Meet the Team

Dr. Kendra Katnik serves as an Instructional Specialist with Project Momentum. Dr. Katnik is an experienced educator with a passion for culturally and linguistically responsive and sustaining pedagogy. She has held various positions throughout her career that have allowed her to work directly with diverse students as well as develop resources and professional learning for educators including the roles of elementary and middle school teacher, English Language Development teacher, consultant, and program coordinator, and Adjunct Professor of education. She holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Michigan, as well as professional licenses in teaching and central office administration. In all her work, Dr. Katnik strives to advocate for equitable educational opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students. 

Merissa Russie is the Multilingual Education Licensure Specialist for Project MOMENTUM and an accomplished educational leader specializing in multilingual learner education and program development. She began her career as an ELD teacher in Minnesota's northern suburbs before teaching dual-identified multilingual learners in a district serving primarily students in Setting IV Special Education and Alternative Learning. Transitioning to a charter school in her neighborhood of South Minneapolis, Merissa developed a large and thriving program for multilingual learners. Merissa also managed a Grow Your Own grant to increase the number of licensed staff of color. Merissa’s dedication to education has taken her around the world, including teaching experiences in Jordan and Palestine, as well as with adult learners in the Twin Cities. Merissa holds a K-12 School Principal License, an M.S. in Community & Social Services, and a B.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language. 

Claudia Tabini is the Community Engagement and Marketing Coordinator for Project MOMENTUM. She has been involved with nonprofit organizations working with youth and education in Rochester, Minnesota, for over 15 years and wholeheartedly believes all children deserve a high-quality educational experience. Claudia has experience working with diverse groups towards equity in education and a proven track record in supporting community partnerships in both the educational and nonprofit settings. She holds a Master of Science in Psychology and a Masters of Business Administration, and is a trained facilitator and project manager.

Kristina Robertson is the Multilingual Education Specialist, working on a two-year grant (Closing Educational Opportunity Gaps) from the Minnesota Department of Education.  With 28 years of experience in education and a Master’s Degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), Kristina brings a deep understanding of EL programming, policies, curriculum, and instruction. Throughout her career she has supported teachers in meeting the needs of multilingual learner students, through coaching, and unit and lesson planning. Kristina also enjoys mentoring and coaching students as they navigate a new world and language, finding it rewarding to see students gain confidence and achieve success. Kristina is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Educational Leadership for Diverse Learning Communities.

Jurana Aziz is a doctoral student and graduate research assistant at the University of Minnesota and an associate professor at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. She has over 11 years of experience in working with Multilingual Learners, 8 years of research experience with national and international projects. Jurana holds a BA in English, a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics, and a Master in Education.  She has received the Prime Minister’s Education Award (Bangladesh) for topping all the public exams, Deans’ Merit Scholarship, CARLA Summer fellowship, and AAAL Op-Ed Writing to Change the World Award. Recently she has been nominated for the "Future of the Academy Award for 2024" by Virginia Tech University. She is the author of Ensuring Quality Education for the indigenous minority children – a study commissioned by NETZ Bangladesh in collaboration with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2019. She is also a chapter contributor for UNICEF’s 8th Five-Year Plan for Bangladesh. Her research interests include multilingual education, language policy, and teacher education. 

Laura Byard (she/they) is the Multilingual Lead, Instructional Coach at Andersen Middle School in Minneapolis Public Schools. She has over 15 years of experience in working with Multilingual Learners, mostly at the Secondary level as a teacher, team lead, instructional coach, and at the district level. Laura has consulted with numerous school districts in Minnesota and Wisconsin. They have a particular passion for student-driven goal setting and language development with students who are twice exceptional. Laura was a Fund for Teachers fellow in 2014, where she conducted interviews and observations with educators and students in Djibouti and Somalia. Laura holds a Bachelor of Arts in Chicano Studies, a Master of Education in Teaching Second Languages and Cultures (English), and Educational Specialist Degree. They currently hold licenses in teacher Secondary English Language Arts and English as a Second Language, as well as an Administrator license.  

Dr. Angela Froemming is an adjunct instructor at Hamline University in the School of Education and Leadership where she helps prepare pre-service English Language Development teachers for the classroom. She spent the first ten years of her career as an English Language Development teacher working with multilingual learners primarily in kindergarten through second grade. In the classroom, her instructional focus was on teaching writing through a genre-based approach. As much as Dr. Froemming enjoys working with young learners, she also enjoys working with adult learners. She is trained in English Learners in the Mainstream (ELM) coaching, which helps her support classroom teachers in deepening their understanding of teaching multilingual learners in order to promote more equitable access to learning for all students. Dr. Froemming is licensed in K-12 ESL and K-12 reading. She holds an Ed.D. from Hamline University.

Dr. Tetiana Holovatenko is Ukrainian Visiting Scholar at College of Education and Human Development in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota (2022-2023), senior lecturer of the Foreign Languages and Methodology Department of Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University (Ukraine). Over the last 10 years she gained extensive experience in teaching English to speakers of other languages and preparing pre-service teachers to teaching English. Dr. Holovatenko holds a Ph.D. in Education from the Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University, as well as certification in TESOL from the University of Arizona.

Her area of interests includes technology-enhanced language teaching, teaching English to young learners, and trauma-informed language teaching.

Dr. Keitha-Gail Martin-Kerr is an Associate Teaching Professor in the College of Education and Human Development in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota, where she teaches in/pre-service teachers courses in literacy content and pedagogy and elementary education. She co-chairs the University’s Faculty Development for Online Teaching (FDOT) committee that coordinates and develops opportunities to support faculty teaching online and hybrid courses. Dr. Martin-Kerr is a certified online instructor and Quality Matters (QM) peer reviewer for higher education and K-12 courses. In the field, Dr. Martin-Kerr has worked with several schools and districts across Minnesota, mentoring teachers and school leaders in curriculum design, equity, and the science of active implementation.

Jana LoBello Miller is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Her scholarly interests include elementary teacher education, online teaching and learning, equity-based pedagogies as well as identity constructions within formal and informal educational contexts. She has taught in both elementary and special education classrooms where feminist and culturally responsive pedagogies informed both her teaching and learning.

Dr. Lo Bello Miller's leadership and mentorship within the Teacher Scholars of Color program supports her passion to increase the number of teachers of color across Minnesota. She currently serves as the Co-Director and Co-Licensure Program Lead  of Elementary Teacher Education.

Chris Sanville is an Assistant Principal in Minneapolis Public Schools. He has over a decade of experience working in Multilingual contexts, teaching English as a Second Language, and monitoring Title III Compliance. Every day he is inspired by the ways students use all their linguistic assets to make meaning, learn content, and form friendships across languages and cultures. On the weekends you can find him biking or skiing all over Minnesota and sometimes Wisconsin.

Dr. Karla Stone is a Senior Lecturer in Multilingual Education at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. In that role, she coordinates the initial license and M.Ed. program for MN K-12 ESL and World Language teacher candidates. She also teaches methods courses focusing on assessment, curriculum design, and the integration of language and content.  She has 30 years of experience working with multilingual learners, including over 15 years as a K-12 ESL teacher in Robbinsdale Area Schools.  She has been an active member of MinneTESOL, and collaborates frequently with district and state partners to promote access and equity for multilingual learners.

Kerry Young is an English Learner Program Specialist with Bloomington Public Schools. She has over 20 years of experience teaching in early childhood, elementary, and EL classrooms. Her areas of focus include curriculum development and professional development for teachers in the areas of early childhood EL, collaboration and co-teaching, literacy, and culturally and linguistically sustaining practices. 

Director of Teaching and Learning + Regional COMPASS Supervisor, Sourcewell

Director of ESL and Bilingual Education, Minneapolis Public Schools