Coordinator
Adam Murray
Role
As the title implies, the SIG Coordinator is responsible for coordinating all the activities of the SIG. The SIG Coordinator is the main contact person for the SIG and acts as a liaison between the JALT Central Office (JCO), the other officers, and the members. The SIG Coordinator also represents the members and officers of the SIG at the Executive Board Meeting (EBM) and is responsible for preparing, organizing, and chairing the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held each year at the conference.
Adam Murray
Adam Murray is currently teaching at Miyazaki International College. He has co-authored a classroom-use textbook and is working on the development of listening materials. Adam has a strong interest in listening instruction.
Treasurer
Marcus Grandon
Role
The Treasurer keeps all financial records and collect and disburse all funds of the Materials Writers SIG. He presents an account of the financial status of the organization at the Materials Writers SIG Annual Meeting and submits regular financial reports to the National SIG Treasurer Liaison. The Treasurer prepares the financial documents for an internal audit to take place after the books have been closed at the end of each calendar year.
Marcus Grandon
I began teaching in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1990, where I still reside and make my living by teaching at local universities. I also work as a producer of multimedia content, and write grassroots materials for the Japanese context. I have a B.Sc. in Business administration, an M.A. in Humanities, and a post-grad certificate in Online Instruction. Currently, my research focuses on the student use of video-based materials in university classrooms.
Program Chair
Greg Goodmacher
Role
The main task of the Programmes Chair is to organise the SIG forum at the autumn JALT National Conference. However recently, the number of joint events with JALT chapters is seeing a pleasant rise and the MW-SIG also is involved with the annual Pan-SIG Conference. Beyond these events, the role of the Programmes Chair may also include promoting a featured speaker at the JALT National Conference.
Greg Goodmacher
Writing teaching materials from scratch and adapting teaching materials are the two most fulfilling aspects of my teaching career. I have written five published textbooks and have contributed to several others. Most of my materials are global or social issues content-based. See my profile for more information.
Publication Chair
Jim Smiley
Role
Jim is the SIG's Publication Chair, overseeing the production of our publication, Between the Keys, which is published three times a year.
Jim is a lecturer at Tohoku Bunka Gakuen University up in Sendai. He is the author of English Care, Therapy Care and Nursing Care, a series of coursebooks for students in health-related English classes. Also, he has authored Frames and Taking Issue which are general textbooks for communication classes. His latest book, co-authored with Jon Catanzariti, Conversation Master, teaches conversation using techniques developed in conversation analysis. See his website for more information.
Sub-Editor
Matthew Keighley
Matt is the Representative partner of Square One LLC as well as a teacher at J.F. Oberlin University and Tama University’s School of Global Studies. He is the author of the award-winning blog Marshmallow Sensei, and the mini-ebook Marshmallow-Go. He also spends an inordinate amount of time listening to podcasts on early morning trains.
Membership
Forrest Nelson
Photo coming soon.
Role
The Membership Chair keeps our membership lists up to date, and keeps the members informed of the happenings of the SIG.
Forrest Nelson
Bio coming soon.
Publications Layout Chair
Scott Peterson
Role
Between the Keys is produced in a PDF format and can be downloaded from our website. The PDF layout is a highly technical and specialised job done by an expert in publications layout. Currently, this job is done by our treasurer, Scott Petersen.
Scott Petersen
I am happy to serve as the treasurer of the Material Writers SIG. After these several years, I have finally gotten a handle on the job (sort of). I came to Japan in 1977 and lived in Matsuyama for two years. Then, I returned to the US to obtain an MA in ESL from the University of Hawaii. I returned to Matsuyama in 1981 and worked for a few more years. I moved to Nagoya in 1984, where I worked for the best Catholic University in the city. After that I moved to a junior college and am still at the same institution although it eventually upgraded to a university. In the 90’s, I travelled to Tokyo every week to attend the graduate school at Temple University, where I was granted an EdD in Curriculum, Instruction and Technology in Education in 1998.
Co-Layout Editor
Jeanette Dennisson
Jeanette Dennisson is an associate professor at Tokyo Medical and Dental University. She is currently involved in developing new curricula and materials for Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) courses in undergraduate basic health science program.
Japanese Coordinator
Harashita Sunaoshi
Harashita Sunaoshi
I teach English and intercultural communication, my specialization, at universities in Tokyo area. Prior to coming back to Japan in 2005, I also taught Japanese and sociolinguistics in the US, where I did my M.A. and Ph.D. work, and later in New Zealand, residing in these countries for 14 years total. I like teaching English to Japanese students very much, and I feel one of my strengths is the fact that I went through the Japanese education system so I can understand where my students are coming from. To write and publish teaching materials is a newly emerging interest for me, and I look forward to serving the MW SIG as Japanese Coordinator and being a link with the Japanese audience.
Member-at-Large
Travis Holtzclaw
Travis works at Meiho Jr. & Sr. High School in Tokyo where he teaches conversation and the 21st century course of the Global Studies Program, which includes training critical thinking skills through a problem-based learning approach. His main goal is to "professionalize" the English conversation teaching field through conversation analysis-based materials and activities. He has been developing and implementing a program which trains students to co-construct open-ended conversations in real time, and firmly believes that Japanese students can master daily conversation by the end of junior high.
Alison Kitzman
Bio coming soon!
Mike Masse
Diane Nagatomo
