Koya Partners | Diversified Search Group partnered with the Center for Applied Linguistics on the search for its next President & CEO.

The Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) is a non-profit based in Washington, DC. It was established in 1959 by Stanford Professor Charles A. Ferguson, a pioneer in the field of linguistics, with a grant from the Ford Foundation to the Modern Language Association. CAL promotes language learning and cultural understanding by serving as a trusted source for research, resources, and policy analysis. Through its work, CAL seeks solutions to issues involving language and culture as they relate to access and equity in education and society in the U.S. and around the globe.

Our work resulted in the recruitment of Dr. Ngoc Diep Thi Nguyen to the role.

Dr. Nguyen has over three decades of experience in teaching, research and leadership in PreK-12 schools and institutions of higher learning (IHEs) and a proven record of organizational management and thought leadership in bilingual/multilingual education.

Previously, Dr Nguyen served as the Director of Educational Learning Research and Practice and subsequently as Senior Director of Research and Outreach for the WIDA Consortium at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she led a team of researchers and Professional Learning specialists to provide the WIDA English Language Development (ELD) standards and professional resources to educators serving multilingual learners across the consortium.

Prior to WIDA, Dr. Nguyen served as Chair and Associate Professor of the Teacher Education program at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU). She had conducted research on the long-term impacts of Dual Language Education programs on students and teacher’s efficacy to serve multilingual learners. She also investigated the experiences of Asian American educational leaders as they navigate racism and other forms of discrimination in K-12 settings and the academia.

Before joining NEIU, Dr. Nguyen spent more than a decade leading instructional programs in PreK-12 settings, including implementing bilingual/dual language programs in multiple languages and serving as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction.

Dr. Nguyen earned her Ph.D. in Educational Studies and her M.A. in French Literature from the Ohio State University. She received her B.S. in Secondary Education from West Virginia University.