Ryan Tierney has been an international educator for over 20 years. He has taught in a variety of environments from teaching children through adults. He has taught management and leadership to corporate executives and worked as a software trainer in Silicon Valley.

Ryan is an Erickson certified coach and is passionate about supporting a coaching culture in children’s education. Ryan is deeply appreciative of all the amazing staff and teachers that bring innovative and motivational lessons to students attending Little Mountain.

Ryan has a B.A. from UBC, a TESOL teaching certificate and two post-graduate diplomas in Information Technology and Asian Studies. Ryan also has an MBA.

He is a passionate sailor. In 2016 he crewed in two international yacht races winning the Swiftsure and placing 3rd in the Vancouver Island 360 (a 2 week sailing race around the entirety of Vancouver Island).

Kay majored in English Literature in Seoul and had dynamic experiences living and working in New York. Kay’s natural affection toward people lead her to build up her career with a fun-loving teaching approach for a variety of student age groups. Many years of relationships with parents and students supported Kay to start Little Mountain Homeschool in Seoul in partnership with LMLA in Vancouver.

Since LMLA’s foundation in 2004 Kay has been in charge of guiding LMLA summer campers from Korea and managing them through every summer for over a decade. Kay had precious experiences sharing in children’s learning and communicating with parents. She has fantastic memories with children and building long term trusting relationships with their parents.

As an Operations Manager at Little Mountain Learning Academy Kay has been pursuing working toward making LMLA an ever more affectionate and friendly place for all- LMLA students, parents and teachers.

Kang graduated from Beijing JiaoTong University with a Master’s in Logistics management, department of economics and a certificate in teaching Chinese as a second language from Beijing Language and Culture University.

Kang spent 4 years teaching Chinese in the department of Chinese studies, Kangwon National University, South Korea before moving to Vancouver with her husband, who is a PH.D student in UBC, and her two daughters.

As Little Mountain Learning Academy’s Admissions Director, Kang is dedicated to giving warm and professional counselling services to all of our students and their parents – helping them to achieve their goals.

Gareth grew up in the diverse city of London, England where he taught for over 5 years after completing his degree in History. He has worked with a wide range of young people, both in the United Kingdom and in Vancouver, the city he now calls home. Prior to relocating to Canada, he was an elementary school teacher and a member of the senior leadership team as head of maths of his school in London.

Gareth has been an educator for over ten years. Here in Vancouver, he has utilized his TESOL qualification as a lead teacher at Little Mountain. He has found great satisfaction in seeing his students succeed and meet their wide-ranging goals.

His passion lies in facilitating a lifelong love of learning and enabling children to become the best they can be. He believes that his role is to guide students towards becoming independent, informed and able to share their knowledge and ideas with the world with confidence.

Vika spent her childhood in tropical Fiji and not-so-tropical Scotland, and also lived in England and Japan before immigrating to Canada. Her experiences living overseas and learning other languages gives her insight into the cultural and linguistic realities faced by her students.

After graduating from the University of York in the UK, she spent 14 years in the Tokyo area teaching all ages from toddlers to seniors. Vika is a big believer in active learning, and she strives to create an atmosphere full of energy and positivity in her classroom. She specializes in teaching beginners and younger students, where her bubbly personality is especially effective.

Her extraordinary experience in teaching enables Vika to become a curriculum developer now.  Her curriculums are useful tools for English learners to break through the barriers in their studies.

Sandra Tsang was born and raised in Canada. Her interest in human behaviour led her to the University of British Columbia, where she earned her B.A. in Sociology and Psychology.

Having studied human behaviour and interaction, she understands the important role language plays in understanding a new social and cultural environment. Sandra has dedicatedly volunteered her time to teach new learners of English due to her firm belief that language and culture are strongly connected.

Sandra has worked with many students in the past, including those with diverse abilities and needs. She also has experience in teaching and facilitating conversational English with International students. For Sandra, the best part about teaching is sparking curiosity in students and helping them achieve their personal goals.

English, being his first language, Emmanuel discovered literature to be an accessible vehicle for learning about various people and places. Comparative literature has, and continues to be, a useful tool in his teaching arsenal.

While studying at the University of British Columbia, Emmanuel worked as a community support provider for teenagers and adults with learning and developmental disabilities. This experience has given him insight into various learning styles, and he is always willing to learn new techniques in order to make literature and language more accessible to a wider range of learners. After completing a B.A. in English Literature, Emmanuel taught ESL to elementary, middle, and high school students in Japan.

Emmanuel believes that learning is an endless pursuit, taking individuals on intersecting and diverging routes. As a teacher, Emmanuel relishes the opportunity to facilitate the development of innovative ideas to modern concerns.

Charlotte spent much of her youth exploring the natural environment around her. Moving to BC in 2006 she pursued her passion for nature and obtained a BA in Environmental Geography from SFU where she focussed on sustainable food systems. When the opportunity presented itself in 2014, Charlotte moved to Indonesia where she spent 6-months co-teaching at the Green School in Bali. This exceptional experience ignited her path to become an educator and facilitator. Since then she has obtained her teaching certification from UBC, been a member of the Little Mountain team (2014-15), taught at King George Secondary School in DT Vancouver, and most recently, has once again experienced the magic of Green School.

Her area of expertise is immersive and authentic project-based learning, where students learn by ‘doing’, working as a team on sustainable community projects of their choosing.

She believes that the world presents rich learning opportunities, and that education can take place anywhere and at any time. She sees the role of the educator as a facilitator, inspiring curiosity and wonderment while also helping to guide students through the process of how to learn.

Georgie grew up in busy and dynamic Melbourne, Australia. With both her parents as teachers, she has grown up with a love of learning and a passion for teaching. Georgie completed her Bachelor of Arts with a major in History in 2011 and then completed her Masters in Education, with a specialization in Early Childhood Education in 2013.

Whilst studying, Georgie completed school placements in a German/English bilingual school. She began to see the benefits that bilingual education settings can have on learning and was eager to continue teaching in that environment. She secured a teaching position in a French/English bilingual school in Melbourne, and taught English for four years to students in grade 1 and 2. As a team leader, Georgie was passionate about best practice teaching, discovering new and successful ways to optimize learning, and catering for student well-being.

Georgie believes in an explicit, targeted, hands-on and visual approach to learning where children are actively engaged and involved in the learning process. She remains an advocate for student well-being and inclusive education. Providing a sense of belonging and teaching growth-mindset strategies, allows children to feel safe and to take risks in their learning. Georgie understands the importance of positive reinforcement, and the impact that encouragement and motivation can have on young learners in the classroom.

Neo has almost 10 years of experience teaching various subjects including math, sciences, and psychology. In the recent years, Neo has focused his teaching on the AP Psychology curriculum. He enjoys helping students learn and welcomes freethinking.

Neo received his post-secondary education at the University of British Columbia. After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Neo was accepted into Dental school (Doctor of Dental Medicine) at UBC and is currently working as a full-time dentist. On his spare time, Neo likes to play basketball and video games.

Neo also enjoys a good hike when the weather is nice.

Jolly Lei, graduated from Trinity Western University with a B.A. in Leadership. She has also completed a Diploma in Business English in Mainland China. Studying abroad enables Jolly to understand the difficulties and struggles that students encounter while they are learning English and adapting to the local culture. Jolly is passionate about helping students at Little Mountain Learning Academy to learn English efficiently by sharing her productive learning background and experience.