After seven years of providing professional development through Welch Education, I am transitioning to a new role as Executive Director of Literacy Texas. While I am not currently offering consulting services, I will continue supporting teachers through training, workshops, conferences, and webinars in my new role.

For more information about my current work, visit Literacy Texas or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Katie Welch, Ph.D.

Executive Director of Literacy Texas
Educator • Teacher Trainer • Nonprofit Leader

Professional Highlights

LEADERSHIP

Executive Director of Literacy Texas.

Former Interim Director of the English Language Institute at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Past-President and Treasurer of TexTESOL V

TEACHER EDUCATION

Nearly two decades of experience preparing language educators through university teaching, mentoring, supervised field experiences, and professional learning. Designed and taught more than 50 undergraduate and graduate courses in TESOL, applied linguistics, adult education, and teacher preparation.

Winner of UNT-Dallas’ inaugural Innovative Teaching with Technology Award.

SPEAKING AND PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION

Experienced speaker and teacher trainer who has delivered keynote addresses, featured presentations, and conference sessions in the United States and abroad, including at TESOL International and the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE).

Three-time U.S. Department of State English Language Specialist and member of the COABE National Presenter Network.

Named the 2024 TexTESOLer of the Year.

SCHOLARSHIP AND PUBLICATIONS

Scholar-practitioner whose work has appeared in publications including Language, American Speech, TESOL Connections, and Colorín Colorado.

Co-author of Linguistics for Pre-Service Educators.

Selected Work

Innovative instruction.
Recognized expertise.
Theory-to-practice teaching.

Katie Welch, Ph.D., is an educator, teacher trainer, linguist, and active contributor in the TESOL field.

For two decades Katie has taught and trained pre-service and in-service teachers in numerous settings, including K-12, adult, and higher education. She spent seven years teaching in the School of Education at UNT-Dallas, where she conducted research in educational linguistics and social-emotional learning and designed award-winning courses. Katie has prepared numerous students for Texas certification in EC-6, ELAR 4-8, ESL, and Bilingual Education, and is a certified Texas teacher herself. She co-authored Linguistics for Pre-Service Educators, and many teachers visit her blog daily with tips on how to become ESL-certified in Texas.

Katie currently provides professional development to language educators through partnerships with Cambridge University Press, Literacy Connexus, Ellii (formerly ESL Library) and many others. She presents regularly at national and international conferences, including TESOL International, Linguistic Society of America, National Association for Bilingual Educators, and Coalition on Adult Basic Education.

Katie's innovative classroom ideas have been published in academic journals such as Language and American Speech, and also in popular publications such as Colorin Colorado and TESOL Connections.

Katie was named an English Language Specialist by the U.S. Department State in 2021. She has provided professional development to international teachers in Poland, Kuwait, and Brazil, and also regularly trains U.S.-based international teaching assistants for university classrooms.

Based in Dallas, Texas, Katie serves on the Executive Board of TexTESOLV and has organized many regional and state conferences for teachers of English learners.

Download CV

I'm a teacher first and never want to be too far removed from the classroom. Every semester, I am in a classroom so that I can continue to refine my own teaching practice, even as I work with teachers on refining theirs. I have taught more than a thousand students in-person, online, and in hybrid contexts and have created online course shells that have served many more. I bring this real-world experience to all of my workshops.