The team of people at Thrive is part of what makes the organization special.  Our team enjoys being together and reaching out to benefit others.  Because of our interactions & experiences, we know how critical it can be to communicate in multiple languages and be able to welcome others.  Many of our staff members fill dual roles at Thrive like being a student in one class and contributing as a teacher or volunteer in a different language class or program.

Jody Lantz—Executive Director & Intermediate ESL Instructor; DOJ Accredited Representative

Jody has been with Thrive and its predecessor since February 2011.  She has taught ESL since 1994 in different contexts including in community and college programs in the U.S. and Thailand.  She earned her B.S.W. from Eastern University and her M.A. TESOL from Biola University.  Her professional passions are empowering those from other countries who are living in the U.S. to integrate with and positively impact their communities and helping new professionals develop teaching skills.  After long witnessing the need for low-cost accessible immigration legal services in the area, she also became a DOJ partially accredited representative and is working towards full accreditation.  Her favorite hobbies are reading, biking, and hiking.

Sufia Salmi—DOJ Accredited Representative, Immigration Advocate

Sufia joined Thrive in 2022 as an interpreter and has moved into her current role as an Immigration Advocate pursuing DOJ Accreditation.  She loves helping others from different backgrounds.  Her past work and college education focused on caring for youth and families.  She is fluent in English, Dari, Pashto, and Urdu.  Having moved from Afghanistan to the United States many years ago, she understands what it can be like to be on both sides of the transition to a new country and culture.  In her free time, she enjoys watching funny shows and has increased her language skills that way.

Andrew Stafford—TESOL Instructor

Andrew is a current Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Lycoming College with over a decade of language teaching experience. He also teaches Second Language Acquisition and Pedagogy for future language teachers. Languages have always been a passion of his, and he enjoys traveling and learning more about languages and cultures across the world. An avid TV watcher, Andrew enjoys catching up on his favorite series when he gets the chance.

Lindsey Sunderland—Office Manager

Lindsey joined Thrive in November 2023. Lindsey’s first career was as a Registered Dental Hygienist for 18 years. Building on her skills of providing care, education and support to others, Thrive gives her the opportunity to continue to be a supportive team member. Lindsey enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with her family.

Stephanie Steinbacher– Immigration Legal Assistant and TESOL Instructor

Stephanie joined Thrive in the fall of 2023 as a Immigration Legal Assistant and TESOL
Instructor. She is a recent graduate from American University with a Bachelors in Legal Studies. She also has completed two undergraduate certificate programs including: Community-Based Research and Advanced Leadership. She is excited to learn more about immigration including the legal processes as well as learn more about the international community through her work as a TESOL Instructor. In her spare time she enjoys quilting, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

Kaitlynn Mangrum—Community Work Study Interpreter

Kaitlynn started in fall of 2023 and is currently a senior at Lycoming College. She is double majoring in Political Science and Spanish and minoring in Social and Economic Justice. She hopes to learn more about the immigration process as she has a strong desire to see immigration become accessible for people of every background. In her free time, she enjoys reading, knitting, and Star Wars.

Paige Mullins—WISE Intern

Paige is currently a junior at Lycoming College. She is double majoring in psychology and Spanish, and minoring in entrepreneurship. She hopes to open a therapy clinic that offers services in both English and Spanish. She is excited to get to know people from different cultures and backgrounds. In her free time, she enjoys reading, singing, watching YouTube, and gaming.

Keelee Humphrey—WISE Intern, Volunteer

Keelee started volunteering with Thrive in December 2023 by helping to prepare a monthly comfort food meal, then continued volunteering by working on updating Thrive’s graphics and creating social media posts during the Spring ’24 semester. This summer they’ll work as a graphic design intern and hope to continue volunteering when the summer is over.

Margaret Jenkins- Immigration Advocate & TESOL Instructor

Molly joined Thrive in 2021 as a volunteer and is currently working as a Temporary Part-Time Immigration Advocate and Substitute TESOL Instructor. Molly helps interpret and translate Spanish. She is passionate about human rights and helping international students learn English. Molly is working at Thrive for the summer and will return to Spain in the fall where she teaches English to Spanish primary students. In her free time she loves hiking, coffee, rock climbing and spending time reading at the beach.