Miriam Lavi was born and raised in NYC. She holds a BA in American Literature and Education from CUNY (1965) and is licensed by the NYC Board of Education to teach ESL on the high school level.  Miriam is also certified by the LICC (London International Chamber of Commerce) to teach ESL to Professionals.

After immigrating to Israel in 1965, Miriam (who became licensed to teach ESL by the Israeli Ministry of Education) taught in high schools for three years before going into partnership - together with her husband, Charles - with the Australian couple that had founded The English Center of Beersheva. The English Center, a private, quality English language institute, had been established in 1963 and was in continuous operation for over 40 years.

A five-year hiatus in NYC (1972-78) found Miriam teaching both ESL and remedial reading in the school system there. Upon their return to Beersheva, Miriam initiated an innovative project for the Technological Institute - the creation of an ESL reading laboratory.

When 'The English Center' was suddenly put up for sale in 1982, the Lavis decided to 'pick up where they'd left off' and took it over. Charles dealt with the business end while Miriam planned, customized and oversaw all the courses, personally handled the placement testing of all incoming students, and worked with the teaching staff in an ongoing training program.

In 2006, the Lavis decided to spend some time in China:  Miriam then taught for a year and a half at the South China University of Tropical Agriculture as well as at C.A.T.A.S. (the 'Rubber Research Institute'), with which it shares a campus.  This experience provided her with many new insights into ESL teaching – and reinforced many old ones.

Since returning to Beersheva, Miriam has been teaching several select students from international firms while enjoying her semi retirement.  She keeps up with global developments in the field of ESL through a myriad of conferences, journals, and associations.