Speakers
Marcia Brown (Karper) Arndt received her BA, Magna Cum Laude in Spanish Language and Literature (High Honors) and French Language and Literature (Honors) from the University of Cincinnati. She continued her graduate work in Spanish Language and Literature and Language Education at the University of Cincinnati as a Taft Fellow.
Marcia worked as a middle and high school teacher of Spanish and French in central New York from 1978-1996. During this time, she also served as Adjunct Lecturer of Education at LeMoyne College, Syracuse University and SUNY Cortland, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in world language methodologies and instructional implementation to pre-service teachers. As a New York State educator, Marcia was active in FLACNY and served a term as its president. She also served on the Board of Directors for NYSAFLT.
Marcia is a co-author (along with Vicki Galloway) of Pathways to Proficiency (1989). She served as a contributing writer for the following textbooks: Acción, A bord!, and Bienvenue! She also contributed several articles on world language pedagogy.
Marcia moved to New England in 1996. She developed a middle school exploratory world language program in Ashland, MA, and later joined the faculty of Souhegan High School in Amherst, NH, where she taught AP French and AP Spanish and served as the World Language Department Coordinator. She also served as a Master Teacher of Spanish for the Rassias Foundation of Dartmouth College, teaching in its Accelerated Language Program and Medical Spanish for health care professionals.
Marcia served as a Reader and Table Leader at the AP Spanish Language Exam Reading from 2002-2011. She worked as a College Board endorsed consultant for Pre- AP World Languages, AP Spanish, and AP French .She also served as a national mentor for other World Language College Board consultants.
In October 2011, Marcia joined the College Board as the Director of Curriculum and Content for AP World Languages and Cultures. She currently manages AP Chinese Language and Culture, AP Italian Language and Culture, AP Spanish Language and Culture and AP Spanish Literature and Culture. Her duties include managing her courses' curricula, supervising the development of the AP exam for each of her courses, and supporting the development of teacher support and instructional materials for each of her courses.
In addition to her passion for languages and cultures, Marcia's interests include spending time with her family (including her husband, six grown children, and a grandson), cooking, entertaining, reading, traveling, photography, watching college basketball, camping, and kayaking.
David Jahner serves as Director of Curriculum and Content Development for Advanced Placement World Languages and Cultures at the College Board.
David holds a M.Ed. in Second Languages and Cultures Education from the University of Minnesota and a B.A. in German and History from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He began his career in public education by teaching German for several years at Brookwood High School in Gwinnett County, Georgia. While at Brookwood High School, he started a successful AP German program and also served as department chair.
David served from 1999-2013 as the Foreign Language Director for the Gwinnett County Public Schools, the largest school district in Georgia. In addition to serving for a variety of state, regional and national professional associations, he has also published several articles. He is also the current Executive Director of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching. In his current role at the College Board, he is responsible for managing four AP World Language courses and their exams: AP French Language and Culture, AP German Language and Culture, AP Japanese Language and Culture and AP Latin. His duties include managing the curriculum for each course, supervising the development of each exam, and overseeing the development of teacher support materials.
His personal interests include travel, music of all types, photography, camping and hiking.