New York, NY – October 3, 2019—In order to help increase intercultural awareness and global competency among all US-based high school students, not just those who choose to study abroad, AFS Intercultural Programs/USA (“AFS-USA”) announces the launch of a new education unit and has named Jill Woerner, Director of Education and External Outreach to Schools.
Woerner brings to the position knowledge gained from nearly two decades of experience in private and public school settings as a teacher and administrator, and as the former World Language and Global Learning Specialist for the Indiana Department of Education. While working for the Department of Education, Jill implemented Indiana’s Seal of Biliteracy, created the Global Learning Advisory Council (GLAC), helped to solidify the Indiana Language Roadmap grant, facilitated the Dual Language Immersion grants and programs and led numerous workshops helping Indiana World Language teachers through various professional development initiatives.
According to Tara Hofmann, President and CEO of AFS-USA, “Jill Woerner has the depth and breadth of experience we need to truly make a difference in the global competency space in the US. Backed by a new strategic plan just approved by our Board and more than 4,000 dedicated volunteers, many of whom are educators themselves, we are well-poised for success with this new education initiative.”
Woerner has been recognized for her work both in her home state of Indiana and nationally. She was named a world language Teacher of the Year finalist in 2012. More recently, she was named Indiana AATSP’s Key Leader and Indiana NNELL’s Leader of Leaders. In 2017, Woerner was appointed as the CSCTFL delegate to the ACTFL Board of Directors where she leads the Professional Learning Committee.
“Jill Woerner is a big picture thinker, a doer and an encourager,” said ACTFL President Lisa Ritter. “This wonderful combination of qualities has impacted teachers through Jill’s involvement in planning engaging conferences, committee work on important issues affecting our profession and supporting teachers not only by sharing resources but also with positive words. We wish her great success in her new endeavor with AFS-USA.”
Beyond her education career, Woerner has served as volunteered for AFS-USA over 11 years, helping to interview scholarship candidates and serving as a chaperone on programs abroad in Panama and Ireland. She also volunteers with Partners of the Americas and Global Indiana, Inc. to establish teacher-to-teacher exchange programs in Brazil. She is a graduate of Purdue University (B.S.) and Anderson University (M.Ed.).
For more information about AFS-USA’s offerings for educators, visit our page dedicated to teachers.