I was born in Kiev, Ukraine and grew up in a family of diplomats living in the Congo, the United States and Belgium.

My interest in language teaching and pedagogy developed when I was an English graduate student at the University of Texas at Arlington. To round off my month, I started giving private lessons and teaching English to multilingual learners.

Teaching has become my passion. I was heading for an academic career and continued my PhD at Columbia University in New York, but my best memories are from working directly with students: High-five, group problem solving and exchanges when they arrive at school every morning. I have always been fascinated by classrooms as spaces that spark curiosity, learning, discovery and exploration, where ideas are tested and relationships built.

Maria Montessori, whose pedagogy inspires my practice, recognized that to succeed in learning, children need to feel a sense of belonging. She called her primary classes “the children’s home”, a place where children are free to explore, create, learn and build community.

After more than thirty years of work in language teaching and seven years as a Montessori teacher, I am very happy to join the exceptional team at EBIHS and contribute to creating a learning environment where every child feels valued and supported, and where learning is useful, engaging and joyful.