Marty Abbott’s career began in Fairfax County Public Schools (VA) where she was a language teacher, foreign language coordinator, and Director of High School Instruction. She has served on national committees to develop student standards, beginning teacher standards, and performance assessments in world languages.
She was President of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) in 2003 and became its Director of Education in 2004 and Executive Director in 2011 serving in that capacity until 2018. Under her leadership, ACTFL created the Center for Assessment, Research and Development and launched the national public awareness campaign, Lead with Languages.
In 2016, she was appointed by President Obama to serve a four-year term on the National Security Education Board and in 2018 was appointed to the Board of Visitors of the University of Mary Washington by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. She also served as a commissioner for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences national report America’s Languages: Investing in Language Education in the 21st Century.
Marty currently serves as Interim Executive Director of ACTFL.
She received her BA in Spanish with a minor in Latin from Mary Washington College and went on to receive a Master’s Degree in Spanish Linguistics from Georgetown University.