She has taught middle school, high school, and adult Russian classes for thirty years. A former president of Alaskans for Language Acquisition (AFLA), she serves on the annual conference committee team. She is the 2014 AFLA Teacher of the Year and 2016 PNCFL ToY. As a Board Member of the American Councils of Teachers of Russian, she writes about technology and Language for the ACTR Letter. Whaley initiated a PLC on teaching with TPRS and CI for a group of Alaskan teachers that has met for seven years. Her passions are literacy and comprehensible input. For her, language acquisition is all about connections and sharing stories. Read more from Michele at her blog.