TECs Trainers

Karen is the volunteer ESL Coordinator at Literacy Connexus and the Director of ESL Ministry at Southland Baptist Church in San Angelo. There she teaches ESL classes and tutors students to get their Citizenship. Karen has 25 years of ESL teaching under her belt and has 3 of her own workshops. Before she taught ESL she was a Missionary in New York City and studied French in Paris, France in 1961. In 2010 Karen was awarded volunteer of the year by Literacy Texas.

Kathleen Yarborough is the Director of Community Ministries at West University Baptist and Crosspoint Church in Houston, TX.  She leads the ESL ministry and coordinates the local mission efforts. Kathleen began teaching ESL in 2001 and has served as a volunteer teacher and program director and full time staff. She has also taught English in China for several summer programs with high school students. Kathleen is a trainer with Literacy ConneXus which assists faith based programs in developing ESL and literacy programs and training teachers. She is married to her husband Steve who both cooks AND cleans and has a basset hound baby whose name she cannot tell you or she would have to reset all her passwords!

Katie Welch, Ph.D., is a university instructor, teacher trainer, and active volunteer in adult ed classrooms. In addition to teaching international students in UT-Arlington’s English Language Institute and volunteering weekly in a community-based ESL/GED program, Katie currently provides professional development to language teachers through partnerships with the U.S. Department of State, Cambridge University Press, and Literacy Connexus. Katie’s innovative classroom ideas have been published in academic journals such as Language and American Speech, and she presents regularly at national and international conferences, including TESOL International, COABE, and the National Center for Families Learning.

Matthew Johnston serves as the ESL Support Coordinator for Literacy ConneXus and a TECs (Teaching English ConneXus) Trainer. In this role, he leads ESL trainings across the DFW area, develops curriculum, and consults with and assists literacy and ESL programs throughout Texas. He is passionate about equipping churches and volunteers to serve their communities through effective, engaging English classes.

Matthew first connected with Literacy ConneXus in 2012 while pursuing a Master’s in Global Leadership from Dallas Baptist University, when he served as an intern. He returned in 2020 to help develop online video training for TECs and has loved being part of the team ever since.

Charlie Johnston is originally from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and has called Texas home since 2010. He holds an Associate’s degree in Office Systems Technology from Collin College and is both TESOL and Braille certified. Since 2017, Charlie has served as the ESL Program Administrator at Hunter’s Glen Baptist Church, where he leads and supports English language learning programs for adults in the community. He has also served on the board of the Collin County Adult Literacy Council since 2020, working to expand access to literacy and ESL resources across the region. Charlie is a TECs Trainer Apprentice and began serving with Literacy ConneXus in 2024.

And just to clarify—Charlie Johnston is not related to Matthew Johnston, though they’re glad to serve together through Literacy ConneXus, and happy to call each other “brothers in Christ”!