On this page, you can meet the talented, creative, enthusiastic and welcoming people who make the Centre for Academic Development work so well.
If you are a member of staff wanting to explore how we can work in a joined-up way to help develop the student academic experience, then please get in touch. If you are a student interested in courses, tutorials, workshops or online resources that can help you reach your full academic potential, we would love to hear from you.
Elaine Allender
University Teacher - English for Academic Purposes
eallender@brookes.ac.uk
Elaine has been teaching at Brookes since 2010 on in-sessional and postgraduate modules. Before coming here, she worked as a teacher and teacher trainer for 15 years. Currently, she is the module leader for Methodology of Foreign Language Teaching and Academic Writing for Business. She’s interested in helping students improve their Academic English, particularly their writing skills.
Claire Bennett
Learning Development Tutor
clairebennett@brookes.ac.uk
Claire joined the Centre for Academic Development Team in 2021. Prior to joining the team, she supported students at Oxford Brookes in their studies as the Additional Learning Support Tutor for the Foundation Art & Design Programme and as a one-to-one study skills tutor. Although she has been working with students in higher education for over 10 years, Claire is also a qualified primary teacher specialising in early childhood and runs a small local music festival with her family.
Stefani Goga
University Teacher - English for Academic Purposes
sgoga@brookes.ac.uk
Stefani joined the in-sessional Academic English team in 2019. She has taught postgraduate and undergraduate Academic English for both in-sessional and pre-sessional courses in two other UK universities. Prior to that, she was an English language teacher for 10 years. Her particular interests are in developing students' understanding of academic texts in order to support their reading and writing skills and she has completed research on disciplinary diversity in academic essay writing.
Kirsten Hall
Learning Development Tutor
kirstenhall@brookes.ac.uk
Kirsten has been a Learning Development Tutor since 2007, demystifying academia and facing students' study challenges with them. Much of her experience is with mature students and she has developed a specialism in working with students with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties. Research and English teaching have also been threads running through much of Kirsten’s career. Her coaching training informs her one-to-one work. Kirsten aims to enable the student to find their own best way forward, while offering tools or information where this may be helpful.
Joanna Lumawig
Centre for Academic Development Coordinator
p0044525@brookes.ac.uk
Joanna joined the Centre for Academic Development in 2018. She has a degree in International Business Management from Oxford Brookes University and she has been working in the University since 2015. Her work experiences include roles in customer service, hospitality and space planning.
Martha O'Curry
Senior Lecturer - English for Academic Purposes
martha.ocurry@brookes.ac.uk
Martha has worked at Oxford Brookes since 2013. She previously taught at Oxford Brookes International and in the School of Education teaching modules on the Pre-Masters, International Foundation, Applied Languages, and English Language and Communication programmes.
Catrin Radcliffe
Associate Lecturer - Maths, Stats and Study Skills
Catrin Radcliffe is an Associate Lecturer in Mathematics and Statistics.
Michelle Reid
Learning Development Tutor
michellereid@brookes.ac.uk
Michelle started working at the Centre for Academic Development in 2019. Before coming to Brookes, she was a Learning Developer at the University of Reading for 12 years. She has expertise in helping Masters and PhD students adapt to the new demands of postgraduate study. As a keen runner and swimmer, she is also interested in how physical activity can aid learning.
Annalisa Roldan
Centre for Academic Development Receptionist
aroldan@brookes.ac.uk
Annalisa joined the Centre for Academic Development Team in December 2020. After completing her degree in Applied Languages and International Communication in France, she arrived in Oxford in January 2020 for an internship and decided to stay and join the Oxford Brookes team. She has experiences in customer support, hospitality and academic student services.
Ronni Thomas-Osborne
University Teacher - English for Academic Purposes
a.thomas-osborne@brookes.ac.uk
After living and teaching English in Paris for 2 years, Ronni started teaching English for Academic Purposes on pre-sessional courses, which allowed her to work in many exciting and vibrant universities. She's been privileged to teach interesting people from all over the world, and feels she's learned as much from them as they have from her. She enjoys helping students to make sense of the conventions and requirements of British universities, and watching their confidence grow.
Kevin Watson
Head of Department and Centre for Academic Development Tutor
kevinwatson@brookes.ac.uk
Kevin worked in study skills for a number of years before becoming head of the Centre for Academic Development in 2015. Formerly a lecturer in American history at the University of Sheffield, Kevin's varied career has also included some best-forgotten theatrical endeavours, crime prevention and a stint as the director of a museum.
Zephra Weber
Learning Development Tutor
zweber@brookes.ac.uk
Zephra joined the Centre for Academic Development in 2018. She has 10 years of experience teaching English as a foreign language and enjoys working with students from all over the world. She has lived and worked in several different countries and understands the challenges of adapting to a new culture.