She earned her PhD in Language, Literacy, and Culture from the University of Washington, a master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from the University of Maryland, and a bachelor’s degree in both biology and Spanish. Prior to joining the faculty at Seattle University in 2015, Dr. Von Esch was clinical faculty at the University of Washington teaching in multiple teacher education programs and collaborating on research projects focused on integrating math/science and language. Dr. Von Esch is a former K-12 ESOL teacher and Spanish bilingual classroom teacher. She taught in public schools in Maryland and San Francisco for over 8 years before moving to Seattle to pursue her PhD at the University of Washington.