Curriculum Advisory Committee
Shannon Burnham B.Ed, B.HKIN – Head Instructor
Shannon Burnham has taught English and Communications at Dr. Charles Best Secondary in Coquitlam, British Columbia since 2003. Since then, Shannon has also taught English as a Second Language each summer with International Education through the Coquitlam School Board. In 2002 and 2003 Shannon taught French Immersion. In 2004 and 2005 Shannon also held the responsibilities of Grade 6 Department Head and Administrative Assistant (Acting Vice-Principal) at Pitt River Middle School. Shannon is currently completing her Master’s degree in Curriculum Studies in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia. Shannon’s first degree was in Human Kinetics from the Faculty of Education at UBC and her second degree at UBC was a Bachelor of Education with a concentration in English language.
In addition to her ongoing studies, Shannon participates in a literacy and assessment development workshop to continually improve her teaching practice. In addition to her classroom teaching and education passions, Shannon is an avid soccer player, coach, and physical education instructor. Her passion for teaching French and English, and her passion for sport and recreation, make her the ideal Head Instructor for the Sea to Sky International Language School Inc.
David Lee- Fay – MBA
In 2003 David began teaching sports and sponsorship marketing at Langara College. The sport and sponsorship marketing course is a section of the Public Relations certificate program offered by the college. David designed the course outline with the objective of enabling students to identify how stakeholders can be influenced through the use of a well targeted and executed sponsorship program. The course is taught using lectures, case studies, assignments and guest speakers. In 2006 David successfully taught the Sports and Marketing & Communication (HKIN 481) at the University of British Columbia.
David has been involved in sports marketing for over 20 years. Following a successful career in packaged goods marketing, David followed his passion for sports and secured a position with one of Canada’s leading sports marketing agencies. David spent ten years with Lang & Associates providing sports marketing consultation to some of the leading corporations in the North America which included Coca-Cola, TELUS, Seagrams and Canadian Airlines. In 1992 David moved to Atlanta to open the agency’s first office outside Canada. He managed the Coca-Cola USA account. In 1999 David and his business partner founded Linx Marketing which recently celebrated 10 years in business.
David has a Business Diploma from Wilfrid Laurier University and in 2004 he completed an MBA at Royal Roads University.
Valerie Bergeron
Valerie Bergeron is trilingual speaking English, French, and Spanish fluently. Originally from Charlesbourg Quebec she came West and studied in Early Childhood Education from Capilano College and then a Certificate in International Development from the University of British Columbia. Since 2005 Valerie has work with Whistler Blackcomb in the area of recruiting and from 2000-2004 she was in guest services with Whistler Blackcomb. Valerie has impressive accomplishments with NGOs and organizations designed to make the world a better place. Some highlights in her list of international accomplishments include sitting on the board of directors for the Whistler Blackcomb Environment Fund, in 2008 collaborating with the Institute of Cultural Affairs for researching international development funding for a group of selected countries, in 2005 in Peru Valerie built curriculums at Mundo de Ninos, a boys’ home for street children, with the main goal to help boys re-learn values such as respect, honesty and integrity. In her personal time Valerie enjoys biking, hiking, and telemark skiing.
Jane Pankratz
Jane teaches the SSILS English and French curriculum in Vancouver, British Columbia.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts with honours in English and a Major in French from the University of Victoria. Additionally, she has her Master of Arts from the University of York in the UK and is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Education from Simon Fraser University.
She has extensive language and teaching experience in both English and French. English is her native language and she speaks fluent French. For her Professional Development Program at SFU she taught high school level Core French (French 9 and 10), as well as English 9, and Planning 10. Furthermore, she has experience teaching English as a Second Language to adults and is a certified ESL and FSL instructor. Jane is a dynamic and involved language teacher. She enjoys teaching interactive and culturally relevant language materials and prepares lessons that make the language come alive for students, giving them an incentive to learn that is more relevant than grammar alone.
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