Nicholas Cates
ad19jb@r.postjobfree.com
I create and deliver effective and engaging experiences that enable people to reach their goals.
Experience
Director – World English 360, West Hartford, CT (8/2017-present)
Online intensive academic and business English training.
Director of the English Language Institute – Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL (5/2015-12/2022)
Directed the academic, administrative, and entrepreneurial aspects of JSU’s on-campus and online intensive English programs; developed and maintained relationships across campus and across the globe, leading to 26,000+ hours of student learning.
Designed and implemented curriculum and formal assessment; created customized training packages; marketed and recruited via events, website, and social media; managed unit finances; hired and trained staff (6 FTE)
Established and delivered dedicated support for 300+ existing ESL students throughout campus.
Taught 15 sections of undergraduate Communication, earning above average official evaluations.
Managing Director – Jeddah Technical College, Saudi Arabia (8/2013-4/2015)
Led foundation year for 1,200 students/year. Collaborated across the company (Laureate International) and with government to design and implement curriculum; co-hired, evaluated, and trained 40+ F/T instructors.
Assessment Product Specialist – Educational Testing Service, Princeton NJ (5/2008-6/2013)
Designed and developed test forms for TOEIC, TOEFL, and other ETS products (Agile environment).
Recruited and contracted photographers and organized photoshoots to supply images for assessments.
ESL Program Director – Mercer County Community College, Trenton NJ (5/2005-5/2008)
Ran ESL program serving 1000+ students per year, including curriculum and assessment design, marketing, IT integration, hiring and training (6.5 FTE), budget, and grant reporting; established 3 extension sites.
Co-led consortium of 6 training providers to implement workforce readiness grant.
Education Program Coordinator – International Rescue Committee, Atlanta GA (7/2003-5/2005)
Led ESL, Youth, and Women's programs for refugees, including curriculum design, marketing, logistics, hiring/volunteer management and training, IT, budget, and grant reporting.
ESL Program Coordinator – Brookdale Community College, Ecuador (8/2001-4/2003)
Headed ESL program, including scheduling, marketing/recruiting, hiring, and training 6 P/T instructors; created employee training courses at Nestle and Bic.
Teaching: Lawrence Academy, Quinebaug Valley Community College, University of Connecticut, Central Connecticut State University, NOVA Corporation, JAPAN; SAIEI International, JAPAN; The Consortium, THAILAND.
Education
M.A. Teaching English as a Second Language – University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
B.A. English – University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Skills & Tools
Program Management: Operations Management, Program Development, Human Resources (HR), Customer Service, Supervisory Skills, Budgeting, Process Improvement, Staff Development, Program Evaluation, Program Marketing & Expansion, Leadership Development, Public Speaking, Community Outreach, Volunteer Management, Website Building, Grant Writing, Writing, Editing,
Project Management: Agile Development, Information Management, Organization Skills, Intercultural Communication, Data Analysis.
Teaching: Training & Development, Student Engagement, Curriculum Design, Assessment Design, Collaborative Learning, Adaptive Learning, Instructional Design, Educational Technology, Instructional Technology, E-Learning, Workforce Readiness, Recruitment Strategy Development.
Communication & Collaboration: English (native), Spanish (working), Japanese (basic); MS Teams, Zoom, Slack, Smartsheet, AirTable, Asana, Coda.io, Jira, Monday, GanttProject, Miro, LucidChart.
Productivity & Workflow Management: Microsoft Office / Microsoft 365; Google Workspace; Acrobat Pro; Power Automate, Zapier, and many webhook & API integrations.
Content & Learning Management Systems: Canvas LMS, Blackboard, LearnDash, Moodle; Adobe Captivate, Articulate 360; WordPress-Elementor-WooCommerce, Joomla, Drupal CMS; Dreamweaver, Cascade (website design & updates), PowerApps.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Navigate SSMS, Salesforce, HubSpot, EngageBay, Zendesk; Ellucian Recruit, PeopleSoft, PageUp.
Analytics and Advertising: Excel, Access, Tableau, Power BI, MySQL; Banner ERP, Argos BI; Google Ads, Google Analytics, Looker Studio; social media advertising and content strategy (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook).
Design, Audio & Video: Adobe Creative Cloud (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, XD, Audition, Premiere Pro); Camtasia; Cubase, Ableton Live.
Emerging Educational Technologies: Eagerly exploring using virtual reality (XR/VR/AR/MR), Internet of Things (IoT), and AI for simulations, engagement, and adaptive training.