Trainers
Mike Gershon (Gershon Learning)
Mike is the author of more than 40 books on teaching, learning and education, including numerous bestsellers.
He has written over 90 guides covering different aspects of classroom practice and his work has been translated into Dutch, Welsh, Hebrew, Arabic and Chinese.
Mike’s online teaching resources are some of the most popular of all time, having been viewed and downloaded more than 4 million times by teachers in over 180 countries and territories. All of Mike’s work is closely focused on the practicalities of pedagogy. Teachers across the world return to his work because of its relevance to the classroom and the immediacy with which the ideas can be implemented.
Educational Consultancy & Training: Mike Gershon
LinkedIn: Mike Gershon
Anthony Balkwill (Blazon Education)
Anthony Balkwill is an English Teacher by profession and, for many years, was Head of School of the Falcon School in Nicosia, Cyprus, a reputable pre-primary, primary and secondary English-speaking private school.
Since retiring from employment in 2021, Anthony has spearheaded and manages a pan-European collective of both employed and retired teachers, who together create high-impact short training courses designed to address the professional development needs of pre-primary, primary and secondary school Teaching Assistants and Teachers.
Website: The Bitterman LinkedIn: Anthony Balkwill
Tiffany St James (Transmute)
Tiffany St James is a UK leading Digital Strategist helping Boards and C-Suite with Digital Transformation and Corporate Digital Strategy.
She ran a decade of digital change programmes in the UK Government, is the former strategic lead for Social Media for UK Government joining up 32 central government departments and first Comms Director of Directgov. Tiffany is one of the inaugural Tech City100 and a TED Speaker. She sits on the Central Council of the British Interactive Media Association as Group Chair of Universities helping graduate employability and is regularly listed as 1 of the Top 100 Influencers in UK Digital Marketing including the Drum’s Digerati and Girl Guides.
Tiffany has trained over 350 digital and marketing agencies in the smarter use of digital and social media reaching over 10 000 people and is a public speaker on digital and technology.
Transmute: Transmute
Facebook: Tiffany St James
LinkedIn: Tiffany St James
Maria Kyprianou (Blazon Education)
Maria Kyprianou is an English language teacher with over ten years of experience.
Her extensive experience in the infants, primary and secondary departments of private institutions in Nicosia has not only enabled her to hone her craft in varied educational settings, but has also given her the opportunity to work with a diverse population of students from all around the globe and with a wide range of ages and proficiency levels.
A non-negotiable for Maria, as an educator, is taking into consideration the learners’ needs and for this reason, she believes that every educator should ensure that these needs are acknowledged and met to thus create an environment where learners can thrive and achieve their full potential.
Eloise Leher (Wonderfully Wired)
Elle is an avid communicator, author, speaker, and artist with the ability to communicate complicated concepts creatively and simply. She has invaluable experience in teaching a variety of subjects at leading International Schools in Frankfurt am Main, Cape Town and Bulawayo. She enjoys the energy that comes from teaching children of diverse cultures and has a passion for seeing young people discover their potential.
Elle home-educated her three children through primary school, the experience sharpened her creative problem-solving, patience, capacity for work and understanding of the different learning needs of children. Two of her three children are neurodivergent.
She has a keen interest in equipping teachers and parents to teach students with diverse with learning differences, giftedness and on the autism spectrum. She is constantly researching and committed to simply communicating what she has learnt to others. The Wonderfully Wired podcast and the membership site www.wonderfullywired.online is designed to help parents and teachers see, support, and celebrate different learners.
She considers her willingness and ability to learn to be one of her most valuable resources.
Facebook: WonderfullyWiredbyElle
LinkedIn: Elle Leher
Sara Noble (Smart Chalk)
Sara Noble is an Instructional Design Coach, and Director of Smart Chalk Consulting. She is passionate about all things educational. She has extensive experience and training in IB PYP and is a qualified teacher trainer. As a committed life-long learner, classroom teacher and a pedagogical leader, she possesses a particular interest in curriculum design and implementation, instructional best practice and collaboration through mentoring and co-teaching processes.
Sara designed and implemented the written, taught and assessed curriculum for Re a Bua – Setswana Academy, where Setswana is taught as a foreign language to anyone wanting to learn Setswana, (official language of Botswana) in both face-to-face and online platforms.
As a teacher trainer Sara has collaborated with NGO’s designing educational programmes for their respective outreach initiatives. Sara provides workshops and training for teachers in primary schools in Botswana, fostering a culture of continuous professional learning amongst staff and school leaders.
“I love that Ahhaah!-light bulb moment in a child’s eyes when they realise they understand a concept being taught in class. I love hearing teachers say, “I just had the most amazing lesson that went so well! And the kids loved it!” - This is why I do what I do.
Edward Evanson (Blazon Education)
Edward Evanson is a languages teacher with ten years’ experience of teaching children as young as 5 and adults as old as 95 in English, Spanish and German.
Samantha Webster
Samantha Webster has had the great fortune to experience an enormous amount of variety in her working history, not only in terms of the roles she has had but also in the industries she has worked in and consulted for, the diverse locations she has worked in and the opportunities she has had to use a wide selection of skills, ranging from deeply analytical to unreservedly creative, from working alone to working with large teams in different countries, training interns to presenting to senior leadership groups, working for large corporations to being her own boss.
Samantha has extensive experience in human resource management, both in-house and as a consultant, event management, sales, marketing, and public relations. The skills she has mastered are working with people: using high levels of emotional intelligence to read social and political landscapes within her work environment and client organisations, negotiation skills, and analytical skills all while adding her own creative flair to the projects she works on.
Gustav Louw
Gustav is an experienced instructor specialising in supporting educators. With a background in rehabilitation training, special educational needs, community support work, counselling, and tutoring, Gustav brings knowledge and expertise to his courses.
His courses are specifically designed to support student inclusion, safeguarding, holistic well-being, and mental health through a combination of theory and practical applications in the classroom. His experience working with individuals with intellectual disabilities and behaviours that challenge has given him a unique insight into the importance of creating a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students.
With a Master of Science in Public Health, an Honours Degree in Applied Psychology and a Degree in Linguistics and Psychology, Gustav has the academic qualifications to support his practical experience. His courses will provide educators with the knowledge and tools they need to create a safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environment for all students.
Keith Parker
Keith is a native Londoner, who has lived in Cyprus, Gibraltar and Hungary. Having worked for DEVELOR since 2004 Keith has been in the training field for more than 16 years’ experience. Keith has delivered training in more than 20 countries, from the USA to Uzbekistan and from Iceland to UAE with a focus on Leadership, Communication, Sales and Cultural Understanding.
Global companies such as T-Com DHL, Merck, HP and IBM select him for his passion and energy, versatility, multi-cultural understanding and ability to adapt. He has trained more than 1,000 people in Call Centres and Shared Service Centres for Global Technology and Telecommunications providers in Central Europe and Middle East. Prior to working for DEVELOR, Keith has worked both in Sales & Advertising and Recruitment.
Website: J Knobel
LinkedIn: Keith Parker
Johnny El Helou (Tawjih)
Johnny is a Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD), from the Association for Talent Development ATD in the US. In 2013, he co-founded TAWJIH, a private company for training, coaching and consultancy, working with the private and public sectors as well as NGOs on talent development and performance improvement projects and programs. With more than 14 years of experience in the training and development field, Johnny had the chance to design and deliver interactive training and coaching programs for interpersonal and managerial skills for more than 8,000 individuals coming from 13 different sectors in Lebanon, UAE, KSA, Greece, Cyprus, France, and Turkey. Johnny is proficient in creating “Training Concepts” for EQ and Communication skills such as “The Happy Professional” program and “The Entertaining Show”, the first Emotional Intelligence online training program in the Middle East designed and delivered with well-known celebrities. Besides training and development, Johnny has experience in moderating and facilitating conferences and workshops with different INGOs and Embassies. Another milestone was in career guidance through his work as a career counsellor for almost 15 years, Johnny has designed several career guidance programs and initiated unconventional activities to help youth make a better career choice. Instructional design and training delivery were always his passion, which gave him the motivation to stay creative and strive for adding value to the field.
Mazen Yachoui (Tawjih)
Mazen is a Certified trainer and Trainer of Trainers with an engineering and humanitarian background having extensive experience in instructional design, training, entrepreneurship, humanitarian sectors as well as community services. Mazen is a partner, trainer, and consultant at TAWJIH, a private company for training, coaching and consultancy, working with the private and public sectors as well as NGOs on talent development and performance improvement projects and programs. Mazen has conducted Instructional Design consultancy projects for different institutions for physical, online and hybrid learning. Mazen has participated in the creation and production of TAWJIH Learning & Development concepts “The Happy Professional” and “The Entertaining Show”, the first Emotional Intelligence online training program in the Middle East designed and delivered with well-known celebrities. Besides training and development, Mazen has 10 years of experience in different sectors and emergency response in the humanitarian field. Mazen possesses Leadership and Entrepreneurship capabilities developed through business responsibilities and community services. He believes that hard work and persistence will always pay off.