Our AFLA Board
President
2026-2027
PNCFL Rep
2025-2028
Marisol Bundtzen
Marisol Bundtzen has taught Spanish in a variety of settings from Hawaiian charter schools to Anchorage Public Libraries and for the last 8 years at Inlet View Elementary in Anchorage. As a part of the International Baccalaureate World School she has pioneered their world language program based on Comprehensible Input with cultural connections and team building activities with language acquisition outcomes.
She earned her National Board Certification as a World Language teacher of Spanish in December of 2025 and has since mentored several teachers on their own NBCT journey. When not teaching she loves traveling in the Spanish speaking world, hiking and skating, dancing and meditating, gardening and cooking as well as singing and laughing with her two sons.
de facto
Past-President
Charles Beattie
Charles Beattie teaches German and Mathematics at Dimond High School in the Anchorage School District. He's an energetic member of the German community even though he describes his German degree as "an accidental degree due to taking too many classes for fun while pursuing a mathematics Bachelor".
While he teaches in Anchorage now, his past teaching experience includes working at the Martin-Andersen-Nexö-Gymnasium in Dresden, Germany. He is also the treasurer of the Alaska Chapter for the American Association of Teachers of German and is the 2019 inaugural recipient of the Jo Sanders Teacher of Energy and Passion Award.
Designated Roles
Molly Messick
Regional VP - Interior
Julia Stutzer is a teacher of Spanish and French and has been enjoying sharing her love of linguistics and cultural appreciation with students since 2014. Born and raised in Alaska, she grew up in a small town in a multi-lingual family and experienced a variety of houseguests from Soviet Russia and Switzerland, as well as an exchange student from Bolivia, and it became clear early on how useful knowledge of multiple languages can be.
After working as a commercial fisherman, carpenter and waitress for years, she decided it was time to do something mentally taxing instead. In 2013 Julia got a Master of Teaching from UAA and entered the teacher workforce in Anchorage's school district. A contract in an international school took her to China for two years and brought experience with the International Baccalaureate program, but Covid times in China were weird, and she's back in Anchorage for the time being, and joined the AFLA board in 2025.
Webmaster
Charles Beattie
Charles Beattie teaches German and Mathematics at Dimond High School in the Anchorage School District. He's an energetic member of the German community even though he describes his German degree as "an accidental degree due to taking too many classes for fun while pursuing a mathematics Bachelor".
While he teaches in Anchorage now, his past teaching experience includes working at the Martin-Andersen-Nexö-Gymnasium in Dresden, Germany. He is also the treasurer of the Alaska Chapter for the American Association of Teachers of German and is the 2019 inaugural recipient of the Jo Sanders Teacher of Energy and Passion Award.
At-Large Members
Rachel Schaefer
Member At-Large
Member At-Large
Kaori Shimizu
Kaori Shimizu is an Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of the Japanese Program in the Department of Languages at University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). Kaori teaches intermediate, advanced, and special topics courses in Japanese language and culture. In her culture classes, she uses Japanese popular culture as a gateway to cultural analysis, with a particular focus on using anime to deepen students' understanding of Japan.
As Director of the Montgomery Dickson Center for Japanese Language and Culture, Kaori works to advance the center’s core missions: improving Japanese language education throughout Alaska, promoting Japanese culture within the state, and fostering mutual understanding between Alaska and Japan. Additionally, Kaori serves as the faculty advisor for the student organization "Nihongo-bu" (Japanese Culture Club) where she engages with students in celebrating seasonal traditional events and experiencing traditional arts such as the tea ceremony and calligraphy.
Member At-Large
Haruki Kamimura
Haruki Kamimura teaches Japanese immersion at Sand Lake Elementary School in Anchorage. He has taught upper elementary students at Sand Lake since 2017 and previously taught at junior high schools in Japan for four years. He also coordinates an internship program for educators and students from Japan and supports sister-school exchanges between Anchorage and Chitose. Haruki serves as president of the Alaska Association of Teachers of Japanese and received the Terry Higley Award in 2023. He enjoys exploring student-centered approaches to language learning, international education, and ways technology can support meaningful learning experiences.