Our instructors

Rita Santillan

Rita Santillan holds a Master's degree in Educational Technology, and a BEd with a specialization in teaching foreign languages. She has also earned a Spanish Teaching Certificate from the Instituto Cervantes in Spain, and a Certificate in Translation and Interpretation from the University of California. Originally from Peru, Rita came to UBC in 2008.

Cristina Schaurich

Weaver Shaw

Weaver Shaw, MA is a lecturer at UBC Vantage College with over 20 years of experience in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and international student language acquisition. Her work bridges applied linguistics, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the ethical integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in higher education.

As a UDL Faculty Fellow and UBC Sustainability Coordinator, Weaver leads initiatives that expand equitable participation through inclusive course design and AI-assisted learning tools. She has co-developed accessibility frameworks that inform curriculum redesign and promotes human-centred approaches to technology-mediated instruction.

Weaver’s teaching philosophy emphasizes inclusive pedagogy, learner agency and ethical engagement with AI in language education. She is recognized for her leadership in professional development on accessible instruction and ethical AI use in higher education.

Kelly Shiohira

Kelly Shiohira, BA, MA, MSc, is a Director of the Global Science of Learning Education Network and a prominent strategist recognized for her work in areas of literacy, connecting education to the world of work, and the use of AI and Technology in Education.

Kelly has worked on large-scale projects and works across the value chain of planning, implementation and monitoring, and evaluation to design, deliver and evaluate educational interventions. She particularly works in the areas of literacy, connecting education to the world of work and the use of AI and Technology in Education. Her past projects include several blended learning programs for teachers and learners, including the Bridges to the Future South Africa 2 initiative, a literacy through technology program in four African languages that won the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy.

Kelly is one of the authors of the UNESCO AI Competency Framework for Students and leads an international working group focusing on its implementation. Her publications include Understanding the Implications of AI on Skills Development, K-12 AI Curricula: A mapping of government-endorsed AI curricula and Proceed with Caution: The Pitfalls and Potential of AI and Education.

Neha Shivhare

Deborah Shukyn-Plageman

Mahtab Sirdani

Ellen Siu

Dan Small

Dan Small, PhD, is a research associate in the Department of Anthropology at UBC. He has a PhD in medical anthropology (University of British Columbia), an MPhil in circumpolar studies (University of Cambridge), and undergraduate degrees in sociology and anthropology, and psychology (Simon Fraser University).

Nick Smith

Nick, BASc, JD, is a Principal Lawyer at Miller Titerle Law Corporation, specializing in Indigenous business. He is of Plains Cree and European descent, and his family is from the Ermineskin Cree Nation – a Treaty 6 Nation.

Nick provides economic development and governance support for First Nations and First Nations-owned organizations, including initiatives and negotiations relating to natural resource development, First Nation child and family services laws, Indigenous housing, government-to-government agreements, and the ongoing implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in BC and Canada.

Nick is the first vice-chair of the Langara College Board of Governors and as a mentor to law students through the Canadian Bar Association (BC Branch) mentorship program and the Indigenous Bar Association