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.  

Finding A Voice: Learning English in MoCo

By Dariana Guzman • October 29, 2026
As a child, I felt helpless watching my parents struggle to communicate in a language that was foreign to them. As I grew older, I took on the responsibility of helping them navigate those barriers — becoming a bridge between two languages and cultures. While doing so, I grew more comfortable in a world that was sometimes less familiar to them. I’m now a student at the University of Maryland, and this past summer, I found myself revisiting this experience from a new perspective. As a Digital Futures Institute Fellow with Montgomery Community Media, I had the amazing opportunity to learn and connect with local Montgomery County leaders and organizations focused on adult English language learning . What started as a news package became a chance for my team to explore how the county can help their residents overcome language barriers, an issue that was so deeply personal to me. Through this project, I connected with MCAEL. Learning about their efforts helped me better understand the network of dedicated people and community organizations working behind the scenes to make language education accessible to as many learners as possible. For me, this story is about more than learning to speak English. It is about the challenges that come with navigating an unfamiliar environment and the importance of feeling connected to your community. It is a story about belonging. I hope you enjoy watching it!  Dariana Guzman, Montgomery Community Media Digital Futures Institute Fellow and current MCAEL Digital Media Intern Posted with permission of Montgomery Community Media

Creating a Safe Space for Latina Women

By MCAEL • September 23, 2026
Like many immigrant families, we arrived in this country with many dreams, hopes, and goals for a better future. However, one of the first and most significant barriers I encountered was language. I began volunteering at my son’s school, where I met other women who were facing the same challenges I was — difficulties communicating, limited job opportunities, and a deep fear of speaking with their children’s teachers. Many of us were also afraid to visit the doctor because we could not fully understand what was being said. We felt frustrated, isolated, and, at times, invisible. These shared experiences inspired me to take action. I decided to create a safe space where Latina women could feel heard, supported, and empowered. In 2010, I had the opportunity to volunteer with GBCI, where I coordinated conversational English classes for a group of mothers. Then, in 2011, we began a partnership with Epworth United Methodist Church, offering morning English classes and expanding our work in collaboration with AABF. For more than 17 years, I have dedicated my life to motivating women to follow their dreams, to believe in themselves, and to recognize their own strength. Today, Mujer Fuerza y Coraje is a nonprofit organization committed to supporting women and their families through a variety of programs and resources. These include Welcome Baby, designed for pregnant women; Los Años Dorados, created for Spanish-speaking seniors; summer arts programs for children and youth; and English classes during the summer. In addition, we provide training sessions, educational and mental health programs, workshops on child abuse prevention, substance abuse prevention for youth, food distribution, and assistance in connecting families with essential community resources. Our mission is to continue expanding our programs supporting more families by providing tools like English as a Second Language classes, helping them access better job opportunities, and strengthening communication within their communities and their own families.  We are working together for a better future. Milagro Flores is the CEO, Founder, and Director of Mujer, Fuerza y Coraje. She’s lived in Montgomery County for 20 years.
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 has the opportunity, support, and access to do so.