Professor of English (TESL/TEFL). B.A., English, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile; M.A., English, Illinois State University; Ph.D., English Studies, Illinois State University. She currently serves as President of the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL).

Professor Ehlers-Zavala is Past President of the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL), and she is faculty in the M.A. in English with focus on teaching English as a foreign and second language (TEFL / TESL). Her research includes the following areas of expertise: second language/bilingual reading, second language assessment, and ESL/bilingual teacher preparation. She is the coauthor of Reading Strategies for Spanish Speakers. Other publications in books and journals include: Engineering Pathways in a U.S. Public Institution of Higher Education: A Strategy for Fostering Student Diversity (2017) with T. Maciejewski; A Framework for English Learners Teacher Effectiveness and Success (2017); Preparing Graduates for a Global World: The Transformative Power of a Public/Private Joint Venture in the Internationalization of a Large Public University in the United States (2017) with J. Didier & N. Berry. Addressing the reading comprehension challenges of English learners in K-12 classrooms using research-based practices (2015); Advocacy in Language Teaching (2013); Assessing Special Populations (2012); History of Bilingual Special Education (2011); Bilingualism and Education: Educating At-Risk Learners (2010); How Can Teachers Help Adolescent English Language Learners Attain Academic Literacy? (2009); Teaching Adolescent English Language Learners (2008); Assessing English Language Learners (ELLs) in Mainstream Classrooms in The Reading Teacher (2006 & reprinted in 2010); Bilingual Reading from a Dual Coding Perspective (2005) in Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism; Preparing Quality Bilingual/Bicultural Teachers in the 21st Century: A PDS Model for Educational Change and Success (2004); Use of Lexical Borrowings in Sonoran Border Spanish (2003).