Our Philosophy
Since 1998 we’ve been changing attitudes and abilities by helping thousands of professionals learn the Spanish they need for the jobs they do.
What makes SpeakEasy Spanish so successful?
We believe that communication is more important than conjugation and what you learn should be relevant to what you do!
Our Team
Myelita Melton, SpeakEasy Communications’ president has studied languages since adolescence. At 17 “Lita” entered the prestigious Instituto de Filológica in Saltillo, Mexico. Later she continued her studies and completed her MA in French and Curriculum Design at Appalachian State University. Her teaching ability was nationally recognized in 1989 when she was awarded a prestigious Rockefeller Scholarship and used it to produce a documentary film in Europe for PBS. In 1994, she was named Who’s Who Among Outstanding Americans. As an educator, Myelita continues to be a consultant to community colleges and corporations in the southeast region.
Myelita’s corporate experience includes owning a television production firm, working with NBC’s Spanish news division Canal de Noticias, and Charlotte’s PBS affiliate WTVI. Currently, in her spare time, she works as an announcer at WDAV, Classical 89.9 FM, an NPR affiliate near Lake Norman, where she lives.
Myelita is a recognized leader in language and cultural diversity training. With her enthusiasm, voice and sense of humor, she never fails to attract attention– and to keep it! She is a natural educator and a born motivator, who continues to develop quality educational programming as president and founder of SpeakEasy Communications.
Leslie Ahmadi (Ph. D., Foreign Language Education, The Ohio State University) has more than 20 years of national and international experience facilitating language and communicative competence, cultural awareness, and effective cross-cultural relations. Fluent in Spanish, Farsi, and her native language English, Dr. Ahmadi has developed curricula to promote language and cultural competence and has implemented them in a variety of settings.
From 1998 – 2001 Dr. Ahmadí served as Director of Spanish for the Professions at The Ohio State University, where she developed and implemented a series of courses in business culture & communication for undergraduate as well as MBA and medical students. She has worked on multicultural teams both domestically and abroad, and has spent several years successfully living and teaching language & cross-cultural relations in both the Spanish-speaking world and the Middle East.
Melissa Knosp is a native of New York, who, in addition to her work with SpeakEasy, is employed as a Spanish professor by Johnson C. Smith University. She holds a Master’s degree in Education and is completing her second Master’s in Spanish from Winthrop University.
Dr. George R. Thatcher holds degrees in business, urban sociology, Spanish, and a doctorate in curriculum. He currently teaches in the Workforce Education Program for Southern Illinois University. He also teaches English as a Second Language at Central Florida Community College, both for college credit and industry-specific. He has a lifetime Texas State certification in Spanish, and has been teaching occupational Spanish courses for several years. Dr. Thatcher is a member of the American Society for Training and Development.
Maria Walker has been teaching Spanish for thirteen years at the high school level. She holds a BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies from George Mason University and a Master’s Degree in Teaching from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has been speaking Spanish since high school, when she was introduced to the culture during her first exchange program, and loves to pass on that enthusiasm to her students. Maria also volunteers as a medical interpreter for outreach programs.