Ella Kraning was born in Poland and raised in Russia. Since early childhood, she has been interested in languages and cultures, which determined her career path.
Ella Kraning has a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education with teaching majors in Language Instruction (English and German), and a Master of Arts degree in English linguistics from Penza State University (Penza, Russia). She also holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a Master of Science degree in International Economics from the Russian Foreign Trade Academy (Moscow, Russia).
As a language instructor, Ella strives to make her classes engaging and challenging, but also fun. 

Lisa Coffield, Adjunct Instructor, German. M.S. in Linguistic Anthropology (Idaho State University 2016), B.S. in Secondary Education, Emphases in German and French (Idaho State University 2009). She has been teaching at ISU since the Fall of 2010, and teaches first-year German. Lisa is certified to teach both German and French.

Carmen Febles is an Associate Professor of Spanish Language and Latin American Cultures in the Department of Global Studies and Languages with a specialization in 18th and 19th century Mexico and Cuba at Idaho State University. Broadly speaking, Dr. Febles is interested in distance and difference – in points of articulation across Spanish-speaking geographies, social hierarchies, genres and time periods. Her literature and culture publications include “Exploring the limits of transculturation: Pérez Firmat’s a Cuban in Mayberry:, “Erinia: Matas entre lo policial y lo fantástico”, “El pasado presente: La canonización del pasado americano como acto patriótico en la obra de Fray Servando Teresa de Mier”.

A secondary area of focus is language, culture and healthcare. To that end, Dr. Febles has presented and published research related to the care of refugees living in the United States, and has also produced work on the experiences of Latinx patients and care providers in Idaho. Recent work explores the delivery of pre-hospital emergency care to Limited English Proficiency Latinx individuals in Idaho. Dr. Febles is currently examining the articulation of health and medical practices and policies vis-à-vis national identities and the ways in which they intersect with cultural, racial and gendered experiences and knowledges of place and body.

David Heath, Senior Lecturer, Spanish. David Heath, Senior Lecturer MA Latin American Studies (University of Kansas), BA Spanish (Idaho State University). Mr. Heath teaches first and second year Spanish, and has taught Spanish for Health Care. He is also an Early College Program liaison for several area high schools and is the coordinator for Spanish 101-102. Mr. Heath lived in Puerto Rico for two years and has an interest in the Spanish-speaking cultures of the Caribbean.

Dr. Huerta Vera obtained her Ph.D. and M.A. in Spanish from the University of California, Davis; and her B.A. in History from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Her research interests include memory studies, human rights, testimony and trauma, and representations of political violence in Latin America. Her doctoral dissertation, La memoria en el cine documental peruano: representaciones del conflict armado interno, focuses on the representations of the Peruvian Internal Armed Conflict (1980-2000) in documentary film. Her research explains how cultural and collective memory of the conflict is formed in Peru and brings to light voices that were not part of the Peruvian mainstream discussion but found a form of expression in documentary film.

Dr. Huerta Vera’s main goal as an instructor is to support her students’ academic success and personal well-being by creating a safe and supportive classroom environment that promotes curiosity, reflective thinking, and active participation. Her teaching highly emphasizes critical language awareness and multiliteracy pedagogies.
She is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community at Idaho State University, where all varieties of Spanish are recognized and valued, and all emergent bilinguals feel safe and empowered.

Marin Laufenberg received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2017). She has taught classes focusing on Spanish language, composition and conversation, Hispanic literature, and Spanish for the health and social services. She believes that by learning a language, you acquire a new window to understanding cultures and people. In her teaching, she likes using theatrical techniques, like role playing and dialogue creation. Dr. Laufenberg studies contemporary Latin American literature with a focus on Southern Cone performance and theatre. Her dissertation investigated the role of humor and laughter in dealing with trauma and violence in Argentine theatre. In addition to researching theatre, she also has extensive experience in the praxis of theatre as a member and co-founder of the UW-Madison Spanish language theatre group Teatro Décimo Piso. She has lived and studied abroad in Spain, Panama, and Argentina. In her free time, Dr. Laufenberg enjoys hiking with her family, cycling, whale watching, and exploring the tide pools along the coast of the Pacific Northwest.

Cathleen Tarp, Associate Professor, Spanish. Ph.D Romance Languages (University of New Mexico 1999); M.A. Hispanic Literature, (University of New Mexico 1996); B.A. English Literature (University of Idaho 1992). Dr. Tarp’s areas of specialization are the Spanish Middle Ages and Baroque. Current research interests include the grotesque, the Spanish prose romance, and narratology in the context of the development of prose fiction. Dr.Tarp is a certified medical interpreter and a qualified legal interpreter. She is also faculty advisor for Sigma Delta Pi, the National Spanish Honor Society, and the ISU student organization, Entrepeneurs of America.

Ph.D., University of Toronto, 2022

José Eduardo Villalobos Graillet is an Assistant Professor of Spanish who specializes in Modern Peninsular Literature and Culture, with a focus on visual culture (film and television). He has authored the book La Celestina y el cine. Censura y recepción (1969-1996) (Iberoamericana Vervuert, 2023). His current research includes studying the international film and televisual adaptations of La Celestina; the censorship and reception of the Spanish film Las melancólicas (1971) directed by Rafael Moreno Alba; and the representation of cannibalistic gastronomy in La semana del asesino (1972), directed by Eloy de la Iglesia and The Horror of Dolores Roach (2023) directed by Aaron Mark.

At Idaho State University, Dr. Villalobos Graillet teaches various courses for the Spanish undergraduate program, including Elementary Spanish, Spanish for Heritage Speakers, Introduction to Hispanic Literature, and Survey of Spanish Literature and Culture. For the graduate program in Spanish, he teaches courses such as Film and Franquismo, The Cinema of Almodóvar, Gastronomy in Hispanic Film and Literature, Spain’s Contemporary History through Graphic Novels, Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language, Film Adaptation, Rural Spain, Spain in Eurovision, and Contemporary Spanish Cinema.

Dr. Villalobos Graillet’s website: https://hispanismo.cervantes.es/hispanistas/284495/villalobos-graillet-jose-eduardo

Karliana Sakas is a scholar of the early modern Spanish empire, with a particular focus on the intersection between history and fiction. Her research interests include the literature and cultures of colonial Latin America and early modern Spain, indigenous narratives of the Spanish exploration of North America, and historical fiction. She has published articles in the Revista de Literatura Mexicana Contemporánea, Bulletin of Spanish Studies, and eHumanista.

Craig Nickisch, Professor Emeritus. Ph.D. BS South Dakota State University, MA Northwestern University, PhD University of Nebraska.  Fulbright Scholar.  Taught German, Spanish, and the FL Methods Course.  Master Teacher, Awards for Outstanding Research and Outstanding Public Service.  

Arthur Dolsen, Professor Emeritus. Ph.D. Classics (Trinity College, Dublin 1978), B.A. (University of British Columbia 1968). Dr. Dolsen teaches all levels of Latin offered by the university. He has also taught French and Russian extensively. His research interests include questions of ancient Greek history and rhetoric, in particular the works of Thucydides.

Pamela Park, Professor Emerita, French. French Literature (CUNY 1979), License in French (University of Nancy 1974) B.A. French (Fordham University 1972).

Sarah McCurry, Emerita. Sarah did her undergraduate work at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and her graduate work at the University of California at Los Angeles. She studied in Mexico and lived in Santiago, Chile for six and a half months.