Originally from NJ, I came to Los Angeles in 1982 after completing my formal education and spent the next 17 years working in private industry, primarily in international and domestic sales and customer service for manufacturers of architectural products. With business and personal travel having taken me to some 30 countries, I feel the combination of academics and industry experience gives me a unique perspective on the value of education and the need for well-developed communication skills in a multi-cultural world... I hold a BA with honors in political science from Vassar College, a masters degree in international management, and a Certificat d\'Etudes from the Institut d\'Etudes Politiques de Paris, France. I obtained my teaching credential from Cal State Northridge. I have pursued post-graduate workshops for French teachers in the cities of Angers, Paris and Montpellier, France and the Universite Laval in Quebec. I have taken advanced French language and literature classes at UCLA and CSULA and language teacher training workshops at Occidental College through the LA STARS program. In past years, I\'ve had hiking adventures here in CA, England, France, Peru and Nepal, and cycling trips through the CA wine country, San Juan Islands and Nova Scotia. My wife, Hua Long, is from China, and I guess that speaks to my culturally inquisitive nature!

English Learner Advisor/Career Advisor/ Spanish Teacher Mrs. Levitsky has been teaching with LAUSD for 30 years. She received her Bachelor\'s Degree in Slavic Languages and Literature from UCLA, as well as her teaching credential and her Master\'s Degree in Education. She also has a Bilingual and Bicultural Certificate in Spanish from the state of California. Aside from coordinating the English Learner Program, she is teaching Spanish 1 and 2 this year.