MCAEL Advisory Group Spotlight: Cindy Newland

February 22, 2022

Tell us a little about yourself and what was your entry point into Adult ESOL.

I am originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, but didn’t grow up there.  As a young child, I moved around the world with my family as diplomats. I have lived in Thailand, Venezuela, Mexico, Bolivia, and the United States.  I learned to speak Spanish while living in various Spanish-speaking countries.  After receiving my BBA in Business Management from Howard University I found my love of teaching English when I volunteered teaching ESOL to adults after work.  A few years later, after my first daughter was born, I decided to leave my job as a Senior Sales Manager at a large drug science organization and pursued teaching regularly. I taught every level from literacy to advanced. After teaching ESOL for close to 14 years, I became the program coordinator at Sheppard Pratt’s Linkages to Learning English Literacy Program.


Where are you now teaching (or working as an ESOL provider) (at what levels and for which organizations)?

I stopped teaching ESOL a couple of years ago when I started working as a full-time program coordinator. However, through my connections from teaching ESOL, I was offered the opportunity to help immigrant students gain their citizenship. In 2018, I began teaching citizenship classes for Montgomery County and have helped countless number of students become U.S. citizens.


What unexpected successes or previously unknown capabilities have you and the learners you serve experienced during the pandemic?

When the pandemic happened, we were forced to transition in person classes to virtual only.  I for one, wasn’t familiar with online platforms, but quickly learned how to use them. It was difficult for our teachers as well as learners to navigating classes online. I thought this was the end of our program. But to my surprise the opposite happened. Online registration and surveys were easier for our students to use. Our registration numbers almost doubled, our students and teachers love the convenience of online classes, and our approval ratings increased. Teaching virtually, at least in some part, is the future and we will continue to do so.


What role do you play in MAG [committees, roles]?

I am new to MAG. I am still learning my role, but I hope to work with others on my committee to find better ways to keep students engaged and motivated to attend class, educate them online, and help them achieve their personal goals.


What do you find most rewarding about your work?

The most rewarding part of my job is seeing how our ESOL classes touch and change the lives of our students. Hearing success stories from students how learning English has given them their confidence and independence back. They found financial independence with better paying jobs; social independence because they can write notes to teachers, ride the Metro, or connecting more with their community; and personal independence because they can buy groceries or speak with doctors without their children as interpreters. Learning English has improved lives and brought families closer together. Their successes are the reason I love my job.


What brings you joy outside of your professional life?

I enjoy reading mystery novels or watching a good Who Done It show on TV. I love dancing especially to salsa music.  I enjoy cooking and trying new recipes and I love traveling with my husband and two beautiful daughters.

Tell us a little about yourself and what was your entry point into Adult ESOL.
I am originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, but didn’t grow up there.  As a young child, I moved around the world with my family as diplomats. I have lived in Thailand, Venezuela, Mexico, Bolivia, and the United States.  I learned to speak Spanish while living in various Spanish-speaking countries.  After receiving my BBA in Business Management from Howard University I found my love of teaching English when I volunteered teaching ESOL to adults after work.  A few years later, after my first daughter was born, I decided to leave my job as a Senior Sales Manager at a large drug science organization and pursued teaching regularly. I taught every level from literacy to advanced. After teaching ESOL for close to 14 years, I became the program coordinator at Sheppard Pratt’s Linkages to Learning English Literacy Program.

Where are you now teaching (or working as an ESOL provider) (at what levels and for which organizations)?
I stopped teaching ESOL a couple of years ago when I started working as a full-time program coordinator. However, through my connections from teaching ESOL, I was offered the opportunity to help immigrant students gain their citizenship. In 2018, I began teaching citizenship classes for Montgomery County and have helped countless number of students become U.S. citizens.

What unexpected successes or previously unknown capabilities have you and the learners you serve experienced during the pandemic?
When the pandemic happened, we were forced to transition in person classes to virtual only.  I for one, wasn’t familiar with online platforms, but quickly learned how to use them. It was difficult for our teachers as well as learners to navigating classes online. I thought this was the end of our program. But to my surprise the opposite happened. Online registration and surveys were easier for our students to use. Our registration numbers almost doubled, our students and teachers love the convenience of online classes, and our approval ratings increased. Teaching virtually, at least in some part, is the future and we will continue to do so.

What role do you play in MAG [committees, roles]?
I am new to MAG. I am still learning my role, but I hope to work with others on my committee to find better ways to keep students engaged and motivated to attend class, educate them online, and help them achieve their personal goals.

What do you find most rewarding about your work?
The most rewarding part of my job is seeing how our ESOL classes touch and change the lives of our students. Hearing success stories from students how learning English has given them their confidence and independence back. They found financial independence with better paying jobs; social independence because they can write notes to teachers, ride the Metro, or connecting more with their community; and personal independence because they can buy groceries or speak with doctors without their children as interpreters. Learning English has improved lives and brought families closer together. Their successes are the reason I love my job.

What brings you joy outside of your professional life?
I enjoy reading mystery novels or watching a good Who Done It show on TV. I love dancing especially to salsa music.  I enjoy cooking and trying new recipes and I love traveling with my husband and two beautiful daughters.
 

Kavita Sethi Joins MCAEL's Board of Directors

By MCAEL • February 5, 2026
Kavita Sethi joins MCAEL’s Board after a more than 30-year career in international development. She has extensive experience in developing and leading infrastructure projects in many regions of the world (Africa, Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean) with a focus on urban mobility, institutional change, governance and private participation in service provision. She brings a strong background in collaborating with government institutions, donor agencies, academia and infrastructure development companies across the world, as a transport professional with the World Bank. Post-retirement, Kavita is an active volunteer and board member for local and international non-profits and remains professionally active as an infrastructure and institutional development consultant. She is passionate about the role education plays in opening economic opportunities and empowering marginalized communities. MCAEL’s mission to promote access to language skills speaks directly to her passion for education and first-hand knowledge of the challenges of language barriers. She is excited to support MCAEL as they continue to deliver on their mission. Kavita holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Clark University and a Master's in Business Economics from the University of Delhi. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland, and is rediscovering the joys of hiking, reading, and photography. She is slowly improving her cooking skills and is always on the lookout for new recipes to try!

MCAEL Statement: Our Commitment to Our Community

By MCAEL • February 3, 2026
At MCAEL, our mission is rooted in strengthening our community by supporting adult English learners and the programs that serve them. In moments of heightened fear and uncertainty, it is important for us to speak clearly about our values and our commitment to the people we serve. Deeply troubling reports of immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota and elsewhere in the country have understandably raised serious concerns within immigrant and non-immigrant communities across the nation. So, it is understandable that many residents in Maryland, and Montgomery County specifically, might feel anxious about the possibility of increased immigration enforcement activity in our local area. This uncertainty creates fear, anxiety, and a sense of vulnerability that affects daily life, family stability, and willingness to seek education and community services. We see and feel the impact of this climate every day through our coalition partners, instructors, learners, volunteers, and within our own circle of friends and families. When immigrants are portrayed broadly and inaccurately as criminals or as a burden on public systems, the harm extends far beyond rhetoric. It can undermine trust, erode community well-being, and weaken the social fabric of our community. We must not let it. It is important to restate facts that are well established and supported by extensive research from reputable academic institutions, government agencies, and policy organizations across the ideological spectrum. Immigrants, including those without documentation, are consistently shown to commit less crime than U.S.-born citizens, to contribute billions of dollars in local, state, and federal taxes, and play a vital role in the workforce and small business creation. These findings are not matters of opinion - they are supported by decades of credible evidence. MCAEL supports policies and values that promote trust between communities and local institutions and are essential for public safety, public health, and educational access. We are grateful to live in a county that recognizes these principles and works to uphold them. MCAEL stands with our learners, our partners, our neighbors, our families, and our community. We affirm the right of every person to be treated with fairness, dignity, compassion, and respect regardless of immigration status, language skills, or ethnicity, and to feel safe in their own homes, neighborhoods, and in their daily lives. We remain committed to supporting adult learners and the programs that serve them, and to working alongside our partners to strengthen resilience, trust, and opportunity throughout Montgomery County.

Fiona Glade Joins MCAEL’s Board of Directors

By MCAEL • January 29, 2026
MCAEL is delighted to welcome Fiona Glade to the Board of Directors. Currently interim dean of the Honors College at Montgomery College, Fiona started her career in higher education more than twenty years ago. Since joining the Montgomery College community six years ago, she has led the department of English Language for Academic Purposes, Communication Studies, and Linguistics; directed the Paul Peck Humanities Institute; and served as interim Campus Dean of Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus. She previously served as Assistant Provost at the University of Baltimore, and prior to that as Associate Professor and Vice Chair at the California State University, Sacramento, where she taught undergraduate composition and writing-in-the-disciplines courses as well as graduate courses in the theory and practice of composition, rhetoric, second language reading and writing, and pedagogy. A first-generation college student and immigrant to the United States, Fiona earned her A.A. in English from Antelope Valley Community College; her B.A. in English from the University of California at Santa Barbara; and her M.A. and her Ph.D., with distinction, in Rhetoric and Composition from Washington State University. Fiona believes passionately in the capacity of higher education to be transformative, and she remains fiercely committed to access, high quality, and affordability. She is proud to have spent her career serving students, faculty, and staff at public institutions, where her highest priority is to contribute to academic excellence and lifelong learning, and to support students’ achievement of the goals they have set for their own education pathways. She is excited to continue her work in this area, now as a member of the MCAEL Board. Fiona lives in Silver Spring with her husband, Walt, and their tiny chihuahua, Wilson. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, cooking, traveling, and volunteering.