STARTALK Faculty and Staff
Janis Jensen
Program Director
Janis Jensen is Program Director for Kean/STARTALK Grant Projects that include oversight of the Hindi and Urdu Student and Teacher Summer Programs. She is also Program Coordinator of the MA Program in Hindi and Urdu Language Pedagogy and teaches several graduate courses. Ms. Jensen previously served as Director of the School for Global Education and Innovation at Kean University and as Coordinator of World Languages and International Education and Director of the Office of Academic Standards at the New Jersey Department of Education. She is co-author of the ASCD publication: The Essentials of World Languages, Grades K-12: Effective Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. Ms. Jensen is past president of National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL), the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL) and the NJ Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (NJ ASCD). She currently serves as an Advisory Board Member for the Chinese Early Language Immersion Network (CELIN) at Asia Society and as an independent consultant for world languages and global education.
Rashmi Sudhir Gupta
Lead Hindi Instructor
Rashmi Gupta possesses an M.A. Degree in Hindi and Urdu Language Pedagogy from Kean University, as well as a Master’s Degree in Hindi Literature and Linguistics. She is a certified Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) tester and rater of Hindi for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). She previously served as an Instructor for STARTALK Student Hindi Programs in Somerset and West Windsor-Plainsboro, NJ from from 2009-2011 and 2015-2018. She was Lead Instructor for Novice Level students in the Kean STARTALK Student Program in 2010-2011 and for STARTALK Programs in Bensalem and Hatfield, PA from 2012 -2014. She has been an instructor in the Kean STARTALK Student Program since 2017.
Romeena Kureishy
Lead Urdu Instructor
Romeena Kureishy has been affiliated with STARTALK Urdu Programs for 11 years serving in various roles. She was Lead Instructor and later Program Director at UPenn from 2009-2014, Lead Instructor for the Brooklyn, NY Program in 2015 and since then has been on the NYU STARTALK Teacher Training Staff as an Urdu Pedagogy Specialist. She has also served as Urdu Program Coordinator and Lead Instructor for Kean University’s Global Project-based Learning STARTALK Program since 2017. In addition to working with STARTALK Programs, she has taught Beginner and Intermediate Urdu courses as an adjunct at UPenn. Ms Kureishy has extensive experience in curriculum design for Urdu heritage and non-heritage learners and provides professional development for Urdu teacher education programs. She has also served as an Independent Urdu Specialist for the American Councils for International Education since 2012 and works with non-profit organizations promoting South Asian art and culture in the Tri-State area. Ms. Kureishy holds a BA in Psychology and an MA in Urdu from Karachi University.
Sadhna Kumar
Hindi Instructor
Sadhna Kumar earned an M.A. Degree in Hindi-Urdu Language Pedagogy from Kean University in 2018. She also possesses a Master’s Degree from Kent State University and undergraduate and graduate degrees from various institutions in India. She has participated in numerous STARTALK Professional Development opportunities at NYU, Columbia University and STARTALK Conferences, as well as ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview training. Ms. Kumar has instructed Hindi since 1998 in various programs in several states and at the Akron Ohio Heritage Language School. She also served as Co-Instructional Lead and Curriculum Developer for Kanti Hindi Kendra and Instructional Lead the International Hindi Association STARTALK Programs.