MCAEL Advisory Group Spotlight: Pam Wilbur

May 20, 2022

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

My name is Pam Wilbur. I grew up in Massachusetts and have lived in Maryland for the last 30 years. I spent 15 years working on trade issues for the federal government and left the workforce for several years to raise my son. When he reached school age, I started to volunteer in our church’s ESOL program. Over a short period of time the program grew rapidly, and this led to a new job as the program’s director. 


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

I am the program director for Covenant Life Church’s ESOL program. We hold English classes at South Lake Elementary School in Gaithersburg, and teach classes to SLES parents and other community members that live close to the school. Covenant Life has been teaching English classes at SLES for the last 9 years, and our volunteers have taught over 1300 students in that time. I am not an ESOL teacher, but rather serve as the manager and “details” person for our program.  


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

Our teachers had no experience – zero, zip, nada! - with online teaching prior to the Covid lockdowns. Some of our volunteer teachers were very, very hesitant to continue teaching their classes using Zoom. But I was amazed and encouraged by the ones who said “yes” to tackling Zoom and taking on this big new challenge. And they were successful! - teaching 127 students online in the FY21 school year. We count this as a big success for the program and for our students. Also, the pandemic, and the move to online teaching, allowed us to teach and continue relationships with students who had moved out of the area. Students and teachers got a lot of joy from this, and were very grateful for this unexpected benefit in a difficult time.  


What role do you play in MAG?

As a member of the MAG, I serve on the Conference Planning Committee, helping to plan the upcoming MCAEL conference, and on the Learner Leadership Advisory Group Committee.


What do you find most rewarding about your work?

As a church-based ESOL program, we have the opportunity to show “faith-in-action” by welcoming and serving the “stranger” in our midst (which is how some bible translations refer to immigrants). It is very rewarding to have the opportunity to express my faith through service and to work alongside our group of volunteer teachers and assistants.  It has also been very rewarding to watch our students struggle, learn, and then succeed. We have had the opportunity to see students put their English skills to good use, getting better jobs because of improved English, working out problems with landlords and employers, and becoming U.S. citizens.  


What brings you joy outside of your professional life?

I have a husband and 19-year-old son and they bring me a lot of joy. We enjoy traveling together. We are also committed Star Wars and Marvel nerds. I am also a photography hobbyist and love getting the perfect shot. Finally, I took up making paper flowers during our COVID lockdowns, which I enjoy very much and find both challenging and relaxing.  
Graphic promoting an Executive Director Spotlight featuring Gerard Etienne and his recent blog.

Executive Director Spotlight: It's Back-to-School for Adult Learners Too

By Gerard Etienne • August 25, 2026
I don’t remember my first day of high school very well, or even my first day in college, but I will never forget my first day of 8th grade or how I felt. My family and I had just arrived in the U.S. in late July, and while I had taken a year of English in the French school system, the only sentence I could say with a degree of confidence was “I don’t speak English”! I was enrolled at St. Michael’s in Silver Spring (a K-8 school that closed in 2012), and on that first day, I went up to the teacher before class started and told him, “I don’t speak English.” He said something back to me, but I didn’t understand what he said, and I went to sit back down. For the rest of that day, and many days after that, I did my best to figure out what to do, where to be, and how to navigate my day-to-day. To do my homework, I first had to use an English-French dictionary to translate it, then switch to a French-English dictionary to translate my thoughts to English.  As difficult as that experience was, I realize that I was very lucky—I was young, I had a strong academic foundation, no financial responsibilities, no one to take care of, and I was immersed in English every day, all of which allowed me to learn the language relatively quickly. The situation for adults is very different. Many, if not most, have families to support, bills to pay, multiple responsibilities to manage, and have limited time to devote to taking English classes, all while navigating an increasingly challenging climate of immigration enforcement and economic uncertainty. Despite these challenges, thousands of adults across Montgomery County have the courage, perseverance, and determination to take classes year after year. They choose to invest in themselves even when doing so means fitting English around work schedules, childcare, transportation, and everything else life demands of them. I had the incredible advantage of being immersed in English every day and having most of my day devoted to learning. Most adults don’t have that luxury. As children go back to school this fall, it is worth remembering that thousands of adults are also heading to the classroom to improve their English, often after a full day of work or caring for their families. Their determination is remarkable and inspiring. We have the responsibility to make sure that every adult who wants to learn English have the opportunity, support, and access to do so.

Executive Director Spotlight: Channeling Frustration into Purpose

By Gerard Etienne • July 23, 2026
Over the past several months, I’ve found myself avoiding the news, not because I don’t care—quite the contrary—but because the sheer volume and constant stream of “bad” news can feel overwhelming. It’s easy to feel exhausted and frustrated by problems that seem far bigger than any one person can solve. When I’m in that place, I try to remind myself that the work that my team and I do every day, the work that the nonprofit community does in MoCo—which is fundamentally about helping others—is a way to combat the harmful impact of what we see happening in the news and in our community. I may not be able to solve every problem or change harmful policies, but I can choose how I respond. I can help a neighbor, donate my time, work for a cause, advocate for someone, or support my community. Those actions may seem small, but I know for a fact that they can matter a great deal to the people receiving them. And I know they mean a great deal to me.  Helping others doesn’t solve everything, nor does it make the world’s problems disappear. But it can help to channel frustration into purpose. Even if we can’t control all that is happening, we can still have a positive impact on the people around us and on our community.

2026 MAACCE Conference

By MCAEL • June 24, 2026
Last month, MCAEL sponsored three adult ESOL professionals from the coalition to attend the Maryland Association for Adult, Community and Continuing Education (MAACCE) 2026 Conference. Centered around the theme, Empowering Communities Through Education: Empowering People Where They Are, the conference brought together adult education professionals from across Maryland for workshops, resource sharing, networking, and professional learning. Anieta from Gaithersburg Beloved Community Initiative (GBCI) particularly enjoyed a session on scenario-based problem solving. The session "emphasized the importance of going beyond grammar and helping students become problem solvers—giving them opportunities to find their voice and advocate for themselves. This is something I am excited to continue building into my classroom." For Tanya from Identity, a standout session was Invisible Luggage: Leading with Emotional Intelligence, Not Emotional Weight. "The workshop emphasized that everyone—clients, teachers, staff—carries some form of emotional baggage, whether it’s a carry-on, a checked bag, or a whole conveyor belt. It began by prompting us to reflect on our own emotional “luggage” with the question: 'What emotional weight are you carrying right now, and has it been making decisions for you without your permission?' The concepts introduced shifted many participants’ perspectives.” Tanya appreciated the reminder that while learners and colleagues may share parts of their stories, much of what they carry remains unseen. The session reinforced the importance of approaching others with empathy and understanding.  MCAEL is grateful for opportunities to support adult ESOL professionals in accessing continuous professional development and bringing back new ideas, resources, and perspectives to their programs and the coalition.