Eaquals International Conference

Adrian Peel

Adrian Peel is a GEL Advocate at Guided e-Learning, where he puts his years of teaching and academic management experience to use by helping schools to meet their objectives though the use of data.

Alan Mackenzie

A founding director of TransformELT, Alan Mackenzie has also designed and taught master’s level courses in Autonomy for Teachers College Columbia University and NILE. Alan was a project manager for British Council across East and South Asia for ten years, and has recently developed curricula for Georgia, Egypt, and Colombia.

Alex Warren

Alex is a DELTA trained teacher trainer with over 18 years’ experience of working in ELT as a teacher, teacher trainer and academic director. He has presented in over 50 countries throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Based in the UK, Alex is currently the Senior ELT Academic Consultant for National Geographic Learning.

Andy Cowle

Andy Cowle is an ELT business development and training professional with over thirty years’ experience. He has worked with many publishers in the sector, introducing content to teachers globally and developing the creative use of classroom materials. He now works closely with Avallain to bring their Magnet LMS and Author content creation tools to a wider audience and provide related CPD training.

Ania Kolbuszewska

Ania Kolbuszewska works internationally as a teacher trainer, management trainer, inspector and educational consultant at all levels of education. Ania is also a licensed mediator and conflict management specialist.

Anna Król

Anna Król has worked as an English teacher at the WUT Foreign Language Centre, Poland (SJO PW) since 2020. There she has conducted English courses at all levels (A1-C1), including general English courses, ESP courses and courses for academic teachers and administrative staff. Since 2020, Anna has been head of one English sections and this academic year she is also Deputy Director for English.

Anna Maroutian

Anna is a DELTA qualified teacher/teacher trainer with over 20 years of experience in the English Language field both in Ireland and abroad. She is passionate about photography in particular and technology in general. She strongly believes that the arrival of AI and VR will and already is revolutionising the world of ELT.

Ayesha Mushtaq

Dr. Mushtaq is a language and higher education practitioner with a strong interest in internationalization of curriculum in Higher education as pertains to global competency development, classroom diversity, inclusion, equity and differentiated learning. She is currently the Associate Director of ELS Dept. at Dalhousie University, Faculty of Open Learning & Career Development, Halifax, Canada.

Ayşegül Karaman

Ayşegül Karaman works as a team leader at ScOLa (School of Languages). She received her BA degree in English Language and Literature from Hacettepe University; her MA in English Language Teaching at Bahçeşehir University. She holds a DELTA certificate from the University of Cambridge. Prior to Özyeğin University, she worked as an English instructor at different universities in Turkey.

Beata Schmid

After 30+ years at EF, Beata’s passions are still teacher training, curriculum development and pronunciation.

Ben Knight

Ben Knight is Head of Pedagogy Research at Oxford University Press.  He is responsible for making sure there is a clear research-informed pedagogical approach underpinning Oxford ELT courses and learning materials.  He is particularly focused on using data-driven digital learning materials to help teachers and learners be more successful in their language learning.  He has worked for various organisations, including the British Council, Cambridge Assessment, International House and City & Guilds.  

Burcu Cubukcu

Burcu Cubukcu is the ELT Academic Specialist at a K12 institution. She graduated from Bogazici University and holds a master’s degree in Educational Management and Leadership.

Charlotte Murphy

Charlotte Murphy is a DELTA qualified ELT Teacher, with over 7 years of teaching experience. She has taught in South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia and the UK, teaching Young Learners, Teenagers, and Adults across all levels, from beginner to proficiency. She has experience in delivering courses for General English, Business English, and Exam Preparation (IELTS, Trinity GESE and Cambridge First Certificate). Charlotte has written and delivered many teacher training workshops, both face-to-face and online, with her specialities focused on General English for Adults and Teenagers. She likes nothing more than to engage and motivate the people she works with, and help them reach their full potential.

Chris Brandwood

Chris Brandwood is the British Council’s Director for Teaching Excellence, responsible for teaching quality in our global network of teaching centres in 44 countries.
Chris has worked in ELT for over 30 years, as British Council Director English Europe, Director English South Asia, and in numerous teaching and management roles in Portugal, Italy, Bulgaria, UK and Spain.

Damla Sahin

I was born in 1990 and completed high school in 2007. I got my master degree in ELT and have been working as a preparatory school coordinator in Ankara Social Sciences University in Northern Cyprus Campus.

Dimitris Primalis

Dimitris Primalis (M.A. in Education: Leadership and Management) EFL teacher and Microsoft IE Fellow. Primary school and Kindergarten EFL coordinator, project manager for the “Innovation and Best Practices Days” .

Donald Staub

Dr. Donald Staub is the Director of the School of Foreign Languages and the Director of the Office of Micro-Credentials at Izmir University of Economics in Izmir, Türkiye.  His doctorate from Eastern Michigan University (USA) is in Educational Leadership. His areas of specialization are quality assurance, student retention, as well as micro-credentials and digital badges.  Donald is an inspector for Eaquals as well as DEDAK, the Turkish accreditation scheme for English language programmes. 

Duygu Ozler

Duygu Ozler has been in the ELT world for over 20 years. She has a BA in American Culture and Literature and an MA in English Language Teaching. She holds an ICELT, DELTA, Teacher Training Certificate (Sabancı University) and Trainer Training Certificate (Anatolian Training Institute).

She has worked at various institutions ranging from elementary schools to universities in different parts of Turkey, as a teacher, an administrator and a trainer.

 She is one of the founding members of TESOL Turkey. Her research interests include teacher research, in-service teacher education, critical thinking in education and testing and assessment. Currently, she is working as a Teacher Trainer and Marketing manager for Macmillan Education, Western Europe.

Emma Heyderman

Emma Heyderman has over 20 years’ experience in academic management and has collaborated with O’Clock Idiomas on several projects. Now freelance, she divides her time between writing ELT materials, designing and delivering teacher training courses, providing consultancy to language institutions and is an inspector for Eaquals.

Emma Walton

 As Director of Academic Affairs, Emma’s focus is on raising standards for the student experience at both operational and strategic levels.

Evelyn Soidla

Evelyn Soidla (MA in Education)-lecturer, trainer, mentor, advisor, entrepreneur, professional supervisor and coach with more than 25 years of experience (member of the board of the ESCY and level 6 supervisor, member of ICF and ANSE), partner for leaders, teams and organisations. The author of several personal and professional development programmes and trainings for educational staff and leader.

Gillian Davidson

Gillian Davidson has worked in EFL for almost 30 years. She has taught, and managed in Slovakia, Indonesia, Russia and the UK. She has taught students from 4 years old to much older across a wide range of courses. She is currently the Group Academic Director at EC English and has extensive experience of managing multiple centres across the world. Gill is also an Eaquals inspector.

Giorgia de Musso

Giorgia de Musso is a passionate learner, teacher and teacher trainer based in Turin, Italy, where she coordinates a private language centre. She has worked as an English teacher with young learners and teenagers in Poland, Scotland and Italy. She’s particularly interested in promoting inclusivity in education, classroom dynamics and…whatever concerns astronomy

Gitte Alstrup

I am the Erasmus+ coordinator at a secondary school in Denmark with a strong focus on internationalization. I have been teaching English at various levels for 20 years.

Hatice Asvaroglu

Currently, Hatice works as the Director of the English Preparatory School, ARUCAD. She has an undergraduate Diploma in English Language Teaching, MA in Applied Linguistics and Ph. D in English Language Teaching (in progress). She worked as English language teacher at public secondary schools, as English language inspector and she
Director of three different English Preparatory Schools in Cyprus

Hebatallah Morsy

Hebatallah is an 18-years ELT professional who is fond of teaching, training and helping in developing personal skills. She is doing her MA in Tefl. Her motto is “know everything about one thing and know one thing about everything”. That empowered her to be flexible and adaptable with experimenting different tools or tech techniques in teaching and training.

Hugh Dellar

Hugh Dellar has over twenty-five years’ experience in the field and is the co-founder of the online school and training company Lexical Lab. He has co-authored two multi-level General English series, ‘Outcomes’ and ‘Innovations’, both published by National Geographic Learning, as well as one level of the high-school series ‘Perspectives’. His first methodology book, Teaching Lexically, came out via Delta Publishing in 2016. He has given talks, seminars, workshops and training sessions in over 30 countries around the world.

Ian Brangan

Ian Brangan is a teacher, trainer, and Director of Education at The Linguaviva Centre in Dublin. He is a Schools Inspector with ACELS/ Eaquals and a materials writer.

Ian Johnstone

Ian Johnstone has worked in digital ELT for more than 20 years, predominantly as a digital publisher, creating products like Macmillan English Campus, Onestopenglish.com and MacmillanDictionary.com. Ian now works with Avallain, the leading technology supplier to ELT publishers and the creators of Avallain Magnet, the brand new authoring and learning management solution for language schools and institutions.

Jacqueline Douglas

Jacqueline Douglas is a NILE Senior Trainer with 25 years in ELT and a Cambridge CELTA, DELTA, Trinity CertPT and NILE MA tutor, interested in materials writing and learner autonomy.

Joanna Paolinelli

Joanna Paolinelli is the Managing Director of British School Pisa Group. Her focus lies in leveraging her experience, technology, and fresh ideas to ensure that English learning and teaching are accessible to all. She combines digital tools and innovative approaches to foster an inclusive classroom environment that caters to everyone’s learning needs. Joanna holds an MSC in psychological research methods and a Masters in Educational Psychology. She is also a qualified tutor affiliated with the Italian Dyslexia Association (AID). As a teacher trainer and speaker, she champions inclusive teaching practices. Her active collaboration with book publishers and exam boards addresses challenges related to dyslexia in language learning. Joanna divides her time among supporting children with special needs, training fellow educators and collaborating with Italian state school teachers. Her aim is to enhance teaching methodologies and support students with dyslexia. Her training sessions focus on introducing innovative techniques to create a more inclusive, flexible, and engaging educational experience. In her role, Joanna Paolinelli is leaving a lasting impact, reshaping the educational landscape by fostering innovation and inclusivity in learning.

Joel David Compton

Having ten years of experience in a private Turkish university context and seven as the coordinator for the faculty English classes, I am ever more determined on understanding my context and discipline in order to provide the best possible preparation for our faculty English students at MEF University.

Julie Wallis

Julie is Director of The London School, AISLi President, an Eaquals Trustee and sits on the board of International House London.

She has worked as a teacher trainer for organisations including Eaquals, AISLi, LEND, NILE, Transform ELT, Pilgrims, The British Council and Bell.

She holds a degree, is DELTA and CertIBET qualified, and is a trained inspector for AISLi and Eaquals.

Koray Tunc

Koray Tunç is the Director of the Foreign Languages Department and a member of the Quality Committee at Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif University. Previously, he coordinated educational technologies (2015-2019) for the English Prep Program. He holds a BA and MA in English Literature and is currently a Ph.D. candidate. He is particularly interested in integrating technology and AI into language teaching

Laura Muresan

Laura Muresan is Professor of English at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies and founder president of QUESTRomania. She is also an Eaquals inspector and is actively involved in European projects on quality assurance.

Liam Brown

Liam is a teacher, manager, trainer, writer, course developer and consultant focusing on business and management skills inELT.
Liam was Learning and Development Manager for the British Council’s worldwide English and Exams Strategic Business Unit.
He now works independently with ELT and education institutions around the world for training design and delivery and consultancy interventions.

Linda Egnatz

Linda Egnatz is the Executive Director of the Global Seal of Biliteracy, a free international language certification program that serves to recognize and document bilingual skills in over 50 countries. Egnatz serves as the 2023-24 President of the Joint National Committee for Languages, and is a Bilingualism Matters Advisory Board Member and Heritage Language Global Think Tank Member.

Lou McLaughlin

Executive Director, Eaquals

Lou is the Executive Director of Eaquals. She was one of the founding members of ELT Ireland, and served on the IATEFL Board of Trustees as the Associates Representative until 2021. Lou holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics, Masters in ELT, DELTA, TESOL Cert. in Leadership & Management and Trinity TESOL Cert. Her special interests are Young Learner teacher training, teacher cognition and management in ELT and she was the co-editor of Children Learning English: From Research to Practice (2015).

Lucy Coppinger

Lucy is Assistant Director of Studies at Apollo Language Centre, Dublin. She completed a Masters in Applied Linguistics in Trinity College Dublin and her research interests include speech production and learner psychology. She has experience as a language educator and TESOL teacher trainer.

Lucy Griffin

Lucy Griffin is the Director of Foreign Languages at a historic foundation school. She holds a BA Degree from the University of Leicester, an MA from the University of York and has Qualified Teacher Status in the UK.

Ludka Kotarska

Ludka Kotarska was the Director of Eaquals Accreditation and Consultancy between 2016 – 2022. She was responsible for the management of Eaquals accreditation services, the development of the Inspection Scheme and for advising and supporting language centres that apply to become accredited members of Eaquals.      

Ly Leedu

I am Estonian (as a foreign language) teacher. From 1999 I have been teaching adult students in Multilingua Language Center. I have 8 years of experience as a teachers’ trainer. My favourite topics, both as a teacher and an educator, are playful learning methods, level- and topic-based use of board games in language lessons, and learning outside the classroom.

Marc Anderson

Marc Anderson is a co-founder and CEO of Comas LLC which provides language training solutions for businesses in Japan. He has worked for some of Japan’s largest IT companies both as a language trainer and as a manager where he was able to develop specialised language training programs. . It is now his mission to create a Japan where language and culture are not barriers to global success.

Maria Philippi

Maria Philippi, Head of Informatics & Digital Education in Doukas School, has extensive experience in the design and implementation of digital transformation projects and comprehensive knowledge in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as in educational design with new tools. She is continuously working as a researcher in the field of Hybrid Spaces & Learning, Augmented Reality & AI with a special focus on Sustainable Development in Education.

Marija Pejatovic

Marija Pejatovic is a teacher and teacher trainer from Serbia. She is the president of the National Association of Language Schools of Serbia, YALS, and coordinator of the National Association of English language teachers in Serbia, ELTA. She is the co-author of accredited programmes for the Ministry of Education of Serbia and co-author of the Skills Booster handbook for Serbian Civil Servants.

Mary Grennan

Mary has many years’ experience in ELT. In her current role at Quality and Qualifications Ireland, the state agency responsible for QA in tertiary education, she is responsible for the development of the new TrustEd Ireland scheme, now being implemented.

Michael Carrier

Michael Carrier is a consultant, working for many years in language education. He serves on several boards including TIRF and ICC, the British Council’s English Language Advisory Group, and chairs the Dept. of Business & Trade’s ELT Action Group. He was formerly Director, English Language Innovation at the British Council, Director of Eurocentres USA and CEO of the International House network.

Mike Mayor

Mike Mayor is Senior Director of English Learning Research & Design at Pearson. On leaving university, Mike worked as an English teacher in France before entering the world of publishing as a lexicographer. Mike joined Pearson in 2003 and moved to Learning Research & Design in 2013. Mike has a BA in French, a Dip. TEFLA and an MPhil in English and Applied Linguistics from Cambridge University.

Mike Riley

Mike Riley joined NILE as Deputy Director in 2020 after spending four years as Teacher Training Manager at Macmillan Education. He started his teaching career in 2001 working with refugees and asylum seekers in his native Manchester and then spent 15 years as teacher, director of studies and director in Milan. His role at NILE involves supporting strategic and organisational management.

Miranda Karjagdi Çolak

Miranda Karjagdi Çolak is a seasoned language educator at Bursa Technical University’s School of Foreign Languages. With a PhD in TEFL, she has extensive experience as an EFL teacher, teacher trainer, researcher, and EAQUALS inspector. Miranda is passionate about promoting sustainable and comprehensive quality assurance systems within Turkish public universities. 

Nergis Uyan

Nergis Uyan graduated from the Middle East Technical University’s Foreign Language Education Department in 1995 and received her MA in Management in Education from Bilkent University in 2005. She completed her DTEFLA from the University of Cambridge in 1999 and also received her ADEM (Advanced Diploma in English Language Teaching Management) in 2001.

She worked in several positions at Bilkent University School of English Language (BUSEL) including English Language Instructor, Head of Teaching Unit, Teacher Development Coordinator, Teacher Trainer and Member of the BUSEL Directorate from September 1995 to February 2010. She has also been working as a CELTA Trainer since 2007. She has been working as the director of Ozyegin University School of Languages (ScOLa) since February 2010.  She also served on the Eaquals Board as a trustee for two terms and as a co-author of the Eaquals Academic Manager Competency Framework (2021).  

Nick Gossett

I have 24 years’ experience working in a range of settings and countries, as a teacher, teacher trainer and manager. Having accidentally become a manager 18 years ago, I have often reflected on my own style and approach and worried that I may be wanting. I have met many interesting characters along the way… I currently work for CES Leeds in the UK as an Academic Manager and Teacher Trainer.

Nuria Vaquero Ibarra

Graduate in Hispanic Philology, Postgraduate in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language, in Quality in Education, and in Administration and Management of Organisations. She is currently researching the development of ELE centres. She has worked as a teacher, coordinator and academic director of ELE programmes. Head of the Accredited Centres Unit at the Instituto Cervantes.

Özge Coşkun Aysal

Dr. Özge Coşkun Aysal is the Assistant Director of the School of Foreign Languages at Izmir University of Economics in Izmir, Türkiye. Specializing in educational management, student success, and micro-credentials, Dr. Coşkun Aysal has contributed to international collaborations, strategic planning, and competency-based education. She has authored works on psychological safety and learning organizations, and is a trained inspector for the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA) as well as DEDAK, the Turkish accreditation scheme for English language programmes 

Ozgen Bagci Cervo

Ozgen Bagci Cervo, originally trained as an English teacher, I currently work as an educational consultant, teacher trainer, and ETS workshop facilitator for the TOEFL Young Students Series in the Netherlands.

Özlem Baykan

Özlem Baykan is a Team Leader at Ozyegin University School of Languages. She started her teaching career in 2010 and has been running her managerial role for around 10 years at the same institution. Özlem is also CELTA Trainer and a member of The Standards Professional Council at TESOL International Association, and an Executive Board Member at TESOLTurkey Leadership and Management SIG.

Peter Westerhuis

Peter Westerhuis is an ELT Coordinator at ETS Global B.V. With over 12 years of teaching experience in Canada, South Korea, and France, he supports English teachers in the EMEA region.

Richard Chinn

Richard Chinn is an experienced teacher and teacher educator based in the UK with global experience. He works at International House London. Currently Richard is seconded to King’s College London as an associate lecturer. Richard is also co-author of ‘Working with Emergent Language’.

Rita Dourado

Rita Dourado has been teaching Portuguese as a foreign language for 20 years in higher education context.
She helped setting up EF´s first Portuguese language campus in Lisbon as Director of Studies and later as School Director. She is now working at Instituto Camões in Lisbon.

Rose Aylett

Rose Aylett is a freelance training consultant and CELTA tutor, based in Liverpool, UK. She has been working in ELT for over 15 years, predominantly in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and has a long-standing professional interest in critical pedagogy, global citizenship and social justice education. Her MA thesis (completed in 2020) explored critical literacy within teacher education, and informs NILE ELT’s ‘Global Citizenship in Language Education’ course, for which she is the course leader. Rose is the current IATEFL Global Issues SIG Coordinator. She speaks regularly at national and international conferences on how to teach controversial issues, and the integration of critical perspectives into ELT.

Sarah Aitken

Sarah Aitken is an experienced inspector and a member of the Accreditation Panel, moderating Eaquals reports and overseeing the Inspection Scheme’s standards. She has been involved in the recent review and update of the Scheme. Previously Sarah served for four years as Eaquals Executive Director and was responsible for advising and supporting language centres that apply to become Accredited Members of our Association.

Selen Sirin Dulger

Selen Şirin Dülger has been in the field of English Language Teaching since 2009, holding various roles in the School of Languages (ScOLa) at Özyeğin University. She currently serves as a Team Leader in ScOLa. She earned her BA and MA degrees through a five-year combined English Teacher Education program at Bilkent University in 2009. In 2024, she completed a second MA in Educational Management (non-thesis) at Anadolu University. Selen holds a DELTA from the University of Cambridge and is a CELTA trainer. She is also a member of the TESOL Türkiye Professional Council Network and a teacher trainer for Oxford University Press, Türkiye. Her areas of interest include educational leadership and management, professional in-service development, and student motivation. 

Semih İrfaner

Dr. Semih Irfaner works at Macmillan Education responsible for teacher training and product promotion, and prepares training programs on academic skills and the use of critical thinking in language classrooms.

Before joining Macmillan Education, Dr. İrfaner worked as both an administrator and a lecturer in the Academic English unit at Bilkent University and prepared and taught courses related to academic English.

In addition to the use of critical thinking in language teaching and learning, Dr. İrfaner also has works on the prevention of bullying among the students, which he worked on during his doctoral program at Hacettepe University.

Sena Elibal İçuz

Sena Elibal-İçuz is a Senior ELT Coordinator at ETS EMEA. She has degrees in ELL and further credentials in ELT. Sena has over 7 years of experience teaching at university preparatory English programs and academic English programs along with her various academic and administrative duties. She is passionate about teacher professional development and increasing quality in ELT practices.

Serkan Aras

Serkan Aras works as the Undergraduate English Program Coordinator in the School of Languages, Özyeğin University. He received his combined BA and MA degree in English Teacher Education from Bilkent University in 2008 and his PhD in Gender Studies from Kadir Has University in 2018. He holds a DELTA from Cambridge University and he is a CELTA trainer. Serkan is also the Coordinator of IATEFL Teacher Development SIG (TDSIG).

Stefanie Smith

Stefanie Smith: With a background in publishing, Stefanie found her niche in language education when she joined EF in 2010,where she has managed the development of multiple courses.

Susanna Dammann

Susanna has  been in Language Education as a teacher, trainer and manager for nearly 40 years. She has worked in the UK,  France and China, mostly in Business Language training, which allowed her to learn an enormous amount about business practice and management from her clients.

She has been a member of the Eaquals ‘family’ since 2002, first as a member of the Inspection team. She managed the Eaquals Inspection Scheme for two years and more recently has been a member of the Eaquals Board.

She has always been concerned about the quality of the training in assessment literacy available to language teachers and as an Inspector, she has seen how central assessment is, in permitting really effective teaching and learning. The LAPP project between Eaquals and ALTE has allowed her to make a contribution to the development of assessment literacy among language teachers all over the world.

Tetiana Myronova

A teacher trainer, materials writer and passionate ESL teacher from Ukraine. She’s been teaching groups of adults for more than 10 years and has also designed her own course “English for Fashion Industry”. She’s particularly interested in the ways how Professional Development can be integrated into different teaching contexts.

Wioleta Antecka

I work for Avant Assessment as an European Operations Coordinator and I have been an ESL teacher for 17 years. I am passionate about language education and assessment and I understand the importance of language testing in tracking students’ progress, supporting their proficiency development and setting clear goals for language development.

Zeynep Ogul

Zeynep Oğul received her BA in ELT and MA in Educational Administration, Supervision, Planning and Economics. She has 28 years of ELT experience, 19 of which includes administrative expertise at 3 universities in Turkey. She has gained strong experience in curriculum design, curriculum-based assessment, international accreditation, and leadership and management in these 28 years. Currently, she is the Academic Programs and ELT Manager in ETS Turkey.