Robert L. Steiner, Chairman of the Board

Founder and Chairman, Robert Steiner has had extensive experience in the field of cross-cultural training and international education. He has held key posts in management and training in the U.S. and abroad; was Director of Cross-Cultural Training and Research at the University of Hawaii; served as Director of the Fulbright Commission in Iran; started and directed the Peace Corps programs in Afghanistan and Iran, and was later promoted to Peace Corps Regional Director for North Africa, Near East and South Asia; worked as Executive Director of New Jersey Education Consortium; and has been a consultant at the United Nations. As a chief executive officer of government agencies and private institutions, Robert Steiner has managed and promoted world-wide educational and training projects. He holds an M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University and a B.A. in Mathematics and Physics from the College of Wooster. He is listed in Who's Who in America. Robert Steiner speaks Farsi and French. 

Ahad Shahbaz, President & CEO

President of INTERLINK Language Centers, Ahad Shahbaz has designed and directed several intensive English language programs in the U.S. and abroad. Prior to becoming an ESL director in Alabama in 1975, he taught English at State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo and coordinated the Teacher Corps/Peace Corps language and cross-cultural projects at SUNY/College at Buffalo. In 1977, at the invitation of Ohio University, Ahad Shahbaz established and directed the Ohio University intensive English program in Saudi Arabia. An elected officer of several national and international professional organizations, he has been active in: the American Association of Intensive English Programs (the first elected Vice President for Standards); Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (Affiliate President for North and South Carolinas); Commission on Accreditation of Intensive English Programs (Task Force Member); and NAFSA: Association of International Educators (presenter on various topics related to leadership, management of IEPs, and cross-cultural training). He holds an M.A. in ESL from SUNY/Buffalo and a B.A. in Liberal Arts/Linguistics from SUNY/College at Buffalo, New York. He speaks English, Dari, Pashto, Spanish, and is familiar with Arabic and German.

Mark Feder, Curriculum Director

Mark Feder has worked with INTERLINK in many different capacities. Since his arrival at INTERLINK in 1988, he has been an instructor, center director at Valparaiso University and Colorado School of Mines and Curriculum Director. Having taught for the Peace Corps in Liberia and in universities in Korea, and having studied and traveled in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, Mark brings to INTERLINK a strong academic background in ESL/EFL, teacher training, and linguistics. He holds an M.A. and completed course work and comprehensive exams for a Ph.D. in Classics; received his M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the School for International Training, and has a B.A. in comparative linguistics. Mark has taught courses in Latin language and classical literature and has studied over a dozen languages including German, Spanish, and Korean. .

David Parsons, Center Director, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

David Parsons has had extensive experience in teaching, research, and administration. Prior to joining INTERLINK, David Parsons directed a Kellogg Foundation-sponsored program on agriculture in the liberal arts: "Food, Peace, & International Development" at Wilmington College of Ohio. He has taught ESL and conducted cross-cultural research in Algeria. Since 1986, he has worked with INTERLINK as teacher, assistant director and director of two different campus programs. As former president of Carolina TESOL, he has been active in the region promoting standards in ESL programs. David Parsons holds a B.A. from Guilford College in History and Math; an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Northwestern University; and a MAT in English as a Second Language from the School for International Training. He speaks fluent French and is familiar with Arabic and Russian.

Brad Teague, Assistant Director, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Brad Teague joined INTERLINK during the summer of 2010 as the assistant director of the center at UNC-Greensboro. Before coming to INTERLINK, he taught ESL to international students as well as content courses in the undergraduate and graduate programs in ESL education at Vanderbilt University. His primary research interests include second language acquisition and ESL teacher preparation, and he has worked with current and future ESL educators in both K-12 and adult settings. Brad is a member of and frequent presenter at international TESOL, Carolina TESOL, the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL), the National Reading Conference (NRC), and the American Educational Research Association (AERA). He has also presented throughout Mexico, where he lived, studied, and worked for four years. Brad earned his B.A. in Spanish and linguistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and then pursued graduate study in a bilingual (Spanish/English) program at the Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, Mexico, earning an M.A. in applied linguistics. Subsequently, he earned a Ph.D. in education from Vanderbilt University. Brad is highly proficient in Spanish and has studied Portuguese and French.

Rebecca Shelton, Center Director, Valparaiso University

Prior to becoming director, Rebecca Shelton served as associate director, administrative assistant and homestay coordinator at INTERLINK/VU. She became part of the ILC/VU staff soon after its inception in 1992. Responsibilities since that time have included the publication of alumni newsletters, development of the conversation partner program and homestay program, and oversight of the ILC/VU website. Rebecca's experience prior to joining ILC/VU includes administrative and management responsibilities with a marketing/communications firm and research/analysis in a corporate marketing research department. A graduate of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, she holds a B.A. degree in English literature with a concentration in secondary education. She is currently working on her M.A.L.S. at Valparaiso University.

James King , Center Director, Colorado School of Mines

While living in Tunis, Cairo, and Paris as a language learner and researcher, James King became interested in how second languages are acquired. The training he received in Paris in teaching English as a second language together with the cultural and linguistic insights he gained as a language learner and sojourner in many different countries have served as the foundation for a career in teaching ESL and administering ESL programs that spanned almost twenty-five years before he joined INTERLINK. James King holds a B.A. degree in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.A. degree in Arabic Studies from the American University in Cairo. His wife is French and their son is a bilingual and bicultural French/American.

Shane Carter, Center Director, Indiana State University

Before becoming director of INTERLINK/Indiana State University program, Shane was a faculty member at Chubu University in Japan. He first became interested in the field of TESOL as a volunteer at Ashland University, in 1991. Since then, he has taught in Korea, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and, most recently, Japan. Interested in creative writing and in cross-cultural pragmatics, he earned his undergraduate degree in English literature from Ohio State University as well as his MA degree in Applied Linguistics from the same university. He has held a number of administrative positions both domestically and abroad, including head teacher, level coordinator, and assistant director. A summer working as a computer camp director sparked his interest in computer assisted language learning and educational technologies. He plans to earn a PhD in Educational Technologies..

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