Leadership Team
Co-founders and directors of Distance Cert Ltd, Michelle and Ben also provide learning mentorship for course participants.
Co-Director & Learning Mentor
Ben Dobbs,
MA, ILM Level 7 Cert., CMS, SSBBP
Ben is an international leadership and communication trainer with wide experience of delivering intensive training in the UK, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Russia, Oman, Austria, Italy, Malta, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Ben is also the author of numerous articles on business English training and is a practising executive coach.
Co-Director and Learning Mentor
Michelle Hunter,
PhD, MA, PGC Coaching, CertTESOL
Michelle is a currently a senior lecturer at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria. She teaches language competence courses for both business students and pre-service teachers on the Austrian BA & MA Teacher Education programmes.
Previously, she worked as an adjunct teaching communication in business courses and academic study skills. She has 20+ years’ experience of business English in-company training for a wide range of companies across multiple sectors, in Germany. Michelle has authored numerous articles for ELT magazines and co-authored language coaching eBooks.
TDCI Associates and Learning Mentors
Our Associate Trainers and Learning Mentors bring with them a wealth of experience from the fields of English language teaching, in-company training, intercultural communication, university instruction and applied linguistics.
Olga Snitkova
Associate Trainer
Thomais Vlami
Associate Trainer
Seda Yaman
Associate Trainer
Kirsten Wächter
Associate Trainer
Dylan Gates
Associate Trainer
Olga is an experienced English teacher based in Bologna, Italy, working mainly with professionals in-company. Since 2014, she has been helping learners improve their communication skills in Business English and English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Her teaching style is eclectic and flexible, drawing on different methods to match the needs of each learner. With ongoing training in Business English, ESP and intercultural communication,
Olga is a learning mentor on our Certificate in Teaching Military English and Certificate in Training Intercultural and Interpersonal Skills courses.
Thomais is a Master's-level qualified business English teacher with experience in a variety of settings. During her career, she has planned numerous lessons to meet various corporate needs. She has conducted CPD sessions on Business English, exam preparation, and gamification.
Thomais is a learning mentor on our Certificate in CLIL and Certificate in Gamification of Learning courses.
Seda is a passionate English teacher and teacher trainer with a rich
background in cultural studies and a focus on language development. She is committed to empowering young learners, she promotes innovative teaching practices in ELT through
extensive experience in curriculum development and the use of digital tools.
Seda will be mentoring participants on our upcoming Certificate in Teaching with Technology course and Gateway to TEFL programme.
Kirsten has many year's experience in Business English teaching and training. She is active in the IATEFL BESIG group and works as an advisor to colleagues and EL learners alike.
Kirsten will be mentoring participants on our upcoming Certificate in Teaching English for Accounting course.
As a TDCI graduate himself, and with year's of teaching and assessment experience, Dylan is an ideal person to join as a TDCI learning mentor. He will accompany new TDCI participants through the entirety of the course, providing personalised feedback and coaching.
Dylan is a learning mentor on the Cert IBET and Certificate in Teaching Project Management English course.