Who we are - IATEFL BESIG

IATEFL BESIG is run by a group of volunteers who take on the various jobs involved in the SIG.

Maria Szugfil (Joint Coordinator)

Maria Szugfil is a business English specialist with over 20 years' experience, gained predominantly through the delivery of in-house training to multinational organisations in NRW, Germany. More recently, she has successfully moved to an online platform where she continues to support her executive clients in achieving their communication goals. Her teaching is underpinned by a sound knowledge of the corporate world from her earlier career in the UK finance sector.

Maria is committed to personal development and has earned a Delta (with M3 specialisation in BE) and also an MA in ELT. Through her volunteer work for IATEFL BESIG, Maria continues to develop her skills and knowledge and she is proud to be a member of the current team.

Rob Howard (Joint Coordinator)

Rob Howard, after a business career in the US, is online as an active EFL Teacher and Neurolanguage Coach both training teachers to build their own freelance businesses as well as teaching Business English. He is the founder and past-president of the BRAZ-TESOL BESIG, Online and Video Coordinator for the Visual Arts Circle, co-founder of the Independent Authors & Publishers and has authored and coauthored several books for EFL. He is a speaker worldwide on Continuing Professional Development, Business Development and Image Presentation and the founder of EFLtalks which was nominated for the 2016 British Council's ELTon Award for Innovation in Teacher Development. He lives in Poland. see www.RobHoward.me

Andreea-Katia Nechifor (Events Coordinator)

Andreea-Katia Nechifor is a business English and German trainer based in Iasi, Romania. Andreea has always been interested in both business and languages, interests which have shaped her academic and career path. She graduated the Faculty of Letters and the Faculty of Economy and Business Administration and did a master’s in marketing. She holds a CELTA, a Cert IBET and a Belbin accreditation. In 2009 she founded Lektor, a private language school which she has been running ever since. Andreea has also worked as a freelance speaking examiner for the British Council. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Sara Awad (Publications Coordinator)

Sara has been teaching business English in Egypt for over 16 years to both university students and work trainees. She holds a PhD in linguistics (1st class honors), and is interested in computational, socio-cultural, anthropological linguistics and critical discourse analysis. In 2010, she won an IATEFL Africa scholarship to attend the IATEFL annual conference in Harrogate, and has been an enthusiastic supporter of IATEFL and BESIG ever since, contributing articles to both Voices and Business Issues. As Publications Coordinator she is particularly keen that IATEFL BESIG’s publications reflect the diversity of cultures, work contexts and perspectives which make IATEFL BESIG the successful SIG it is today.

Michelle Hunter (Treasurer)

Michelle Hunter works freelance as an in-company business communication skills trainer and university adjunct based in southern Germany. Since 2014 she has also taught EAP on university summer pre-sessionals in the UK. Michelle holds a master's degree in coaching in education and is currently undertaking a PhD in applied linguistics through York University. She has a CertTESOL and her undergrad was in Business Studies at Bristol Polytechnic. For more details see www.demandhighsilently.com

Elizabeth Molt (Administration and Membership Coordinator)

Elizabeth Molt is a Lecturer of English at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences (NL), to BSc students of mechanical engineering and automotive. She is busy with completing PhD at the University of Leiden in her spare time. Elizabeth has been an IATEFL member (BESIG and ESPSIG) since Brighton 2011. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Vicky Margari (Media Coordinator)

Vicky Margari works freelance as a business English trainer, offering online and blended courses. Before becoming a trainer, she worked in Hospitality for 12 years and Insurance for 8 years. She's currently keeping herself busy by completing her Cambridge Delta adventure and by working closely with and learning from IATEFL BESIG volunteers. Connect with her on LinkedIn.