Dr. Maria Alley is the Russian Language Program Director at the Department of Russian and East European Studies. She was born and raised in Ukhta, a small town in the Komi Republic in Northern Russia. Maria received her Ph.D. in Slavic Linguistics with the concentration in Second Language Acquisition from Ohio State University in 2011. Dr. Alley's research interests include language pedagogy, curriculum development, language-learning technology, and inclusive and equitable pedagogies.