EARCOS PRACTITIONER PRESENTERS AMANDA ABEL Concordia International School Shanghai Amanda was born and raised in the U.S. and received a B.S. in education and a B.S. in psychology from Indiana University, She earned a masters in counseling from I.U. and holds a certificate in international counseling. Amanda has over 20 years overseas experience in Zimbabwe, Cambodia, Vietnam, and now Shanghai. She brings 20 years of teaching experience from elementary to adult as well as 10+ years of cross-cultural counseling in schools and communitybased institutions. She has four third culture kids: Nick and Liz are attending university; Kate and Ingrid are high school students at Concordia. SUPANIKA ACKERMAN Chiang Mai International School Supanika was a Pearson Teacher Fellow Recipient 20082010, taught curriculum development at Northwest Indian College, and taught workshops on sensory-processing knowledge and dialogic reading throughout Washington state. Supanika currently teaches preschool at Chiang Mai International School. Lisa Adams Taipei American School Lisa has 22 years of experience teaching middle school and counseling students PK – grade 8, working in the US and in Taipei. Lisa, together with Steve Collins, has been working at TAS on this initiative for three years. They have been to conferences, done site visits, worked on divisional and school-wide committees, and passionately explored ways to help develop children’s character. NOMER ADONA Saigon South International School Nomer is an architect, IB-AP art teacher, practicing artist, SketchUp tutorial writer, and blogger. He has vast experience in teaching both AP and IB visual arts curriculum. Nomer, known as “nomeradona” in the SketchUp online community, has written various online tutorials, http://www. sketchupar tists.org/tutorials/sketchup-and-photoshop/awatercolor-and-line-drawing-ink-effect/, and has been interviewed by many organizations including Chaos Group, the maker of the VRAY software; http://www.chaosgroup.com/ en/2/interview_adona.html. EZRA ALEXANDER Singapore American School Ezra has worked internationally for ten years, the last six of which have been spent at Singapore American School. He is currently the mathematics department chair for the middle school division. To maintain a healthy balance in life, Ezra is an avid outdoor enthusiast and sportsman. His current activities include ice hockey, adventure racing, and a daily morning Crossfit routine. SALLY ALLNUT Beijing City International School Sally, a veteran teacher from Australia, and Sarah, a Canadian, have taken on the challenge of delivering concept driven curriculum to nursery to grade 5 students complementing and supporting the PYP curriculum of the homeroom.
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JENNIFER ANDERSON Taipei American School Jennifer has been teaching music in schools internationally for 20 years and at present teaches mostly in the band classroom. Jennifer, a recent SUNY COETAIL graduate, describes herself as a “digital immigrant” who has embraced learning and teaching with technology while working at the Taipei American School. She has been with TAS through its implementation of the 1:1 laptop program and has become an advocate of using technology to further musical understandings. MICHELLE ANDERSON Shanghai Community International School Hangzhou International School Michelle, from upstate NY, has worked as an overseas educator for 17 years in such places as Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand. She holds a bachelor’s in art education with a concentration in photography and a master’s in educational technology. As an experienced art teacher, she has found meaningful opportunities to integrate technology into the classroom and is passionate about finding ways to strengthen students’ creative thinking skills. In addition to being an experienced IB art teacher, she is also creator of the IB Art Online Studio wiki, which has been used by thousands of students and teachers in over 100 countries. She received the award of finalist in the best educational wiki category of the 2011 Edublog awards. MATT ASHWORTH Bandung International School Matt first encountered Indonesian traditional music at City University in London, UK. He has lived in Bandung, Indonesia, since 1996 when he was awarded a scholarship to study Sundanese music. He has been teaching music at Bandung International School, a PYP/IB school, since 1999. Steve Ayling International School Manila Steve is a grade 9/10 high school counselor at International School Manila. He is from the U.K. and was an elementary teacher prior to entering the counseling field. LISA BALL International School Manila Lisa has been a high school counselor for 16 years, 11 of those overseas. Now in her second year at ISM, she has also worked with international high school students at the American International School of Cyprus, the American Community School of Abu Dhabi, and Lincoln, the American International School in Buenos Aires. She has spent the last three years in her home state of Texas, working with a diverse group of students including many immigrants and refugees. She is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), and the Overseas Association for College Admission Counseling (OACAC). She is a former President of OACAC. JASON BENNETT American International School - Hong Kong Jason is the VPA head of department and teaches band and music theory at AIS-Hong Kong. He presented a workshop entitled “Unleashing a Giant: Integrating Music into Your School Community” at the 2010 ETC in Manila. Jason’s
