At Explore English, you will find our English teachers are supportive and culturally sensitive. Many of them have travelled the world and therefore have the knowledge of really making our students feel safe while they learn English in Melbourne. Our operations staff are dedicated to positive learning outcomes and love what they do. Please read the below profiles to learn more about us!
DR. SUSAN DELAHUNTY
DIRECTOR – INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY & GROWTH
In 2015, Dr Susan DELAHUNTY set up Explore English, a new, funky, boutique style ELICOS Centre in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD. As the Director of the School, she oversees academic output and is also responsible for implementing and designing strategies to help strengthen and grow the Centre’s position in the marketplace. Prior to this project, Susan gained valuable teaching and managerial experience in Australia and overseas working in stand-alone ELICOS schools as well as University and TAFE language Centres.
In fact, Susan has over 20 years’ experience in the teaching industry and maintains her membership with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT). Her two Masters degrees in Applied Linguistics (TESOL) and Education (Special Needs) has equipped her with the expertise to devise teaching and learning strategies that support a range of diverse international students. Her overseas experience lies in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai), Malaysia and Japan. Susan has maintained an interest in those who cross international borders to learn English, particularly students from the Middle Eastern Gulf. To this extent, her PhD thesis illustrated the stories of Middle Eastern Gulf female university students in Australia. More recently, Susan was a finalist in the Telstra Business Woman of the Year awards for the state of Victoria.
Our Office Team
DANIEL MCEVOY
MARKETING & BRAND MANAGER
Originally having studied traditional art & painting, Daniel loves to mix his passion for art and design into all of his work, with creativity and innovation leading his approach toward marketing and branding throughout all the companies he has have worked for.
Having history working in publishing, elite sports and events, Daniel brings an energetic approach to problem-solving and developing new marketing strategies to strengthen brands and engage audiences.
GEMMA PIGOTT
EXPLORE CAFE MANAGER
Working in the coffee industry has helped Gemma develop strong communication skills and cultivate an effective ability to lead, mentor and educate others. She is always striving to bring 100% to her work and this passion infused with her love of coffee, lead her to opening Explore Coffee in May 2017. Explore English and MCIE brought Gemma on board to help teach their students how to make coffee in a safe, funky environment with an overall goal of helping the students gain jobs in the Melbourne hospitality workforce.
SARAH WOLTON
ACADEMIC LEADER
Sarah holds a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education from Canterbury Christ Church University and a Cert IV in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Trinity College, London. She shows an eagerness to continue developing her teaching skills and qualifications further. Sarah started her teaching career working in primary education before moving on to teaching English. Her love of languages and meeting new people from different cultures are the reasons she loves teaching English and Melbourne is the place to be due to the multi-cultural environment.
Sarah has over five years of experience teaching at International Schools and Language Centres, as well as working as a private tutor. She has lived and worked in England, China and Australia, so understands the learning experience that moving to a new country presents, particularly when having to adapt to a new culture or learn a new language. Sarah, a native English speaker from the UK, is currently studying Spanish and so understands the challenges students can face when learning a new language. She has taught a diverse range of students from all over the world.
PAULINE DRAYTON
REGIONAL BUSINESS EXECUTIVE
Pauline, originally an English Teacher, has worked in the International Education Sector for 20 years. Her experience includes Management in International TAFE Offices, Marketing Consultation in the University and TAFE sectors and working in Management in two large offshore education consultancies. Pauline’s international consultancy work for MCIE and Explore English now concentrates on South East Asia and the Sub Continent but she has also worked in North Asia, the Middle East, Bhutan and South America.
LAURA SEPULVEDA
REGIONAL BUSINESS EXECUTIVE
Laura came to Australia for the first time in 2016. Originally from Colombia, she started off as an international student at La Trobe University, where she completed a Masters Degree in Business. As a previous student herself, she understands the challenges of moving to a new country, learning a new language and adapting to the culture. Because of this, she is able to connect well with students and is always happy to help them have a great, educational experience.
She absolutely loves the multicultural environment of Melbourne and hopes to continue developing her career further and learning more about the education industry.
CHIRLANE LIMA
REGIONAL BUSINESS EXECUTIVE
Chirlane came to Australia in 2016 from Brazil to study English. She chose Melbourne because of its multicultural environment! Chirlane has experience in International Hotels & Resorts and has worked in International education previously in her home country. As she was an International Student before, she finds it easy to connect to our students and understands some of the difficulties they experience. She is a very energetic, positive and easy going person, with a strong sense of responsibility. She loves to work and learn from people of different nationalities.
One of her hobbies is wine tasting. In fact, she believes that choosing the right school is like choosing what wine to drink. You have to taste it first and if you like it, you will invest!
KYOKO ISOZAKI
REGIONAL BUSINESS EXECUTIVE
Kyoko came to Australia as an international student 18 years ago. During this period, she really appreciated what Australia had to offer in terms of historical and cultural identity and this activated her love for the country. When she returned to Japan, she started working as an English teacher and did this for 12 years. Kyoko has a love for the English language and found it was natural for her to impart this knowledge to students in her home country of Japan. It is easy for Kyoko to connect to international students because she used to be one of them. She can relate to the hurdles they face when dealing with the intricacies of the English language. For example, there is no ham in hamburger, nor pine in pineapple. She completely gets the confusion international students feel when faced with these types of language barriers in class.
As one of our marketing specialists, Kyoko have an overall sense of connection, not only to Australia, but to the lives of international students. She is sensitive to their approach to learning and is always around to offer them support and direction in their future study pathways.
MOLLY HU
REGIONAL BUSINESS EXECUTIVE
With previous experience from Communication University of China, CHINA CITIC BANK and in a RTO role at Peking University, Molly has sound knowledge of the ESOS Act (Education Services for Overseas Students), National Code (National Code of Practice for Registration Authorities and Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students) and VRQA Guidelines.
MIO KUNIZAKI-ORTEGA
STUDENT SUPPORT
Our new Front of House and Student Support is Japanese. Mio graduated University in New York City, having studied Studio Art as a major and Comparative Literature as a sub major. She worked as an Illustrator and a Graphic Designer for the fashion industry for several years, creating visuals and branding for a fast-paced industry. Mio came to Australia in 2013 with her family and started to work as an education consultant at a Japanese agency in the CBD and through that job is how she happened to find Explore English! Now, Mio is here to help out all of our EE students!
DECHEN MORISCO
STUDENT WELFARE CO-ORDINATOR
Dechen is an Italian who was born and grew up in the small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, moving to Australia in 1999. Having lived in a few different countries, she is able to draw from her personal and professional experience in working in multicultural settings. Dechen has four years experience working as a teacher in an Islamic school, and four additional years in social work, mental health, and counseling. Dechen’s demeanor immediately puts people at ease, in welcoming new students and supporting them to achieve their personal and academic goals. Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Psychology, a Graduate Diploma of Education, and a Masters of Mental Health specializing in Art Therapy. She is very passionate about our student’s welfare and advocacy.
JORGE GOMEZ
FINANCE OFFICER
I am originally from Colombia, but long time ago I decided to move to Australia for better career opportunities. I fully embraced the Australian culture, however I love working in an international environment.
Passion and dedication under good principles have been my milestones to achieve several goals. One of them is being part of the fantastic Explore English Team.
I invite you to follow your dreams and cross your journey with similar thoughts. I can guarantee that it will bring you not only satisfaction but also peace and happiness as it has happened to me.
Our English Teachers
CAROL MORGAN
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER
I’m from a city called York in the North of England. I first started teaching 3 years ago when I completed my CELTA certificate after graduating from Northumbria University in English Language Studies.
I then moved to Valencia in Spain in 2014, where I taught English to various ages and levels of Spanish students. Teaching English to monolinguals was fun, I was able to learn about their difficulties with speaking and understanding English. I also got to experience a new culture and relate to the difficulties with adapting to a new place, culture, and language.
My time in Spain allowed me to progress personally and professionally and find my niche within teaching.
3 years later I decided to make a new adventure in Australia, so now I am here in Melbourne at Explore English.
RYAN PEARSON
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER
Though born and raised in Australia, Ryan has travelled extensively throughout North America, the Caribbean, Europe and the South Pacific additionally living abroad in the French-Canadian city of Montreal. He offers a unique take on Australian life and culture, compared with his knowledge of other languages, customs and cultures. Ryan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and a Certificate IV in TESOL, further allowing him to teach his native tongue to all walks of life. Moreover, he has taught all levels of General English, IELTS and Academic English courses, has learned French as a second language and personally sat the IELTS. With this experience he is able to provide personalised tips on studying, given he can relate to and fully appreciate the challenges his students are going through in learning English as a second language.
NIKOLAI HALAY
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER
Nikolai (Nick) grew up 2 hours west of Sydney in the Blue Mountains. Curious about the world outside his small little town, Nick convinced his parents to send him on an exchange programme to live in Chile, South America for a year during high school. This would trigger an ongoing decades-long love affair (and eventual marriage and kids) with this faraway land, leading to 4 years of teaching English in the city of Santiago.
Nick majored in Linguistics in the University of Sydney and gained a Graduate Diploma in TESOL from the University of Canberra. He has worked in a variety of English language learning scenarios, teaching a large range of learners from a wide variety of backgrounds and language learning levels. Apart from working in Chile, Nick has also worked as an English Language teacher in Japan and in and around Melbourne for many years.
Nick has also delved deep into Buddhist meditation and has spent long study periods in India, Myanmar and Thailand. He is very passionate about teaching English and helping others to improve their learning skills.
AMY DOBSON
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER
Amy arrived in Australia in 2017. She is originally from Scotland where she obtained her Bachelors’ Degree in Music and subsequently became a music teacher. Since deciding to become an English teacher, Amy has lived and worked in Spain, China and Australia, and has obtained her Certificate IV in TESOL. She speaks Spanish and is currently learning French.
With almost 5 years of English language teaching experience and 9 years of teaching experience in total, she is equipped to teach students of all levels and abilities.
She likes exploring various teaching styles and loves to make active and engaging classes with lots of music and movement.
MARJAN KHADEMI
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER
The very first time I started teaching English was back in 1996 as a private ESL tutor for high school students preparing for University entrance tests and ESL exams and the like.
After graduating in 2009 with my masters in teaching English, I started my career as a TEFL teacher in a Persian university before moving to Australia.
ANDREW WADDELL
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER
Andrew has a Master in TESOL and Literacy, a Post Graduate Diploma in Education and a BA (20th Century History and Asian Politics. He has been teaching English for almost 20 years, working in High Schools, Universities and educational organisations around the world. Having lived and worked in China and Turkey he understands the challenges of living and working in a foreign country.
He is particularly interested in how the brain works and how people learn and builds these learning skills into all his lessons so that students can develop skills that enable them to develop important skills for life.
ANDREA EZROVA
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER
Andrea holds a Master Degree in English Linguistics, Literature, Didactics and Pedagogy; Language Awareness Course Certificate (IHLAC); International House Certificate in Business English Teaching (IHBET); Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English to Adult Speakers of other languages (CELTA); IH Certificate in Teaching Young Learners IHCYL. She attended NEAS Session on Practical Assessment Validation and is keen on developing her teaching skills even more in the future.
Andrea has been working as a teacher for more than 9 years. She started her career off as a General English, Business English and Young Learner’s teacher and whilst she has many years experience and qualifications, she particularly specialises in Exam Preparation Courses – PTE ACADEMIC and Curriculum and Assessment development.
KAROLINA STANISZEWSKA
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER
Karolina is an experienced and enthusiastic ELICOS teacher with experience in the delivery of General English programs on different levels to students of diverse backgrounds. She has a degree in English Language Teaching specialising in TESOL.
She began her teaching career in 2012 in Poland where she taught English to adult students across a range of levels. In 2014, she moved to China where she worked for two years as an English Teacher in two language schools in Chengdu. Karolina specialised in teaching General English and helping her students master their language skills before moving overseas. After moving to Australia in 2016, she joined Scots English College in Sydney. In March 2018, she moved to Melbourne to continue doing what she loves the most – working with international students.
With her skills, cheerful personality, passion for teaching English and diverse experience in a variety of countries, she aims to provide them with the best possible English language skills within an engaging learning environment.
In her free time, she loves learning foreign languages (currently Chinese and Spanish), road trips, rock indoor climbing and watching Scandinavian films 😊
ERIC LADINO HERNANDEZ
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER
Eric was born in Colombia during a time of upheaval and struggle in the country. Thankfully, his family moved to England when he was young, so he was able to swap a life of difficulties, for a life of English breakfast teas! Growing up in London provided Eric with the ability to speak two languages, one at home and one in public. This is where his love and intrigue for language began, as he noticed how much it can shape or distinguish a person.
He earned his degree from Goldsmiths, University of London, in Media and Communications. During this time he directed documentaries discussing social issues and made a couple of short films. After his degree, Eric yearned to travel and work at the same. After spending many years teaching guitar and photography, he completed a TESOL course and began his journey as an ELICOS teacher. Eric is a massive Bruce Springsteen fan and a huge film buff. He has also met and hung out with a few famous rock bands in his time!
He has lived in Melbourne since February and so far, he is loving it. One day, Eric hopes to own a husky and live by the ocean.
LEENA GIFFORD
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER
After Leena graduated from University in America, she moved straight to South Korea to begin her ESL teaching career. Spending two years there, she craved more knowledge of language from other cultures, which landed her teaching in New Zealand for a year. Shortly after, Australia was calling out to Leena with open arms and she couldn’t be happier to teach English in such a diverse environment!
With about 4 years of ESL experience and 8 years of teaching experience total, she is knowledgeable to teach students of all ages, backgrounds and levels. When Leena isn’t teaching, she is exploring, learning and most likely dancing.
