Dr. Maya Lane
President
Dr. Maya Lane was born in the small city of Vidin in Bulgaria and went to the English language high school there, where she learned English. Her love for the English language led her to complete a Master’s degree in English Language and Literature and become an English teacher in 1989. Her career in the United States started in California where she taught high school English and English as a Second Language at the Los Angeles Unified School District and SIATech Charter School, San Diego. At SIATech, she incorporated technology and modified the English high school curriculum for students whose first language is not English and for students with disabilities. Dr. Lane was elected Teacher of the Year for SIATech San Diego in 2011. When she moved to Florida with her family, she taught English for Academic Purposes courses at the University of South Florida and State College of Florida. Dr. Lane also conducted extensive research in education and wrote a dissertation on differentiated strategies used with diverse learners, earning her doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instructional Leadership in 2014. She published two books ‘Fun with English ABC” and “English Dictations with Word-Formation activities”. Dr. Lane has a son and a daughter, and an adorable 4-year old grandson.
Dr. Elizabeth Haga
Vice President
As a graduate of Comenius University in Central Europe (Slovakia) and Anaheim University in
California, Dr. Haga is a result-oriented professional with international experience in teaching
English in Europe and the United States with native-like fluency in Czech, Slovak, Hungarian
and English. She holds a MA and an EdD in TESOL. She started her teaching career as a high
school English as a Foreign Language teacher and teacher trainer in the former Czechoslovakia
and Hungary. After moving to the USA, she has worked as a college professor at State College
of Florida, Sarasota-Bradenton, where she taught all levels of English for Academic Purposes; as
an English language instructor at the University of South Florida’s English Language Program
in Tampa; and as a high school ESOL teacher in the Sarasota county school system. Her research
interests include student motivation, second language acquisition, and new learning and teaching
strategies in ESL and EFL. In the past few years, she presented her research results at numerous
prestigious TESOL conferences, and she co-authored an article with Dr. Hayo Reinders: Haga,
E., & Reinders, H. (2021). “Bad, really really bad” ESL Learners’ Emotions and Emotion
Regulation in Response to Native Speaker Feedback. Special Issue of English Teaching and
Learning.
Petya Getsova
Vice President
Petya Getsova is a high-performing, strategic-thinking career Public Policy & Administration professional with experience in the not for profit sectors. She has worked in Government and has facilitated State of Florida Leadership Forums, organized numerous charity events and networked with many local non-profits. Highly skilled at relationship building with clients and across organizations and teams; exceptional writing, presenting, and interpersonal communication skills. Adept at assessing needs, generating options, and implementing solutions in collaboration with clients and stakeholders. Petya grew up in Varna, the Sea Capital of Bulgaria and moved to U.S.A. when she was 19-years old to San Diego, California. In 2010 she moved to St. Petersburg, Florida and in 2015 obtained a B.S. Degree in Public Policy and Administration from St. Petersburg College with high honors and was one of the featured graduates. Petya is very passionate about helping immigrants succeed.
Lewis Chazan
Chief Financial Officer
Lewis Chazan is a career Legal, Audit, Tax and Finance professional who graduated from the University of Miami in both Law School and MBA program. He has worked in Government, Professional Law and Accounting firms, IBM and PwC and with hundreds of clients in the government, non-profit, healthcare and corporate sectors. Lewis grew up in an immigrant household of Holocaust Survivors, from different countries With various cultures and speaking multiple languages. Additionally Lewis is active on several non-profit boards in the community, and is passionate about helping immigrants, people with disabilities, and philanthropy.
Vesko Urukov
Digital Media Strategist
Digital Media Expert with 20 years of experience in TV advertising and Video Production in USA and Europe. From concept generation to strategy, online video advertising and sales, Vesko has the knowledge and experience in the video-marketing landscape. Staying on top of the current trends, he analyzes audiences preferences, habits and how video can help move the needle and drive ROI for businesses. As video is shifting and shaping the world of digital marketing, boosting conversions and sales, Vesko works closely with clients to deliver innovative and efficient video-based sales funnels for brands, businesses, products and services.
With a Bachelor of Science in Digital Media Production, Vesko works on both – the production set and within the agency, securing all of the elements for creating a successful video-marketing campaign.