Osaka JALT Officers

Officer profiles:

Bob Sanderson is from Rochester, Minnesota (USA) and has lived and taught in Osaka since 1991. With a BA in History from the University of Colorado and an MA in TESOL from the School for International Training in Vermont, he teaches at Kindai, Osaka Jogakuin, Hannan, and Kyoto Gaidai Universities.

Trevor Sitler is from the Nashville area of Tennessee (USA) and earned his master’s degree in teaching from Birmingham University. He currently teaches at Kindai University.

Donna Fujimoto has an MA from the University of Hawaii, and an EdD from Temple University Japan. She teaches at Osaka Jogakuin, and is Chair of SIETAR Kansai and Coordinator of JALT’s Pragmatics SIG. Her main interests are intercultural education, conversation analysis, and pragmatics.

Robert Sheridan (M.S.Ed. in TESOL) is an associate professor in the Faculty of Agriculture at Kindai University in Nara. His research interests include vocabulary acquisition, CLIL, extensive reading, student-centred learning, and the SDGs in language education.

Andrew Blaker is from Auckland, New Zealand, and holds an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham.

Mark Pileggi is from Massachussetts and has been teaching in Japan since starting as a JET in 1997. He has a B.A. in computer graphics and an M.S. in Education specialization in Curriculum, Instruction and Technology. Currently working full-time at Kobe City College of Technology, he loves technology in the classroom. 

Naomi Chiba is a graduate of Kansai Gaidai University, has an MA in Linguistics from the University of Sydney, and teaches at Kwansei Gakuin University, Konan Women’s University, and Osaka Jogakuin University.

Robert Swier is a member of the Faculty of Literature, Arts, and Cultural Studies at Kindai University. He holds graduate degrees in computer science from the University of Rochester and the University of Toronto. He recently completed his doctorate at Kyoto University.

Zoe Barber is from Australia, and has an MAEd in TESOL. Her research focuses on inclusion and diversity in EFL through student participation and engagement, with a focus on supporting students with special and additional behavioral, social, and emotional educational needs.

Officers at Large:

Rebecca Calman is originally from Los Angeles. She currently teaches at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies. Her research interests include content area instruction and critical thinking skills.

Daniel Chesmore is from the UK and has an MA in Creative and Critical Writing. His research centers around Ludic Language Pedagogy and Emergent Narrative, focusing on student storytelling. He splits his time between teaching and editing.

Elisabeth Fernandes is from Canada, and holds a double MAT in English and French from the School for International Training Graduate Institute in Vermont. Her areas of interest include intercultural education, extensive reading, and neuroscience.

Paul Mathieson is from Auckland, New Zealand, and has lived in Osaka since 2006. He has an MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL from the University of Leicester (UK), and a PhD from Kyoto University. Paul is an associate professor in the Department of Clinical English at Nara Medical University, where he teaches medical students and nursing students. 

Claire Murray is originally from Canada, and holds an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham. She has taught EFL to a wide range of students in New Zealand and Japan.

Philip Riccobono (Ph.D.) hails from the U.S. and has lived on both coasts, and now claims Nevada as his home state. He has taught English for more than 20 years in the U.S., Thailand, S. Korea, and Japan. He currently teaches at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). His research interests include Corpus-based Technical Vocabulary, vocabulary acquisition, and ESP.

Chris Ruddenklau is from New Zealand and has spent more than half his life in Thailand, Laos, and Japan. He has supported over 200 visits to Laos by teachers in Japan through JALT’s Teachers Helping Teachers SIG in support of Lao TESOL.

Bertlinde Voegel is from Austria and a visiting lecturer at Osaka University. She teaches German to beginners and is interested in improving fluency and pronunciation of learners. Recent developments in the field of brain research with all the implications for learning are on her list of interests, too.