Bill Rivers

Dr. Bill Rivers has more than 25 years’ experience in culture and language for economic development and national security, with publications in second and third language acquisition research, proficiency assessment, program evaluation, and language policy development and advocacy. Before joining JNCL-NCLIS, he served as Chief Scientist at Integrated Training Solutions, Inc., a small business in Arlington, Virginia, where he focused on strategic planning, management, and advanced technologies for language and culture programs in the public sector. In 2003, he was one of four co-founders of the Center for Advanced Study of Language at the University of Maryland. During his career, Dr. Rivers has also taught Russian (beginning through advanced), graduate courses in language policy, qualitative and quantitative methods, Russian linguistics, and second language acquisition at the University of Maryland and at several universities in Kazakhstan. He has worked as a freelance interpreter and translator. He received his PhD in Russian from Bryn Mawr College and his MA, BA, and BS (Aerospace Engineering) from the University of Maryland. He speaks Russian and French.