2026 Speaker
Biographies
Ben Aldridge
Author, Speaker
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Ben Aldridge is a bestselling author and keynote speaker who writes and speaks about Stoic philosophy, resilience, comfort zones, mental health, and adventure. He is the author of How to Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable, How to Control the Uncontrollable, Seriously Happy, and the Get Out of Your Comfort Zone Cards. His books have been translated into 11 languages, featured on international bestseller lists, and his latest title was shortlisted for the Information Book Awards 2025. Ben's message blends ancient philosophy with modern psychology, encouraging audiences to step outside of their comfort zones and build resilience in creative and unexpected ways.
TikTok, Instagram, X, LinkedIn
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Dr. Alex Carter
Associate Professor of Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Cambridge
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Alex Carter takes an active approach to philosophy. In other words, Philosophy ought to be about changing how we think and act. He does this by exploring and exposing problems. The goal is not always to attain knowledge—although this is nice—rather, he aims to dispel false certainties (dogmas). This helps students to be more open-minded, more creative and more inquisitive. Philosophy ought to begin, and should often end, in wonder.
​LinkedIn
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Dr Eleanor Drage
Senior Research Fellow and Assistant Professor, the University of Cambridge Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence
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Eleanor is a Senior Research Fellow and Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge where she runs a €1.9 million AI ethics initiative. She’s a distinguished member of the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics and co-host of The Good Robot podcast. Her work on bad science in recruitment AI tools and how AI scientists are represented in cinema has been covered by the BBC, Forbes, The Telegraph, The Guardian, and internationally. She’s the author of What If We Got AI Right? How to reject the apocalypse and build an ethical future; The Good Robot: Feminist Voices on the Future of Technology, and An Experience of the Impossible: The Planetary Humanism of European Women’s SF.
​LinkedIn
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Reda El Andaloussi
Partner at Soul.com​
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Reda El Andaloussi is the founder of Waves Ventures, a professor at leading institutions in Switzerland, and a member of Soul.com. As a transformation strategist and capacity building expert, he leverages global experience to unlock human potential and foster sustainable, life-centered progress, where people, communities, and ecosystems thrive together.
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Thomas Ermacora
Polymath, Activist Investor, and Technology Futurist​
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Thomas Ermacora is a creative polymath, activist investor, and technology futurist that has been at the heart of pioneering societal movements through impact organisations, global think tanks and incubator-accelerator programs. His initiative Pax Technologica is part of building capacity for the global south to participate in shaping healthier and more sovereign AI ecosystems through policy advisory work, talent cultivation, leadership training, and awareness campaigns. Previously Ermacora has worked with the global futures councils of the World Economic Forum, Xprize foundation, Singularity University, UN COPs, and had original and unusual roles such as consigliere to non ecclesiastical affairs of the Vatican under Pope Francis, founder of a refugee education platform with MIT, contributor to the digital agenda of the G7, and author for Routledge Press of the Recoded City.
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Henry Faber
Co-Founder, Oppidian Education​
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Henry Faber is the co-founder of Oppidan Education, a global leader for mentoring young people. Head Boy at Eton College before studying at Oxford University, Henry has spent a decade enabling mentoring for more than 10,000 students, while advising families on how best to support their children to access and thrive within the world’s best schools and universities. Henry was recognised as a Forbes 30 Under 30 founder for social entrepreneurship and is a winner of both the Great British Entrepreneurship and Education Investor Awards. Henry lives between London and New York City, working closely with leading independent and public sector schools across multiple continents.
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Yannick Gallardo
Logopédiste, Institut le Rosey
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Yann est orthophoniste et spécialiste des troubles des apprentissages avec plus de vingt ans d’expérience dans le domaine ainsi que dans l’éducation des élèves à haut potentiel. Originaire de Perpignan, il travaille depuis une dizaine d’années à l’Institut Le Rosey, où il accompagne des élèves présentant une grande diversité de profils d’apprentissage. Avant de rejoindre Le Rosey, il a collaboré pendant cinq ans avec le Dr Barker à Lausanne, approfondissant son expertise dans les interventions cognitives et développementales. Son expérience d’orthophoniste lui permet de cerner rapidement les besoins de chaque élève et de proposer des stratégies adaptées à leur profil. Lors de sa prochaine présentation, il abordera le rôle de la métacognition et du méta-apprentissage à l’école, en mettant en lumière des stratégies visant à renforcer la conscience de son fonctionnement et l’autonomie chez les apprenants.
​LinkedIn
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Nadine Gaudin
Formatrice internationale et consultante en leadership et éducation, Connectivité
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Elle intervient au niveau international (30 pays) sur la santé mentale, le leadership et la création d'une culture de l'encouragement (Sciences Po Executive Education, le ministère de l'Éducation nationale, l'ESSEC, l'UNESCO…). Elle a animé une conférence TEDx sur la santé mentale. Elle mène des projets d'envergure (9 000 personnes touchées dans l'académie d’Amiens, 70 % des écoles publiques de l'État de Genève) pour renforcer motivation, coopération et bien-être. Enseignante de formation, elle a diplôme universitaire de l’université de Grenoble sur la santé mentale, relationnelle et compétences psychosociales. Elle accorde une attention particulière à allier, dans ses formations expérientielles, rigueur scientifique, pragmatisme et approche profondément humaniste.
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Jack George
Assistant Head, Aiglon College
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Jack George oversees curriculum, student progress, assessment and discipline for the middle school at Aiglon College. Over the last few years he has developed a holistic reporting framework that gives students ownership of their competency development throughout their academic journeys. He also recently completed an MBA dissertation on the topic of aligning formative assessment practices across academic departments so as to strengthen shared principles of design. He believes in the transformative power of character education and multilingualism to nurture future custodians of tomorrow.
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Jonny Goggs
Associate Director: Partnerships, Charted College of Teaching
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Jonny serves as Associate Director of Partnerships for the Chartered College of Teaching, the professional body for teachers. Prior to joining the Chartered College in June 2021, he spent 5 years at Challenge Partners, a UK-based school improvement network specializing in peer review. Jonny also serves as a trustee of Team Up, a charity providing volunteer-led tuition to pupils from low-income backgrounds, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), and as a primary school governor in London.
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Michelle Gyles-McDonnoughs
United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Executive Director, UNITAR
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Michelle Gyles-McDonnough, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNITAR, was appointed in December 2024. A Jamaican national, she brings over 30 years of experience in sustainable development, international trade, and UN leadership. She previously served as Director of the Sustainable Development Unit in the UN Secretary-General’s office (EOSG). Her career spans key UNDP roles, legal advisory positions, and transformative work across economic, social, and environmental agendas. She holds degrees from Columbia, Harvard, Wharton, and Bryn Mawr.
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Dr. James Hewitt
Human Performance Scientist, The Knowledge Work Lab
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Dr. James Hewitt is on a mission to help people think better, recover more deeply, and perform at their best, without burning out. A former elite cyclist turned human performance scientist, James blends lived experience with leading-edge science to challenge how we work, learn, and grow in today’s always-on world. As a Visiting Fellow at Loughborough University and founder of The Knowledge Work Lab, James partners with high-performing teams, from Formula 1 to Fortune 500 companies, to test bold ideas at the intersection of wellbeing and cognitive performance. At EduFest, James will share insights from this research, alongside practical tools that educators can apply to enhance attention, energy, and resilience in their own lives and in the learning environments they shape. His session is ideal for anyone curious about how to build more human-centred, high-performing approaches to education.
​LinkedIn
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Julie Higounet
Fondatrice, EDHUMAN
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Julie Higounet est experte en pédagogie, ingénierie de formation et développement professionnel. Elle accompagne les établissements scolaires et les organisations éducatives dans leurs transitions, en œuvrant pour une éducation collaborative, créative, critique et partagée. Depuis plus de 20 ans, ses routes professionnelles l’ont conduite à travailler dans une diversité de contextes éducatifs, culturels et linguistiques à travers l'amérique du nord, du sud, l’Afrique de l’Ouest et l’Europe. Forte de cette expérience internationale, elle développe aujourd’hui des approches qui relient recherche et terrain. Nomade et curieuse du monde, elle se ressource auprès des séquoias, à Oakland, en Californie.
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Michaela Horvathova
Co-founder and Chief Education Officer, Beyond Education
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Michaela Horvathova is the co-founder of Beyond Education, a fast-growing edtech startup now active in over 13 countries. She holds a Master's in International Education Policy from Harvard University and has over 12 years of experience in global education reform. Before launching Beyond Education, Michaela worked at the OECD, partnered with organizations like IB and UNICEF, and advised ministries of education across the Czech Republic, South Africa, the Netherlands, and Brazil. As an Advisor to the Prime Minister of Slovakia, she helped shape national education strategy, focusing on competency-based learning. A regular speaker at global conferences, Michaela is passionate about reimagining how schools prepare students for the age of AI.
​LinkedIn
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Professor Lee Howell
Executive Director, Villars Institute
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Professor Lee Howell is the Executive Director of the Villars Institute, a Swiss non-profit foundation advancing interdisciplinary research, intergenerational collaboration, and systems leadership. He is an executive and educator with a global, multi-faceted professional background which includes serving as the Managing Director of World Economic Forum responsible for its Annual Meeting in Davos (2009-2021).
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Lee is a Titular Professor at the Geneva School of Economics and Management at the University of Geneva and a Senior Lecturer in the CEMS program at the University of St. Gallen where he teaches undergraduate, graduate, and executive about Disruptive Technologies, Systems Leadership, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
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Lee is also committed to improving the future of international education and serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the International Baccalaureate (IB) and on the Advisory Board of the Global Learning Council. He is also active in promoting scientific research and public aware about Planetary Health Education as a board member of the EAT Foundation and as an advisory board member of the Frontiers Planet Prize.
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Elena Lucciarini
Teacher and Researcher, University of East London​
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Elena Lucciarini est enseignante et chercheuse à l’Université de East London (où elle termine un doctorat en psychologie sur le développement de matériel clé-en main visant le développement des compétences psychosociales en classe. A la Haute Ecole Pédagogique du Valais, elle enseigne la communication et la gestion de classe. Elle enseigne la philosophie aux adolescent·es depuis près de 15 ans. Elle a publié de nombreux articles scientifiques, notamment dans Educational Psychology Review, et est la première autrice du livre Les activités vraiment efficaces pour une bonne ambiance en classe (et des élèves attentifs). (De Boeck, La Meridiana), traduit en plusieurs langues. Elle collabore également avec les Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève (HUG) et l’hôpital de Sacramento sur des projets liés au bien-être et la santé. Ancienne journaliste et spécialiste de la communication, elle crée des contenus pour l’application Petit BamBou, grâce à laquelle, depuis le Studio 104 à Paris, elle a guidé des méditations pour plus de 120 000 élèves dans le monde entier. Dernier détail : elle adore la roquette, les mangues, les fleurs d’abricotier et Taylor Swift (mais pas ses premiers albums).
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Ana Jelusic Black
3-Time Olympian & Founder, Black Peak
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Ana Jelušić Black is a three-time Olympian and former Croatian alpine skier who made her Olympic debut at 15, becoming the youngest competitor at the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Games. She competed at Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010, earning two World Cup podiums before retiring in 2012. Ana transitioned into sports communications, holding roles with the IOC, FIS, Eurosport, and Salomon before founding Black Peak Communications, where she focuses on strategic storytelling in sport. Fluent in English, Italian, Croatian, and French and conversational in German and Spanish, she combines her love of sport and storytelling to spark curiosity, meaningful conversations, and new connections across the sporting world.
​LinkedIn
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Christina Juurlink
Head of Middle School Mathematics and Science, International School Basel
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Tina Juurlink is a Mathematics and Science teacher at the International School Basel with over 20 years of experience teaching Mathematics in both the Diploma and Middle Years Programmes and Science in the Middle Years Programme. Engaging students in conceptual understanding is a focus for her and she has previously presented on this topic at other conferences. In addition to collaborating with Jen in Science, she collaborates with her team on co-teaching in Mathematics.
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Jennifer Squier and Christina Juurlink are co-presenters and have presented together about academic language at ELMLE 2023 in Porto, IB Global Conference 2023 in Dublin, as well as twice at International School Basel to the Middle School faculty and teachers from across the school.
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Gianfranco le Magicien
Magicien professionnel
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Depuis son plus jeune âge, Gianfranco cultive une passion profonde pour l’illusion et le mystère. À l’âge de 6 ans, il est fasciné par les magiciens lors d’une visite au cirque. Il découvre alors sa vocation : émerveiller, surprendre et faire rêver.
Gianfranco travaille donc énormément pour mettre sur pied ses premières illusions. Autodidacte, il fascine d’abord ses amis et sa famille. Très vite repéré, il est sollicité pour animer des événements et commence sa carrière de magicien en parallèle de ses études.
Magicien professionnel ! C’est le rêve que Gianfranco a réalisé officiellement le 1er janvier 2014. Cette même année, il devient Maître Magicien et rejoint l’une des plus grandes écoles de magie de Genève en tant que professeur. Depuis, il se produit lors de nombreuses soirées privées à Genève et à travers toute la Suisse. Il propose également son spectacle au grand public, régulièrement à l’affiche dans de nombreuses salles Suisses
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Lasse Leponiemi
Co-Founder, Chairman of the HundrED Foundation
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Lasse Leponiemi is a global education leader with a deep commitment to shaping the future of learning with impactful solutions. As co-founder and current chair of the HundrED Foundation, Lasse brings over a decade of supporting education innovations in more than 110 countries.
Today, Lasse is focused on leading a new philanthropic support model of the HundrED Foundation, designed to help scalable, evidence-informed solutions to scale and meet real-world needs. Known for his calm, trust-based approach and an extensive global network, Lasse works to bridge the gap between committed capital with those best placed to bring lasting change in education.
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Anne-Liis Lääne-Sáez
Partner at Soul.com
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Anne-Liis is a self-awareness coach, podcast host, and educator dedicated to unlocking the natural talents within each person. Through her work with Soul.com and Gifts Compass, she fosters deep listening and self-discovery, believing that by honouring our unique strengths, we can solve any challenge and create a thriving world.
​LinkedIn
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Marija Manojlovic
Executive Director, Safe Online
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Marija Manojlovic is the Executive Director of Safe Online, the only global fund dedicated to safety and protection of children in the digital world. Under Marija’s leadership, Safe Online has mobilised over $100million in investments and become a powerful advocate for child online safety influencing policies in 85+ countries, developing cutting-edge tools deployed in 100+ countries, and impacting global policy agendas. Marija is a board member of WeProtect Global Alliance and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Coalition for Digital Safety. Previously, she honed her expertise with the End Violence Global Partnership and UNICEF across diverse regions.
​Website, Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn
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Eliana Marcenaro
Head of Teaching and Learning, Institut Le Rosey
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Schools are intricate organisations striving to align their educational missions with written, unwritten, and taught curricula, while balancing institutional and individual cultures and business operations. Successfully "walking the talk" on crucial issues such as DEIJ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice), climate change, and technology enhances coherence and effectiveness in our practices. With over 15 years of experience in international schools, Eliana is dedicated to fostering professional growth. To create thriving learning communities, educators must blend evidence-based knowledge with creative innovation, recognising that teaching is both a science and an art.
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Dr Lisa-Maria Müller
Head of Research and Policy, Chartered College of Teaching
Lisa-Maria is Head of Research at the Chartered College of Teaching, where she leads on linking research, policy and practice. She is lead author of multiple reports, including a series on 'Education in Times of Crisis', teachers' priorities for cognitive science research and a working definition of teacher professionalism. She was an expert advisor on the OECD PISA Foreign Language Measure and worked for UNESCO on projects relating to the Future of Teaching as well as Curriculum Alignment. Previously, Lisa-Maria worked at the Universities of Cambridge and York as well as secondary schools in Austria and England.
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Mecky McNeil
Mental Health and Well-being Director, HealthFirst
Dr Mecky McNeil is a British-qualified General Practitioner. Always an advocate for health promotion, Mecky became a health coach in 2017. In 2022, she completed her performance coaching certification with Hintsa Performance. Now focusing on mental health and well-being, alongside her role as Mental Health and Well-being Director at HealthFirst, Mecky works with Pro Mente Sana, developing the Mental Health First Aid courses in English in Switzerland and leading the training of English-speaking instructors. Over the last two years, Mecky has been working with UNICEF and Z Zurich Foundation on a joint global project to support young people’s mental health.
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Raphaël Pasquini
Professeur ordinaire en évaluation des apprentissages scolaires, Haute Ecole Pédagogique du canton de Vaud​
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Raphaël Pasquini (PhD) est Professeur ordinaire en évaluation scolaire à la Haute école pédagogique du canton de Vaud (Lausanne). Ses travaux et ses enseignements portent sur l’évaluation au service des apprentissages des élèves, jusqu’à la notation. Il étudie également le développement de la littératie en évaluation des enseignants et leur culture de l’évaluation. Il est actif au sein de réseaux académiques en évaluation aux niveaux régional, national et international.
Bethany Ponsford
English Literature Teacher, Institut Le Rosey​
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Originally from the UK, Beth has taught English Literature at Institut Le Rosey for seven years. As Service Learning Coordinator for the past three years, she has developed pre-CAS service opportunities across Switzerland, Greece, Kenya, and Ireland.
Working alongside Aleksandra, Beth has formalized Le Rosey’s service learning approach through the creation of a Progressive Skill Development Framework. Together, they designed and implemented an intentional curriculum that develops the knowledge, skills, and dispositions students need to become ethical, collaborative global citizens.​
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Dr David Porritt
Principal BBIS, Director of Coaching at KAA, Podcaster: Leading Stories​
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David is Principal of Budapest British International School and a Director at Karen Ardley Associates. He has led schools in the UK, Singapore, The Hague, China, and Amsterdam. He holds an MBA and a Doctorate from UCL, where his research explored how leaders benefit from becoming coaches. David designs and delivers leadership programmes, coaches internationally, and is writing a book based on his research and 15 years of experience. He also hosts Leading Stories, a podcast that shares the journeys of undercelebrated leaders. David is married, has two grown-up daughters, and enjoys cycling and making music.
​LinkedIn
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Mahmud Samandari
Soul.com Board Member​
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Mahmud Samandari is a serial entrepreneur dedicated to capacity building and innovation. He is passionate about empowering organizations through purpose-driven, collaborative transformation via soul.com and ebbf. A pioneer in distance learning and public-private ventures, he fosters sustainable impact and mentors youth worldwide, leveraging his multicultural experience to unlock human and organizational potential.​
​LinkedIn
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Jennifer Squier
English as an Additional Language Specialist, International School Basel​
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Jen Squier is an EAL specialist and French teacher at International School Basel, with over 25 years of experience teaching primarily in Diploma and Middle Years Programmes in schools in Switzerland. As a multilingual and multicultural person herself, she has great admiration of and empathy toward students who are learning English and learning through English. In addition to collaborating with Tina in Science, she also co-teaches in Grade 7 and 8 Language and Literature.
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Jennifer Squier and Christina Juurlink are co-presenters and have presented together about academic language at ELMLE 2023 in Porto, IB Global Conference 2023 in Dublin, as well as twice at International School Basel to the Middle School faculty and teachers from across the school.​
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Jonathan Taylor
Executive Head, International School of Monza​
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Jonathan is an experienced school leader, having led schools across three continents and previously served as Director of Education for the Repton Family of Schools. He is currently Executive Head of the International School of Monza and will take up the same role at the International School of Milan in August 2026. Jonathan is a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and holds both an MBA and an MSc. in Educational Leadership. He is a regular writer and speaker on the topic of education and is a guest lecturer at UCL’s Institute of Education.
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Aleksandra Trotsenko
Russian Teacher & Service Learning Coordinator, Institut Le Rosey​
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Originally from Russia, Aleksandra has taught Russian at Institut Le Rosey for over a decade. She led the Play for Peace student club, facilitating games for refugee children, before taking on the coordination of local Service Learning initiatives. These experiences offer students opportunities to create positive impact through reciprocal partnerships with peers and the community. Aleksandra believes this approach helps students develop essential life skills and encourages purposeful action, both of which align with Le Rosey’s and the IB’s values.
Aleksandra Trotsenko and Beth Ponsford have been working closely on Le Rosey’s Service Learning curriculum across age groups, with the support of Cathryn Berger Kaye, and will co-present their work at the event.
Session title: Service Learning: Purpose, Process and Outcomes
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Michelle Wright
Director, HealthFirst​
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Dr Michelle Wright is a British-qualified General Practitioner. As one of the original founders of HealthFirst, she has always ensured that their trainings and services are evidence-based, meeting international and Swiss standards and guidelines. Michelle works part-time in the Staff Medical Service of the International Labour Organisation, Geneva, maintaining patient contact. She also has a weekly radio show, Health Matters, on World Radio Switzerland. Passionate about health promotion and disease prevention, Michelle has a diploma in Lifestyle Medicine from the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine. She is also an ensa Mental Health First Aid instructor trainer and course instructor.
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