OSSD Bilingualism, BA (h), CELTA, PGCE TTL, MA TESOL
Kirsten is an English Language Instructor, TESOL Instructor and TESOL program Coordinator with the International Department at Selkirk College. She is French bilingual and has studied Salish, Ktunaxa, Inuktitut, Sanskrit, Korean, Hebrew and Vietnamese with intermediate abilities in MSA (Modern Standard Arabic). She was TLI Teaching Fellow for the 2020 academic year and sits on various college committees and task forces, including co-chairing the Joint Occupational Health & Safety Committee (JOHS).
Having partnered with such esteemed international academic higher education and corporate institutions as Clinton Leadership Initiative, York University and Qatar Foundation, Kirsten’s career has spanned four continents working, studying and volunteering for nearly two decades. She has spent most of her professional life in South East Asia (SEA), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) as a student intern, teacher trainer, language assessor, personal coach, public speaker and published author. She has also worked with various accredited and recognized, credible and reliable online institutions, such as the University of Liverpool and the University of Roehampton, as a blackboard onboarding instructor, academic writing centre manager, MBA career coach, leadership instructor and dissertation adviser.
Kirsten has successfully completed and received her OSSD Bilingualism Certificate (1998), four-year Bachelor’s Degree in English (2003), Oxford Professional Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) (2005), Master's Degree in Applied Linguistics (2007), Certificate of Human Rights Education Management (2009), Post Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Training and Learning (2010), Mixed Methods Research Certificate (2011), IELTS examination license (2012) and Diploma in Financial Trading (2018). She is currently completing the Provicial Instructor’s Diploma Program (2022), Leadership Training (2021) and will soon receive her Graduate Diploma in Immigration and Citizenship Law (2022).
In her spare time, Kirsten is a singer/songwriter-guitarist who is also a devout WimHof pracitioner, small engine and motorcycle mechanic (2003), advanced Open Water SCUBA diver (2005), Thai Masseuse (2006), Yoga Alliance certified 800-hour Ashtanga Yoga Instructor & Teacher Trainer (2007) and Educational Kinesiologist (2011). She is an avid gardener who lives in a valley on the banks of the Columbia River with her two international rescue dogs, Yogi and Yodi.