SALVI's mission is to propagate communicative approaches to Latin language acquisition, making the entire Classical tradition of Western culture more available to - and enjoyable for - students, teachers, and the general public.
Septentrionale Americanum Latinitatis Vivae Institutum (English: North American Institute for Living Latin Studies) was created in October 1996 in Los Angeles, California, by a group of professors and students of Latin literature concerned about the long-term future of classical studies in North America. SALVI's mission is to propagate communicative approaches to Latin language acquisition, with a particular focus on the first years of language study, i.e. the period during which the basic tenets of grammar are learned.
On February 6, 1997, the State of California recognized SALVI as a not-for-profit public benefit educational and literary corporation, granting it tax-exempt public charity status in California under section 23701d of the California Revenue and Taxation Code. Federal tax-exempt status under section 501c(3) of the Internal Revenue Code was granted one year later on February 6, 1998, making SALVI a full-fledged 501c(3) public charity. Any contributions made to its activities are deductible from the donor's Federal and California Income taxes, where such taxes apply.
No part of the assets of SALVI, as a public benefit corporation, can ever inure to the benefit of any private individual. Officers and directors serve without compensation, and organization has no employees. The tax returns, Act of Incorporation, and Bylaws of SALVI are public information and are available on demand from the Treasurer.
Emily Lewis (Aurelia)
Member at Large
Emily Lewis is a Latin teacher at Westborough High School in Massachusetts. She received her B.A. in Latin from Bryn Mawr College. An avid proponent of student programs for Latin, Emily is highly active in the Junior Classical League and has served in the past as one of the Certamen coordinators for the state of MA. In addition, she coaches her school’s Certamen teams. She first discovered spoken Latin in her 9th grade Latin class, but did not truly make use of it until she attended her first Rusticatio in 2008
Jacque Myers (Iacoba)
TreasurerJacque Myers teaches Latin to middle school students, ages 10-14, at Mirman School in Los Angeles. She holds an M.A.T. in Latin from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She began speaking Latin in 2001 at the Kentucky Conventiculum, and first participated in the Rusticatio Californiana in 2005.
Jennifer Nelson (Guenevera)
PresidentJennifer Nelson is reference librarian for The Robbins Collection, a research institute at the UC Berkeley School of Law focused on medieval Civil and religious law. She holds an M.A. in Italian from UCLA and an M.A. and M.L.I.S. from the University of Kentucky. Her first Latin-speaking experience was at Reginald Foster's Schola aestiva in Rome in 1994, and she has been hooked ever since.
Robert Patrick (Robertus)Bob Patrick is a National Board Certified Latin teacher at Parkview High School in metro Atlanta where he lives with his wife and three nearly grown children. He is a PhD candidate at the University of Florida working on his dissertation in Ovid's Metamophoses, holds an M.Div from Emory University's Candler School of Theology, and a BA in Biblical Literature from Oral Roberts University. He is the co-owner and co-conspirator of the Latin-Best Practices list for Latin teachers with fellow board member John Piazza. He attended his first Rusticatio in Petaluma, CA in 2001.
Jason Slanga (Iason)
WebmasterJason Slanga teaches Latin at Dulaney High School, north of Baltimore, Maryland, is the state sponsor of Maryland Junior Classical League, and serves on the board of the Maryland Foreign Language Association (MFLA). He has presented on the use of technology in the language classroom at MFLA, and at the North-East Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Language (NECTFL). Jason studied computer science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, before changing his focus and earning a B.A. of Ancient Studies. He attended his first Rusticatio in 2007.
Carrie Vandervelde (Rivula)
SecretaryCarrie Vandervelde teaches Latin and history at The Steward School, an independent K-12 school in Richmond, VA. She holds a Ph.D. in classics from the University of Texas at Austin. Carrie discovered spoken Latin when she wandered into a class of Reginald Foster's one afternoon while a student in the American Academy in Rome's summer school. Carrie has been involved with SALVI since 2007, when she attended the first Rusticatio Tironibus Dedicata.
SALVI
3445 Hicks Road
Sebastopol, CA 95472
