Marilyn Pongracz taught ESL to college students for more than 30 years and served for many years as the supervisor of the ESL Tutoring Center at Bergen Community College. Throughout her career, she has consistently integrated emerging technologies to support English language learners, including being one of the first at the college to create web pages where students could practice English online.

Since 2002, Marilyn has also served as the Technology Coordinator for NJTESOL/NJBE, the statewide professional organization for ESL and bilingual educators in New Jersey. In this role, she redesigned and expanded the organization’s website into a central hub for information, conference submissions, registration, scholarship applications, and member support. She also administers the organization’s Google Workspace, manages email systems, and automates certificates for workshops and annual conference attendees.

Most recently, Marilyn has been exploring the use of AI to support ESL instruction, grammar practice, and tutor training. After being introduced to the interactive possibilities of Gemini Gems, she began creating customized Gems to help students and tutors better understand challenging grammar concepts through guided, responsive practice.