GEOS Honolulu Staff
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Benjamin Smith, B.A., CELTA
School Manager
From: Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Ben has a B.A. in English Literature from Temple University in Philadelphia and a CELTA from St. Giles College in San Francisco. Among other schools, he has taught English for the Archaeology Department at Silpakorn University in Bangok and the Columbia University Graduate School of Business in New York City. He began working for GEOS NYC in 2008. Last year he was transferred to GEOS Honolulu. |
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Julia Callicrate, B.A.
Operations Coordinator
From: Moscow, Russia
Julia graduated from the University of Ottawa with a B.A. in History. After she graduated, Julia worked in the Climate Change International department at Environment Canada as a Logistics Coordinator. She also spent three years teaching English in Japan, including working at Berlitz Japan for one year as a business English instructor. Julia can speak English, Russian, and French. |
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Ikuko Yanase, B.A.
International Service and Sales Coordinator
From: Chiba, Japan
Ikuko worked for GEOS Japan for almost two years before transferring to GEOS Honolulu. Prior to working with GEOS, she worked in Munich, Germany for two years at Mitsukoshi. Ikuko is bilingual in Japanese and English. |
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JiHyun Jin, B.A.
Administrative Assistant
From: Seoul, Korea
Jihyun graduated from Dongguk University with a B.A in Japanese and Japanese literature. She worked in a Rheumatism Clinic as an administrative assistant.
She moved to Hawaii in 2008 to improve her English skills. In June of 2010, she began working at Geos as an administrative assistant and marketing assistant.
Jihyun speaks Korean, Japanese and English. |
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Craig Kleefisch, B.A., B.A., Japanese Proficiency Certification
English Teacher
From: Chicago, U.S.A.
Craig has a B.A. in History and Secondary Education from Northeastern Illinois University and a Certificate in Japanese from the Freedom Language Institute in Tokyo, Japan. He has taught English in Tokyo, Bangkok, Taipei and the United States. Craig speaks English and Japanese, as well as some Thai, Chinese and Spanish. |
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Karen Heath, B.A., M.A.
English Teacher
From: San Diego, U.S.A.
Karen has a B.A. in English Literature (cum laude) from Sonoma State University and an M.A. in Education with a concentration in TESOL from California State University San Bernardino. She has taught English in the United States, as well as ESL in Taegu, South Korea and Miaoli, Taiwan. Karen speaks English and Spanish. |
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Lisa Matsushita, B.A., CELTA
English Teacher
From: Fresno, U.S.A.
Lisa has a B.A. in Spanish from Pepperdine University in Malibu and a CELTA from Intercultural Communications College in Honolulu. She has taught English in Honolulu, Los Angeles, Indonesia and Japan. Lisa speaks Spanish, Japanese and a little Indonesian.
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Vanessa Balagtas, B.A.
English Teacher
From: Manalapan, U.S.A.
Vanessa graduated with a B.A. in Communications from Fordham University in New York City. Before coming to GEOS, she worked for the public school systems in Newark, New Jersey and Honolulu, Hawaii. She has taught English in Seoul, South Korea. She can speak two dialects of Filipino, some French and also basic Korean.
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Kei Nakane
Japanese Teacher
From: Okinawa, Japan
Kei has a B.A. in Second Language Studies focusing on English and Japanese as Second Language and an M.A. in Second Language Studies with a specialization in Second Language Acquisition from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She has been living in Hawaii for ten years. Before joining GEOS in April 2010, she taught English in Thailand, and English and Japanese to various age groups in Hawaii. Kei speaks Japanese and English. |
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GEOS has many international students. I could make a lot of friends in school. They taught me their country culture, language, life etc... It is very interesting to me!!