Advancing Multilingual Learning: Amanda Cataneo at Maryland TESOL Fall Conference

Amanda Cataneo, Ph.D., Program Manager for Professional Development

On Saturday, November 8, 2025, Maryland TESOL organized its 45th Annual Fall Conference, hosted by UMBC. The conference was chaired by Dr. Amanda Cataneo, MILE’s Program Manager for Professional Development and First Vice President of Maryland TESOL. 

The conference theme, "Honoring and Sustaining Students' Home Languages," strongly aligned to Dr. Cataneo's work in dual language and multilingual education, a key area of emphasis within MILE’s broader mission of equity-focused literacy

The keynote speaker was Dr. Susana Ibarra Johnson, who spoke about the use of translanguaging as a way to sustain students' home languages. There were also a few familiar faces from last year's MILE Dual Language Educator Conference, who spoke at Maryland TESOL as featured speakers, including Filimena Owona, Susan Levy, and Tessa Arévalo. Dr. Beatriz Quintos, a UMD professor, spoke about culturally sustaining pedagogy in mathematics, and Dr. John Chi, a recent UMD alumnus, spoke about the importance of language maintenance via heritage language programs. 

Overall, the conference highlighted the collective commitment across Maryland to uplift multilingual learners.

Maryland TESOL Board Members

Philimena Owona, a featured speaker and PGCPS French Immersion teacher and recent presenter at MILE DLEC