Where Bilingualism Can Take You in the World
Hear some recent American college graduates describe the careers they now pursue thanks to their bilingualism, as they share their language biographies with America the Bilingual founder Steve Leveen.
Steve Leveen
Author of "America's Bilingual Century" and founder of America the Bilingual
Steve Leveen is the author of "America’s Bilingual Century: How Americans are giving the gift of bilingualism to themselves, their loved ones, and their country." Named a 2021 Finalist for the International Latino Book Awards, this foundational work puts forth a new and attainable vision for Americans to become bilingual. Steve himself is an emerging bilingual, taking Spanish as his “adopted language” in midlife. "America’s Bilingual Century" is part of the America the Bilingual Project, which Steve founded in 2017. He holds a PhD in Sociology from Cornell and is also an alumnus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Mass Media Fellowship program. This is his second year presenting at Global CRED.
Sheila De La Cruz
Student, Harvard University
Sheila De La Cruz is a senior at Harvard College studying Neuroscience on the Mind, Brain and Behavior
Track with a Secondary in Ethnicity, Migration, and Rights. She has been a very active member on campus having served as Chair of the Latinx Caucus on the Undergraduate Council, Co-President of Fuerza Latina, and Co-President of the Harvard Society for Mind, Brain, and Behavior. She is a recipient of the 2021 Mary Gordon Roberts Fellowship for her thesis research work on child neurodevelopment. She is also a 2020 Harvard Global Health Institute Research Fellow and a 2019 Harvard Roosevelt Scholar. In her free time she enjoys volunteering at Maliheh free clinic as a patient technician and medical interpreter, advocating for immigrant rights through the Comunidades Unidas organization, and dancing with Harvard Expressions Dance Company.
Nick Staffa
Bilingual International School Leader
Nick Staffa is a native New Yorker who now serves as an international school leader focused on bilingual education, particularly in the East Asia region. He currently serves as the Primary Department Director at I-Shou International School, a bilingual IB school in Taiwan, after serving as the Head of Chinese at Seoul Foreign School (SFS) in Korea, and leading the Language B Chinese Team at the Canadian International School of Hong Kong (CDNIS). He looks forward to returning to Hong Kong in 2022 with his wife, two sons, and bilingual mutt as the Head of Bilingual Programmes at CDNIS. Before going abroad, Nick was a curriculum writer and Chinese teacher at Memphis City Schools in Tennessee. He has been fortunate to share his love of languages and the gift of biliteracy to students in 4 countries over 12 years in education. Nick holds a Masters in School Building Leadership from Columbia University, and a Bachelors in Asian Studies and Linguistics from SUNY Stony Brook University.
Matt A Shipley
Co-Founder of Community Greening
Matt Shipley is a third-generation South Floridan and was speaking Spanish by the time he could talk. Matt’s mother, Kari, had always encouraged Matt to study language and volunteer abroad. Matt was always inspired by culture and nature which drove him to study environmental issues and Spanish at the University of San Diego. Matt spent a semester abroad in Toledo, Spain and after receiving his BA in Spanish and Environmental Studies, Matt joined the Peace Corps. He served in Paraguay as an environmental educator but much of Matt’s work also involved teaching English at the local schools. Upon completing his service, Matt went back to California to receive a MA in International Environmental Policy at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Language was also a main focus so Matt stuck with Spanish. Matt is now the co-founder of Community Greening, an urban forestry non-profit in S FL and uses his Spanish daily. He lives in Delray with his Latina wife and newborn daughter, Katie.