Dr. Ally Zhou is the Director of Professional and Cultural Education and Professor of TESOL in the Office of Academic Affairs—Innovative Education and Partnerships at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). Prior to this role, she served as Chair of the Department of Teacher Preparation Programs and Chair of the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Culture in the College of Education at FGCU.

Dr. Zhou holds a Ph.D. in Second Language Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Her teaching and research focus on second language writing, pedagogical grammar, English for Academic Purposes, discourse analysis, English curriculum reform, and government-funded professional and leadership development programs. She was recently selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar and will serve as Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for 2025-2026. She has served as Principal Investigator and Project Director for four Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Programs and as Principal Investigator and Academic Director for two Mandela Washington Fellowship Leadership Institutes, both sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by IREX. Dr. Zhou has served on the U.S. Student Fulbright National Screening Committee.