I’m Dr. Swift - language education consultant and expert on language learning, teaching, and curriculum design with skillsets in research, evaluation and educational operations.

I’ve developed my consulting services over 15+ years and love what I do! My love of all things language related started as a personal goal to learn the language of my relatives - Italian! What started as a series of elective courses as an undergraduate developed into a double-major in Italian and Psychology. I found purpose and passion in people, language, and education. As such, I’ve pursued the best programs and opportunities to hone skills that enable me to make meaningful change for educators, learners, and families.

I believe in the power of language to connect people to opportunity. No matter where we find ourselves in the world, language matters. It matters for fun, family, business, education, travel, policy…. it’s a part of everything that we do as communities and societies. Language has the capacity to increase belonging, bridge connections, inspire novelty and evoke nostalgia. And so, so much more.

As a first-generation college graduate and granddaughter to Italian immigrants, my drive as a researcher and educator grew from a desire to learn more about belonging and to explore different parts of the world. I became a language instructor to help others with their own language journeys.

As a professional educator, with over 15 years in education, I’ve established deep understanding about the ways that student and institutional success are connected through a focus on language. My goal with my consulting services is to facilitate increased opportunities and success for both learners and educators.

Over the years I’ve designed and facilitated teacher training courses, professional development workshops and trainings for university staff and administrators. I’ve offered my services as operations director for a research institute at an R1 university and federal grant writer for a range of disciplines. My research has informed directions for student programming, success resources, DEI initiatives, onboarding processes, and more at universities.

I’ve taught high school college prep Italian and Spanish, university level Italian at an R1, English as a second language to international students as well as migrant elementary students, adult Italian and English language courses, and linguistics.

My training comes from some of the top institutions in the United States:

Ph.D. - Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, University of California at Davis

Dissertation: Language Ideologies and Belonging: Educational Experiences of Chicanx and Latinx University Students.

M.A. - Linguistics, University of California at Davis

M.A. - Italian Linguistics & Pedagogy, Middlebury College Italian School, Vermont

B.A. - Psychology & Italian Studies, Wheaton College (Massachusetts)

Contact me to learn more about my services and how I can support your language needs and goals.