Angel Lin

Angel M. Y. Lin received her Ph.D. from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada in 1996. She was Full Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Plurilingual & Intercultural Education at Simon Fraser University (2018-2024). Currently she is Chair Professor of Language, Literacy and Social Semiotics in Education at the Education University of Hong Kong. Dr. Lin has published widely on additional language education, discourse analysis, and the “4T Lenses”—trans/languaging (TL), trans-semiotizing (TS), transknowledging (TK) and Transculturing (TC). Her recent research focuses on critical engagement with Generative AI in education and AI safety and ethics.  Angel M. Y. Lin is featured in the list of the world’s top 1% most widely cited scientists published by Stanford University in 2024, representing global recognition of the impact of her scholarship. In 2019, she started the TL-TS Research Channel on Youtube and has organized over 40 research seminars featuring both established and emergent scholars in applied linguistics and education from all over the world. The Research Channel has over 1300 subscribers and over 20,000 views as of December 23, 2024: https://www.youtube.com/@tl-tsresearchgroup6716/streams

John Hajek

John Hajek is Professor of Italian Studies and Head of the School of Languages and Linguistics at the University of Melbourne. He is also president of the Languages and Cultures Network for Australian Universities (LCNAU) and has worked collaboratively with the AFMLTA for many years. He is a trained linguist who completed his studies in Australia, Italy and the UK. While he has a particular interest in the learning and teaching of Italian language and culture, he is a passionate supporter of all languages in Australia’s education system, with longstanding research experience in this area.

Ellen Bialystok

Ellen Bialystok is Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus at York University and Associate Scientist at The Rotman Research Institute of Baycrest. She is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Oslo. Her research uses behavioral and neuroimaging methods to examine the effect of bilingualism on cognitive processes across the lifespan. She is the author of over 300 scientific papers and author or editor of 12 books, including the 2022 book written for parents and teachers, “Bilingual children: Families, education, and development”. Among her many awards are the Killam Prize for the Social Sciences, York University President’s Research Award, and the Donald T. Stuss Award for Research Excellence at the Baycrest Geriatric Centre. 

Karina Lester

Ms Karina Lester is a Yankunytjatjara Anangu woman from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands) in the far North West of South Australia.  Karina grew up in the remote community of Mimili in the beautiful Everard Ranges, where she was taught to speak her language with her father’s people.  Today she is very passionate to maintain her language for the future generations.

Karina currently works for the Mobile Language Team (MLT) as Aboriginal Co-Manager and Senior Aboriginal Language Expert at The University of Adelaide, supporting the Aboriginal languages of South Australia in revival and living languages programs.  She is also an Anangu Interpreter and Translator

Karina is also an active anti-nuclear activist, sharing not only her late father, Yami Lester’s story but her grandmother’s story of the first mainland nuclear bomb tests at Emu Field in 1953, where Yami and his people felt the “ground shake and the black mist roll”. The British Nuclear Testing Program took place in the 1950’s – 1960’s and Karina speaks strongly about the impacts felt by her people.

In 2018 Karina joined the list of ICAN Ambassadors along with current Ambassadors Robert Tickner – ex Australian director of the Red Cross and the former federal Labor Aboriginal Affairs Minister, and Scott Ludlam – ex Greens spokesperson on nuclear issues.

Andrew is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the University of South Australia. He lectured in Languages Education, Chinese and Asian Studies for nearly 25 years and  was a member of the Research Centre for Languages and Cultures for 15 years. Andrew has participated in a range of research projects in the Languages Education field, with a focus on national and state policy and curriculum for Asian languages, learner diversity in the languages classroom, literacy development in Chinese, and language teacher education. He was a long-time member of the Executive of the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations (AFMLTA), most recently as Babel editor. Andrew was awarded the AFMLTA Medal in 2024, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Languages Education in Australia. In 2025 he was the recipient of the highest distinction of the Fédération Internationale des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes (FIPLV), the International Award, presented for his internationally recognised contributions to the Languages Education profession.