We are a group of passionate educators bringing together a global team. We call ourselves rigorous dreamers. We expect from ourselves the courage of a great vision combined with the discipline of great execution. We have strategic partners and outstanding collaborators around the world. With know-how varying from curriculum design to architecture and environmental design, Colina Learning Center is the place for innovative learning.
Ben is joining Colina Learning Center as Head of School and Learning Designer. He is from England and adores his wife and daughter with whom he loves to share adventures and good times with friends and family. He describes himself as a learner, educator and leader who loves to create epic learning experiences for children and adults.
Ben is an experienced school leader and teacher of psychology and mathematics, most recently serving a large private school in South America as their Headmaster.
He is committed to finding elegant ways to elevate the school experience to better prepare young people for their future - not our past. Ben insists that authentic and meaningful education is the key to raising the bar for humanity, and believes that CLC is the village that can bring this ambition to life.
Emese is a constant inquirer and admirer of the world. She is experienced in innovative education, with 3 years as a preschool teacher in an International Baccalaureate curriculum school, working with 2-to-4 year old students of different backgrounds and cultures.
She has a rich and diverse education background, having studied in countries such as Hungary, Denmark and the Netherlands. She enjoys rediscovering the world through children’s eyes, giving her the perspective on how to be a lifelong learner. She also enjoys travelling and taking up new adventures with her friends in her free time. She has a profound faith and love of humanity. She enjoys volunteering and singing in a choir and looks forward to bringing this sense of contribution and joy to CLC.
Anikó studied social work and specialized in early childhood education and care. Before joining CLC, she worked for 3 years at an international school in Germany. She has experience in working with mixed age groups (with children from 2 to 6 years old in the same group).
She adores working with preschoolers and is passionate about innovative and holistic education that leads to developing thriving adults. She believes that early childhood education is the foundation of lifelong learning and offers a platform for improving social equity and inclusion.
Anikó’s calm personality and ‘can do’ attitude inspires everyone around her to live in the present and to take one step at a time on the road toward achieving their personal goals in life.
Ștefania has experience in working with both Preschool and Primary children, experience gathered through her previous workplaces as well as being a Scout Leader.
She is a genuine person, passionate about spending time in nature and has found creative ways of sharing her passion with children helping them develop different areas through movement activities.
Ștefania always shows a ‘can do’ attitude and interest in constant personal learning and development.
Mostly experienced in Human Resources, Administrative Management & Communication, but very passionate about event planning, project management, team engagement and coordination, Bianca’s educational background is in Social Work and Children’s Rights. On a professional level, she experienced working in an agile, fast growing IT company, being in charge of all administrative and staff related aspects, working on improving employee’s engagement and satisfaction at work.
With her positive way of thinking, she is the person who finds a solution for every problem, the person you can always rely on, while also making things fun and easy to understand.
Doug is the Principal of one of the most innovative public high schools in the US, Sycamore High School.
Together with his team, they developed the Synnovation Lab, a truly modern, self-paced, engaging, and authentic learning experience. Doug is working with the Colina Learning Center team to develop the concept of an integrated curriculum school.
A specialist in organizational psychology and psychological measurement, doctor of psychology and professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest. In 2014 he founded BRIO, the only Standardized Testing System in Romania. It proposes a platform that offers scientifically tested solutions for evaluating and creating educational performance, in a unique approach for Romania.
He is the author or co-author of over 125 published international and local works. He founded the company Test Central, the largest publisher of psychological tests in Romania, and the Psyence group. Globally, he is part of the OECD working group that calibrates PISA tests and has led as chairman the International Testing Commission, a body that sets the tone for psychological and organizational assessment.
Claudia is providing financial and operational expertise at a superb level. She brings experience as CFO, Country Manager, Regional Director in both the private and not-for-profit sectors.
She also brings a love for education and equity, ensuring that the numbers and budgets enable us to include as many families as possible in our learning network.
For more information, please visit Claudia’s LinkedIn profile.
NoTosh is a global company leading innovation in education across all continents founded and led by Ewan. We work together to shape the vision, strategy, and curriculum framework of CLC.
Ewan will get you to shoot for the moon while at the same time ensuring you pay close attention to every single detail on the ground. The result: innovation in education done right through well-structured design thinking processes and rigorous strategies.
For more information, please visit Evan’s LinkedIn profile.
Beni is a design thinker.
He's constantly searching for passionate people who dare to dream big and help them push for the win.
His work varies from strategy to design and creative directing.
He works with a team of verbal and visual specialists, ensuring that the branding elements align with their client's business and brand strategies.
For more information, please visit Beni's LinkedIn profile.
Annamaria is a passionate educator with over ten years of national and international teaching experience. Her background includes working as a speech therapist, special education teacher in the United States and a primary teacher in Romania (in a British Curriculum international school).
Her passion fuels her to get to know each child’s unique talents, personality, and abilities. She considers herself a forever student, eager to stay in tune with the latest in education to make every child’s school experience a journey in which they thrive as learners.
Annamaria is profoundly a family person. She has three wonderful children; after many years in the US, they specifically returned to Romania to give their children the opportunity to grow up next to their extended family.
Monica Nicolescu is a certified professional coach with expertise in the psychology of peak performance. She is a former President of the International Coach Federation, Romania Chapter, and an experienced facilitator and mentor coach.
She is certified in the “Mindfulness Fundamentals” with Mindful Schools. She is working with CLC to develop the coaching culture, which will make our vision well-grounded and sustainable.
For more information, please visit Monica’s LinkedIn profile.
Cătălina is an experienced teacher with a rich career, including all age ranges (preschool, primary, secondary, and adult learners) and various roles (Head of the English Department, Drama Teacher, Media, and Events Coordinator).
Her philosophy is to create relationships and foster creative thinking, curiosity, and a quest for understanding. Constantly searching for new and creative learning methods for herself and others, Cătălina aims to make a difference as a progressive educational thinker.
Cătălina’s dream would be for every learner to be equipped with a wide variety of wellbeing tools such as great self-esteem, resilience, a growth mindset for life-long learning, and compassion for themselves, others, and the world. She nurtures great respect and affection for nature under all its wondrous forms.
We are passionate, experienced educators working in progressive educational models. We work collaboratively in Design Teams, using our diverse talents and skills to create and deliver high-impact projects and deep learning expeditions for children and family members.
We go beyond ‘teaching’ to ensure that each educator in our team takes an active role in creating and personalizing learning experiences for each learner. Our primary competence is not to ‘deliver teaching’ but to ‘design learning’ that fits every learner in our community.
We understand that the first thing we are designing is a relationship with the learners in our care. Each learner will receive the right combination of challenge and support to make progress while also being cared for constantly.
We believe in learning and building talent. Our promise is that “Every educator gets better every day”.
We are providing transformative development programs in what we consider best practice in global education:
Our promise of constant learning and improvement is based on the deliberate creation of an outstanding learning culture. We have numerous organizational development practices that make learning a daily, unavoidable experience for everyone in our team.
