SUMMARY:

Over fifteen years of experience in teaching Russian to native and heritage speakers and as a second language. Over ten years of experience working with museum and archival collections in research and educational environment. Extensive background in Humanities and Liberal Arts. Native speaker of Russian and Ukrainian; working knowledge of Polish, Belorussian, Serbian-Croatian, Czech, and other Slavic languages and cultures.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

04/2000-present Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Bakhmetiev Archive, Columbia University, New York

Archivist

• Organized and processed various Slavic collections of papers, manuscripts, original art, and audiovisual materials. Produced finding aids; created collection-level records
• Designed and organized exhibits; developed content and metadata for online exhibits
• Performed background research on key personalities and created biographical and historical records.
• Led classes on working with primary sources for undergraduate and graduate students.

09/2003-06/2005 Language Center at the World Trade Institute of Pace University, New York

Russian Language Instructor

• Led classes on all levels.
• Taught individual students and groups of three to fifteen people using various methods of teaching.
• Developed a course strategy and guidelines.
• Prepared handouts, quizzes and tests.

1996-2008 Russian & Slavic Language Services and CP Language Institute, New York

Freelance Russian Language Instructor / Translator

• Led classes on all levels with emphasis on conversational skills, acquisition of professional lexicon and grammar skills.
• Taught individual students and groups of three to fifteen people. Prepared handouts, quizzes and tests.
• Translated instructional manuals, business, economic, scientific and art-related articles and marketing studies from English into Russian and Ukrainian.
• Transcribed tapes and performed voice-overs.
• Proofread and edited various documents in Russian, Ukrainian, and English.
• Translated various documents into Russian and Ukrainian. Performed proofreading, editing and typesetting.

1994-2007 Private Russian Language Teaching and Tutoring
• Led private, semi-private, and group classes for preschool kids and school students (mainly heritage speakers).

1988-1992 Mikhail Bulgakov Museum, Kiev, Ukraine

Senior Research Associate

• Was responsible for research and acquisition of relevant materials.
• Performed background research for content attribution of unidentified items.
• Organized and processed literary manuscripts, personal papers, audiovisual materials and ephemera.
• Created card catalog and finding aids and inventory; described museum collection.
• Was responsible for historical editing of papers, manuscripts and still images.
• Designed and organized exhibits, conferences and workshops.

1988-1991 LAMO Language Institute, Kiev, Ukraine

Russian and Ukrainian Languages Instructor / Head of Russian and Ukrainian Languages Department

• Managed the departmental workflow.
• Developed original guidelines for Russian and Ukrainian languages instruction; developed self-teaching comics for learning Ukrainian Language.
• Taught secondary school and college students in need of grammar improvement.
• Prepared students for college entrance exams.
• Led Russian as a foreign language courses for international students.

1985-1988 Tartu Secondary School #5, Tartu, Estonia

Teacher of Russian Language and Literature

• Led classes in Russian as a foreign language for all grades and levels.
• Prepared handouts, quizzes and tests.
• Taught the course of Russian Literature with emphasis on vocabulary expansion.

EDUCATION:
• B.A. / M.A. in Russian Language and Literature Tartu State University, Estonia, 1988.
• M.L.S. PRATT Institute, New York, 2003.