About Me

I grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and studied English Language and Literature at Queen’s University Belfast, where I earned my BA.

After graduating, I spent several years in Madrid providing Business English training to clients at major Spanish companies in the energy and telecommunications sectors.

I subsequently moved to the United States, completing an MA in English at the University of Oklahoma and a PhD in English at the University of California, Davis.

Between my master’s and doctoral studies, I worked as a full-time lecturer in Business Communications at the University of Oklahoma’s College of Business Administration.

My career then took me to Germany, where I spent 15 years at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. I taught academic writing focused on American literature in the American Studies department and, for several semesters, Business Communications at the university’s Gutenberg School of Management and Economics.

Alongside my university teaching, I provided Business English training to companies in Germany in sectors from cybersecurity and data encryption to retail. That work continues today, and some of these client relationships have lasted well over a decade.

While the aims of Business English training are serious, my sessions are relaxed and friendly; this encourages participants to take part without worrying about making mistakes, which is the only way to develop in confidence and fluency.