PSI Program Director: Dr. David Bethea
David Bethea is Professor Emeritus in Slavic Languages and Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his PhD in Slavic Languages and Literature from the University of Kansas in 1977. His teaching responsibilities during the academic year included introductory literature in translation courses for students with no background in Russian, advanced Russian language courses, and specialized graduate seminars on Aleksandr Pushkin and other areas of Russian culture. Professor Bethea served as Chair of the UW-Madison Slavic Department for ten years; he was also the director of the Middlebury College Russian School for nine years, and thus has extensive experience with intensive, residential summer language programs. An internationally respected specialist on Aleksandr Pushkin and his era, Prof. Bethea is the author of numerous books and articles including, most recently, The Superstitious Muse: Thinking Russian Literature Mythopoetically. http://slavic.lss.wisc.edu/new_web/?q=node/43
PSI On-Site Director: Anya Nesterchouk
Anya Nesterchouk is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English and the previous instructional lead/curriculum designer for the Pushkin Summer Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Anya Nesterchouk is an experienced ESL/EFL/RFL language instructor and administrator. She holds a Master's degree in Philology, MS in Curriculum and Instruction, and is currently a Dissertator in the Curriculum and Instruction Department at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Over the last twenty years she has been building expertise in world language instruction, curriculum design, ESL/RFL teacher training and mentoring, as well as managing several non-profit community language schools. Anya has been with the Pushkin Summer Institute since the beginning of the program in 2012 and became the on-site director in 2018.
CREECA Associate Director: Dr. Jennifer Tishler
Jennifer Tishler received her PhD in Slavic Languages at UW-Madison and has taught Russian language and literature at Dartmouth. Currently she is associate director of CREECA (the Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies) as well as a lecturer in Russian language, literature, and culture (including folklore) in the UW-Madison Slavic Department. http://slavic.lss.wisc.edu/new_web/?q=node/95
Lead Instructor: Anna Borovskaya-Ellis
Anna received her BA and MA in Pedagogical Science and Philology from St. Petersburg State Pedagogical University, named after Herzen A.I. She received a second MA in Slavic Studies from the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO, and completed her PhD in Slavic Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Anna has served as an instructor for the Pushkin Summer Institute for several years. Her interests include three decades of Polonophilia in the Soviet Union and how Russian poets read, translated, and perceived Polish poetry during that time.
Participating Institutions
- Pritzker College Prep (Chicago, IL)
- The Noble Academy (chicago, IL)
- Brashear High School (Pittsburgh, PA)
- Friends Academy (Baltimore, MD)