entered the business world, eventually becoming director at Oceano Idiomas where she guided the teaching and administrative staff.

A true lover of her culture and language, Liz has continued her career in Chattanooga, teaching Spanish at Belvoir Christian Academy and CSL.

Liz feels fortunate to have the opportunity to empower others through language learning.

Melynda grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, and moved to Chattanooga in the summer of 2023. When she was young, she had a few deaf friends and remembers being completely fascinated with American Sign Language (ASL). In college, she had the opportunity to combine two of her passions - teaching and ASL - and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Education for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. After graduation, she began teaching at the Georgia School for the Deaf. For the past 17 years, she has been a collaborative teacher and a teacher for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and currently is a teacher for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing with Hamilton County Schools.

She is so excited for this opportunity with CSL because it allows her to pass along what she knows to others who are eager to learn ASL. She loves seeing her students' faces when their peers want to learn ASL, and they can communicate with them. Melynda has one daughter (17) who keeps her busy with her after-school activities of piano and percussion. During the summer time, you will find Melynda volunteering for Music City Drum Corps, with whom her daughter performs. In her down time, she loves to travel and catch up on much-needed sleep! 

Merari was born in Mexico but grew up in North Carolina. She is fluent in Spanish and English. She enjoys art and hiking and spending time with her loved ones. In 2011, she graduated with a B.A. in Spanish Language & Literature from North Carolina State University. During her undergrad years, she worked at the Boys & Girls Club where she discovered her passion for teaching. As a result, after completing her B.A., she went back to school to complete a licensure program in K-12 education. Merari’s first teaching assignment was at a public high school in her North Carolina hometown. However, in pursuit of her master's degree, she moved to Cleveland, TN, to attend The Pentecostal Theological Seminary where she obtained her M.A. in Biblical Studies. During her time in TN, she taught for six years at the Paideia Magnet school, Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts. She is currently a Spanish teacher at Dalton High School. During the past ten years, she has had the opportunity to teach Spanish K-12 and is excited for the opportunity to teach at CSL. 

In 2021, Michelle relocated to Chattanooga from Birmingham, Alabama, where she taught English and all levels of French - beginners through Advanced Placement. She first fell in love with the French language and culture when, at 17 years old, she lived in Fontainebleau, France, as an exchange student. Later, at Auburn University, she double majored in French and International Trade, dabbling a bit in Japanese and Spanish as well. She went on to earn her master's degree in French and Foreign Language Education at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

She is currently building a new French program at a local high school. Michelle loves to share her passion for language learning and for Francophone cultures with her students through music, art, film and literature. She also enjoys leading student tours to France and other European countries.

Michelle recently earned an Advanced Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) for completing the Teaching Business English course from The TEFL Org.

Aside from teaching and traveling, Michelle enjoys running, reading and cooking. But mostly, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She is expecting her first grandchild this fall!!

Nicole was born in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Since her father was in the United States Navy, she and her family later moved to Virginia Beach, VA, where the Norfolk naval base is located. In her formative years, she had an enriching life, growing up in an area of diverse cultures from around the world. Nicole moved to Chattanooga, TN during middle school and graduated from Brainerd High School, and later from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a B.A. in French. Her first teaching assignment was at a small private school in Stony Brook, New York. She later moved to Brooklyn to teach in the sister school location.  Nicole returned to Chattanooga to teach and get her Master’s in Education, and taught twenty years at the Paideia magnet school, Chattanooga School for the Liberals Arts. She is currently teaching high school in Dalton, GA. Nicole is privileged to have taught K-12 throughout her career and is excited to continue building community through the power of language at CSL.

Rachel was born and raised in Sichuan, a province in the central south of China where she grew up speaking Mandarin and Sichuanese dialect. In high school, she began learning English before coming to the United States for college. At Covenant College on Lookout Mountain, she discovered her passion for learning languages when she began learning her third language as a French major. In 2021, she graduated from Covenant College majoring in two dimensional Art and French. Rachel is passionate about making art, learning languages, and exploring cultures. Additionally, she loves cooking and eating food from different cultures (but her favorite will always be Chinese food!).

Rosie is a music and language enthusiast whose interest in German began while studying music and living abroad in Berlin. Since then, she received a B.A. in German and Music as well as her teaching certificate in German Education from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI and a Master’s in Early Childhood Education from Portland State University. She has taught in various German immersion settings in Minnesota, Oregon and Tennessee including the renowned Concordia Language Villages in Bemidji, MN, teaching preschool and kindergarten at multiple German immersion schools and co-leading a German and nature immersion camp through the Wauhatchie Nature Program here in Chattanooga. An opportunity to start a band with her sisters brought her to Chattanooga five years ago where she fell in love and has newly become a mother.