Charlie Reis came to BNUZ from Brooklyn, New York, in the United States where he worked as an English professor specializing in nonfiction writing at Boricua College. A friendly and easy-going person, Charlie loves teaching and takes a constructivist approach, trying to create learning opportunities for students through meaningful context. He loves to laugh and to meet new people. At Boricua College he worked with students of diverse backgrounds, strove to make English grammar and composition clear to non-native speakers and English language learners, helped organize and speak at a conference, Making Green by Going Green: Transitioning to Green Economies, painted a mural, The Great Tahino Wave, on one of the campuses, and inspired students to write and express themselves.

Charlie received an MS in Education from Pace University, graduating with a 4.0 grade point average as a part of New York City’s Teaching Fellows program. He received a BA from the University of Oregon, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and winning the George Rebec Award his graduating year for an essay on Kant’s Critique of Judgment. His undergraduate work concentrated on philosophy and literature. To supplement this he also completed course on teaching English as a foreign language at TESOL International. He has worked as a teacher since 2003 in elementary schools, at Boricua College, and at The Long Island Conservatory, private institute where led classes on the Reading Comprehension and Writing sections of the SAT.

Prior to this Charlie worked as a freelance writer, focusing mostly on the arts and local news. He also held a position as a staff writer for CommuterLink/OzoneNY where he researched and wrote transit materials, website text, science lessons, promotional materials, and spoke publicly about transit issues and about ozone pollution. He also has business experience working in communications as an account executive for Bliss, Gouverneur & Associates, where he handled public and media outreach for financial and professional services firms, professional and trade associations, publishers, and manufacturers. This involved essay and article writing, press releases, advertisements, as well as strategic counsel on media and marketing issues. At this time his desire to teach also led him to volunteer as a literacy tutor to teach adult illiterates how to read.

Charlie’s interests include travel and the arts. He has been to many countries, and his trips to China as a tourist inspired him to make the jump from America to Zhuhai. Learning languages is a vital part of experiencing the world; Charlie still learning Chinese. Charlie’s interest in the arts led him to a poetry fellowship at The Vermont Studio Center. He makes jewelry from recycled materials and occasionally draws and paints, which led to a first prize at the Scroll Bowl in Brooklyn. He has acting, writing, and experience, having participated in a video installation at ApexArt in Manhattan. He also collects and plays with toys.