CTL TEAM
Evgeniya Efremova
Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning
Evgeniya earned her EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a BA in Economics and Chinese language from Mount Holyoke College. Prior to joining NYU Shanghai, Evgeniya initiated and directed a series of international education programs, including comprehensive English as a Second Language Prep Program for international studies, STEM abroad career exploration programs, TedEd programs, among many others, as a part of Global Ambassador International Education and Language Development Center.
She authored a series of comprehensive programs, including a 6-stage Academic English course for second language learners, and a signature TOEFL and IELTS Academic programs, including teacher training programs. Following the onset of COVID-19, she led the center's transition to a sustainable, fully-online, AI-powered academic center.
After earning her Masters in Mind, Brain, and Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education, Evgeniya also taught Research Methods as a part of Master of Cognitive Neuroscience program and led research in motivation and learning at the Brain and Cognitive Development Lab at Ural Federal University. Collaborating with various educational institutions, she focused on identifying factors and implementing programs that enhance students' intrinsic motivation and agency and developing teacher support programs.
Kelly M. Donovan (she/her/她)
Pedagogy and Innovation Fellow, Center for Teaching and Learning
Lecturer of English for Academic Purposes
Kelly joined NYU Shanghai in 2020 as a Lecturer of English for Academic Purposes and teaches two courses entitled “EAP 100: The Final Boss: Defeating Social Issues in Gaming” and “EAP 101: The Science of Friendship”. She looks forward to nurturing an active community of practice at NYU Shanghai focused on reflective teaching and peer mentorship. Her areas of interest include Ludic (Playful) Pedagogy, Project-Based Learning, Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Pedagogy, and Content-Based Instruction/Content Language Integrated Learning.
Kelly earned her MA in Teaching to Speakers of Other Languages with a Specialization in Language Program Administration from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in 2017. After graduating, she participated in the English Language Fellowship, a U.S. Department of State funded exchange program that places highly trained educators with partner organizations around the world. Through this fellowship, she has trained over 2,700 pre- and in-service teachers in China, Mongolia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Kelly’s workshops focus on practical and ready-to-use activities and techniques that work with the trainees’ existing teaching philosophy and methodology. She continues to provide teacher training to the local community through collaboration with the Regional English Language Office at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the Shanghai American Center.
Kelly received her BA in Spanish and International & Global Studies (Asian Studies) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has also served as an EFL Teacher in the AmeriCorps ACCESS Project, as a TEFL Volunteer for Peace Corps Kosovo, and as an English Teaching Assistant with Fulbright Taiwan.
Yaxuan Zhu
Senior Associate, Academic Affairs
Yaxuan received her master’s degree in TESOL from the University of Pennsylvania, and her bachelor’s degree in English from Northwestern Polytechnical University. She joined NYU Shanghai in 2021 as Academic Associate. In her role, she supports the Center for Teaching and Learning’s daily operations and plans and implements various academic programs for faculty. She also supports Economics faculty with their teaching as the appointed Associate.