About TA Programs at the CTL
Meet The Team
Welcome to TA Programs with the Western Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL)! We are here to support the quality of teaching by graduate students and postdoctoral scholars at Western and to prepare you for your TAship and future faculty or professional career. The pedagogical skills gained while completing our programming during your studies will not only benefit you now, but beyond Western as you pursue your future career in academia or other non-academic fields. We offer a range of face-to-face, blended, and online programs to gain valuable insight into teaching and career-strategies. We are committed to providing an equitable, inclusive, and accessible environment.
We hope to meet you soon at our TA Programs!
Learn More About Each TA Programs Team Member:
Mandy Penney, Associate Director (Teaching Development)
The Associate Director's role at the Centre for Teaching and Learning is focused on supporting graduate students and postdocs to thrive as teaching assistants and course instructors in diverse classrooms while empowering them to pursue transformative teaching post-graduation. Students and postdoctoral scholars can contact them to consult on teaching dossiers, student-centered syllabus design, and classroom management strategies.
Jennifer Foley, Educational Developer (TA Programs)
Jennifer Foley (she/her) is an educational developer at Western University. Her role at the centre is focused on facilitating, coordinating, and evaluating programs that enhance the teaching skills of graduate students and post-docs. She promotes inclusive teaching practices and graduate student development. You can contact Jenny to consult on student professional development, TA programs, and teaching dossiers.
Nassisse Solomon, Educational Developer (International TA Programs)
Nassisse Solomon (she/her) is an Educational Developer on the International TA portfolio at Western’s Center for Teaching and Learning. Founded on anti-racism and anti-oppression principles, both her research and teaching aim to diversify representations and facilitate spaces of belonging for all learners. Her background is in History, with a specialization in Migration and Ethnic Relations from Western, a lens that continues to inform her approaches to both teaching and learning, and her research collaborations across campus. Nassisse’s role at the CTL is focused on supporting international graduate students and postdocs to thrive as teaching assistants and course instructors in diverse classrooms. You can contact Nassisse to consult on effective teaching and communication strategies in the Canadian classroom (classroom management strategies), creating culturally inclusive learning spaces (EDI-D centred learning) and effective conflict resolution strategies.
Karen Petrella, Program Coordinator (TA Programs)
Karen Petrella's role at the CTL is focused on supporting our Teaching Assistant programs with expertise in our certificates programs, social media, website, and everything in between. If you have questions about the Western Certificate in University Teaching and Learning, Karen is a good place to start!
TA Instructors (2025-2026)
TA Instructors are key members of the CTL TA Programs team and offer a wide range of experiences and skills.
Lucas Riboli Besen (Health Information Science)
Asad Choudhary (Education)
Anastazia Csegeny (Media Studies)
Madelyn Hertz (Anthropology)
Sari Heru (Hispanic Studies)
Kristen Jeanveau (History)
Arameh Khadjevand (Hispanic Studies)
Sarah Lanteigne (Health & Rehab Sciences)
Alexandra Lukawski (English & Writing Studies)
Gabriela Martinez Loyola (Hispanic Studies)
Richard Martinez Loyola (Education/Hispanic Studies)
Javad Raeesi (Health & Rehab Sciences)
Beyza Sezer (Curriculum Studies)
