Executive Director(PDSO) Dr. Micky Ryoo Ph.D., Texas Woman's University M.S., University of Wisconsin B.S., University of Wisconson Dr. Micky Ryoo received her Bachelor's degree and a Master of Science from University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin. Dr. Micky Ryoo has attained her Ph.D. from Texas Women's University in Denton, Texas. She was a former assistant professor at Central Washington and Wade College. Dr. Micky Ryoo was an instructor at the Art Institute of Dallas and Wade College in Dallas. In addition, she was the director and instructor for Elite SAT Academy. She is the Principal Designated School Officer, Director, and an intensive English, ESL Workplace, TOEFL, SAT, and computer training instructor for Elite Language Institute of Dallas.	Instructor Kevin Peterson B.A., Christian Heritage College (now San Diego Christian College ) Th.M, Dallas Theological Seminary (in progress) Kevin was born and raised in California. Upon graduating from college in 1988, he spent four years teaching English (and other subjects) to 5th grade students in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since then, he has taught a variety of subjects part-time on the secondary level in addition to serving as a youth pastor at two churches (one north of San Francisco, the other north of Los Angeles). He is very happily married to a teacher (his lovely bride, Allison, teaches drama and Bible to high school students in Colleyville) and has a passion for communicating and teaching. In addition to teaching, Kevin's hobbies include music, computers, watching movies with Allison, and sports (especially golf and basketball).
Instructor Merle Lemaire B.B.A., Amberton University Merle Lemaire has taught ESL for almost nine years, as this is her second career. She spent over twenty years in marketing and management, mostly in the D/FW Metroplex area. She received her BBA in Business Administration from Amberton University in 1991 after ten years, attending four different colleges, while caring for a growing son and working full time. Merle elected to begin teaching ESL to do something more altruistic. She has taught ESL in the Dallas, Round Rock (Austin area) and Texas Panhandle (Amarillo) public school districts. She is lucky to have instructed both children and adults from countries such as Mexico, Honduras, Columbia, Ecuador, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Viet Nam, Iraq, Iran, China, Sudan and Turkey. Most recently, in fact, she spent eight months teaching English as a foreign language while residing in Istanbul, Turkey. She feels that she now can better empathize with the stresses her students' experience. In her spare time, Merle enjoys antique collecting and reading, as well as visiting her beloved 26 year-old son in Lafayette, Louisiana.	Instructor Sujean Chung Kim M.A. in TESOL, University of Texas at Arlington B.S., Texas Woman's University Sujean graduated from Texas Woman's University with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology. She is currently working up the nerve to restart her path to finish her MA in TESOL at the University of Texas at Arlington. Sujean has been teaching for approximately 7 years. Her initial exposure to teaching was quite by accident. She went to China for 8 weeks to teach Conversational English to college students at Yanbian University of Science and Technology in the summer of 1998. She initially started teaching ESL at W.H. Adamson High School (Dallas Independent School District). Then, she became the ESL Director at Global Vision Christian School. While there, she continued to develop her professional development skills by acquiring the TOEFL Certificate. She also developed the school's first ESL Handbook designed to educate faculty, parents and students in understanding second language acquisition and to debunk myths surrounding ESL students. Her ESL Program received praise and was "Commended" by the visiting ACSI Accreditation board. Sujean thrives when faced with a challenge, thus loves working with ESL populations. She is happiest in her classroom teaching the subject matter she has a great passion for English as a Second Language. Sujean pursued certification through Dallas Independent School District (Texas) with their Alternative Certification Program, passing the 2 state certification tests (Pedagogical Practices and Theory and ESL Content Area for Texas). She lives in Plano with her amazing husband, Mike, their fantastic daughter Catie, and adorable Maltese, Zoe. Her hobbies include reading, working out (when she can actually commit to it), and dreaming of making their home look like those Crate and Barrel ads.
Instructor Michael J. Cuellar M.B.E., Southern Methodist University B.A., University of Southern California Mr. Michael J. Cuellar holds a Master of Bilingual Education degree from Southern Methodist University. In addition, he holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Southern California, where he double majored in philosophy and comparative literature. Also, he has spent time studying Spanish at the Instituto Mexicano de Espanol y Cultural in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Currently, he is an English/ Language Arts teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School in the Dallas Independent School District. In his spare time he enjoys reading 19th century Russian and French literature, listening to jazz music, and traveling. He is originally from El Paso, TX.	Instructor Elsa Thomas Dr. Elsa Thomas graduated in 2006 from the University of Debrecen Medical and Health Sciences Center, Debrecen, Hungary. During her years of medical training, she had the privilege of being involved with many outreach teams to gypsy villages to underprivileged people. She also had the privilege of going on medical mission trips to Ukraine and Romania. She has always loved to teach and became a tutor to her colleges and classmates for various subjects, including English. During her last year in Hungary, she had an opportunity to teach English in three different high schools, a language school with an adult group, and at a company with adult groups of two different levels. At ELI, She teaches conversational English, comparative studies of culture, and some grammar. Although she loves to teach, she is also excited to learn from her students, about their lives, language and country.
Instructor Cynthia Allen M.A.C.E., Dallas Theological Seminary 2008 B.S.B.A., University of Hawaii 1991 Cynthia spent over 20 years traveling with the Department of Defense in the Pacific Theater. Upon receiving her first degree in 1991 she taught entry level computer and radio communications classes. After receiving her Masters in 2008, she is very involved in teaching through her local church. She has a heart for teaching and enjoys the international community and all the cultural interaction it brings. Previously a volunteer teacher for ESL and tutor at a afterschool program, she enjoys witnessing the progress in her students. In addition to teaching, Cynthia enjoys her cat Dallas, reading, photography, the arts and outdoors.	Instructor Toni Chai Mr. Toni Chai received his master's degree in Telecommunications Management and bachelor's degree in Management Information Systems from Oklahoma State University in 1999 and 1997. Mr. Chai came to the United States in 1988 and started a new life in a small rural town called Tulsa in Oklahoma, where he attended Union High School for 4 years. Mr. Chai himself had to work very hard to learn the language of English from the beginning. Having lived it for over 20 years, Mr. Chai understands what it takes to learn a foreign language and be able to communicate with the natives, not only in terms of the language but also in term of cultural and social aspects. Mr. Chai hopes to bring his personal and professional experience into each and every classroom and share it with the students so they can prepare for an exciting life here in the United States.
Instructor Marcus Jennings B.A. in Psychology, Texas Tech University 2005 Marcus Jennings is a native Texan who was born and raised here in the DFW area. After earning his B.A. in Psychology from Texas Tech University in 2005, he headed overseas to Perth, Western Australia to study Sociology at Murdoch University. The year in Australia sparked his interested in language and culture, so he headed to Kaohsiung, Taiwan to begin teaching English. He spent a year and a half working children of all ages as well as adults. Marcus returned to the States in late 2008 to pursue a Masters of Education in ESL from Texas Wesleyan University. Along with studying this past year and a half, he has been teaching ESL courses at Tarrant County College.	Instructor Dave Kirby Mr. Dave Kirby has been a professional teacher for 15 years. His main subjects have been English (ESL) and History, and he has been lucky enough to teach students from more than 20 different cultures. After graduating from the University of North Texas, he worked for a time with students in special education. Dave moved to Japan in 1999, where he spent several years teaching and traveling around Southeast Asia and Europe. He returned to the U.S. in 2008, and has been enjoying his classes and students at E.L.I. Dave has taught in three school districts in the U.S., and was a counselor for two high schools. However, he returned to the classroom because he missed seeing the success in his students. In his spare time, Dave composes and records his own music. In Osaka, he worked part time as a professional guitarist and became friendly with the underground music scene in Japan. Dave has always enjoyed teaching and will move overseas someday in the future to continue his career in a different country. He enjoys E.L.I. and believes teachers learn more from students. On weekends, he teaches art and enjoys music and reading.