EARCOS Practitioner Presenters ULKA ADIVREKAR Ulka has been an educator and college counselor at Oberoi International School, Mumbai, for seven years, working with the higher secondary students, supporting them to build their foundation for their career to understand and discover who they are and believe in what they think. She mentors the students to shape a dynamic and creative involvement in the school and the world. She holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and a master’s in ancient culture. She has attended workshops for college counseling conducted by IB and SIBSA. ASHLEY ALFANO Ashley is from Texas and teaches at Concordia International School in Shanghai. She is passionate about early literacy and has attended reading and writing workshop trainings at Columbia Teachers College in NY. Last year, her 2nd grade classroom was featured on Columbia’s Reading and Writing Project website. She holds additional certifications in teaching ESL and talented and gifted students. ROXANNE AMOR-ROSS Roxanne teaches grade 2 at Saigon South International School. In addition to her experience teaching grades 2-5, she has held positions as an upper grade literacy coach and as a literacy specialist teacher. Before moving to Vietnam, Roxanne worked at the International School of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and in Los Angeles, California. SHELLEY ARNOLD Shelley is originally from the USA and has been teaching grade one for ten years. Seven of those years have been spent overseas in Dubai and Hong Kong, where she taught under the IBPYP framework of inquiry-based education. While she loves teaching all subjects, she has a special passion for teaching math and fostering the love for learning it in the early years. PANA ASAVAVATANA Pana is the K-2 technology integration specialist at Taipei American School. She shares her insights on learning on her blog, mspanasays.com. Pana founded an educational hashtag chat on Twitter, #KchatAP (Kindergarten Chat Asia Pacific), and created a global education project called Traveling Teddy (travelingteddybear.com). She holds a B.A. in psychology from Ateneo de Manila University and a M.A. in early childhood education and special education from Teachers College, Columbia University. AMY ATKINSON Amy is currently the secondary art teacher at ISE, Thailand. She has taught internationally in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Australia and is a graduate of University of Toronto (BA) and Wollongong University (GradDipEd). She is currently in the ISLP course with Washington State University and University of San Francisco. Besides being a visual artist herself, Amy has worked in IT: web and graphic development and has spent many years exploring mindfulness becoming a certified Reiki practitioner and a Feng Shui Consultant (under Feng Shui Master Joseph Yu).
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EARCOS Teachers’ Conference 2015
MICHAEL E. BALDWIN Mike has presented at education conferences in the United States and internationally. He has published journal articles on topics from standardized testing, inquiry instruction, to science education. He has experience as a curriculum specialist, campus administrator, and science instructor. He has taught biology, chemistry, physics, AP science courses, education leadership, and pre-service science courses. Presently he is the curriculum coordinator and science teacher at the Dalian American International School in China. EMMA BARNES Emma is currently the elementary counsellor and wellbeing coach at Suzhou Singapore International School in Suzhou, China. She has been involved in the therapeutic and educational field for over 20 years. Previously, she worked in clinical and private practice as well as lecturing in early years education and infant mental health. She is British born and educated but has developed both professionally and personally working and living in the USA, Israel, Italy, the Middle East, and now China. PAUL BAWDEN Paul began teaching in Sydney, Australia, and has spent 22 of his 30 years in education in international schools in PNG, Japan, Thailand, and now Indonesia. He is currently the head of secondary at the AIS Pejaten campus. He has an M.Ed in leadership and an MBA. He believes strongly in inclusive education and that sports is the ultimate reality TV. ROVANNA BAWDEN Rovanna is from Australia and has worked in early childhood up to senior studies across five international schools. She is currently the director of learning support services across the four campuses of AIS Indonesia, stretching from Jakarta to Bali and Balikpapan. She holds a master’s in special ed and in guidance and counseling. MELISSA BERG Melissa is the middle school counselor at Seoul International School. She is from St. Louis Park, Minnesota, where she worked at a Spanish immersion elementary school for three years. SIS is her first international school. Ms. Berg especially enjoys working with young students in the areas of talent development and team building, as she believes that these skills will best equip children and teenagers to be happy, passionate, and successful students. KIM BLAISE After 17 years teaching in New York, Kim has joined the world of international teaching. Her family moved to South Korea in August and they haven’t looked back. She feels lucky to teach in a progressive preschool, a dynamic public school in Lower Manhattan, and an intense public school in the suburbs of NYC. She continues to grow everyday, especially at their new home at Chadwick International School. ELAINE BROOKER Elaine is a primary school teacher hailing from Ireland. She has 12 years of experience teaching a variety of levels and has taught in Korea, Costa Rica, and China, where she is currently teaching preschool. Her life is surrounded by young children, with three daughters aged 6, 4, and 2 as well as her wonderful class of 4-year olds, and it is at this level that she feels most passionate about teaching.
