Kenneth Knox

Matt has thirteen years of teaching experience and is an Associate Lecturer at the Institute of Education at University College London (UCL). He has also tutored on several foundation year and pre-sessional programmes helping students to progress on to undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes.

Most of his career has been focused on guiding students through the exams and assessments required to gain access to and succeed in higher education. Matt was appointed to the role of Senior Examinations Officer at UCL in 2019 and in 2022 became a member of the PASHE Assessment Group (Preparation for Academic Studies in Higher Education).

He has taught at Glasgow International College at the University of Glasgow (through Kaplan International) on modules including Critical Thinking, Extended Projects, Employability, and the Advanced Transition Programme. Prior to that he tutored for the Cambridge Education Group at the University of London South Bank. He also taught on the foundation year programme at the Bloomsbury Institute aimed at students entering, business, law, and accounting degrees. At Bloomsbury he was also a member of the Student Welfare Team and has been providing advice to students throughout his career.

He is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Kenneth Knox

Kenneth Knox now calls Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia home. He immigrated to Canada after spending the majority of his life in countries and cultures other than his own. In addition to Canada and the United States, he has lived and worked in Europe, Central America, the Middle East, and Africa. This gives him a unique insight into the opportunities and challenges that come with life abroad.

Ken graduated summa cum laude with degrees in Russian and education (with a specialization in language pedagogy) and then went on to complete his M.Ed. He has taught at all levels, been a head of school, and a superintendent. He has also mentored teachers and school leaders, helping instill the skills for data-driven and effective leadership as part of national education reform efforts. He has been director of business development for several multi-national education organizations and has extensive experience in developing partnerships (in a variety of international markets), leading on school design and build projects, and conducting market analyses. His current work involves community development, communications, and policy writing.

He has a fondness for languages (he is hoping to add Mi’kmaq to his skills in Russian, Spanish, German, and Arabic) and spends his free time paddle-boarding and relaxing with his family on the Bay of Fundy.

Matthew Passow

Matthew holds a first-class honors degree from Portsmouth University, UK, obtained following an education in Hong Kong and Australia.

Matthew is a results-driven professional with significant success in the education, real estate, and banking industries. Matthew readily relates to young adults and adeptly utilizes his transferrable skills to support the attainment of students in their learning.

Having trained adults in the banking industry and taught ESL from Beginner through to Advanced level, Matthew has a broad range of experience to draw upon to meet academic and workplace challenges, and also the acquisition and enhancement of English.

Matthew is able to empathize with students traveling overseas to university, having faced that challenge himself as a teenager, understanding the need to learn quickly how to operate in an unfamiliar context, and knowing how helpful having someone at hand to protect the transition from one country to another is.

Matthew motivates students by listening attentively, offering practical advice, and relating learning to real-life experiences. As a lifelong learner, Matthew is excited to join the Justice Magic team, and sees it as an opportunity to share his knowledge, whilst learning from others- not least the students.

Jon Wood

Jon is a senior leadership coach, school improvement adviser, associate lecturer, and mental health and wellbeing instructor based in Somerset, UK.

Qualifying as a teacher in 1996 he has extensive and current experience leading and working alongside schools both nationally and internationally. Jon has successfully developed individual leadership capacity by working with existing, new, and emerging leaders to fulfill their potential and coaching leadership teams on their strategic approach to school improvement.

Jon currently advises schools in Wiltshire Local Authority, UK, and is well aware of the exciting possibilities, challenges, and opportunities that leaders face. Jon coaches and mentors a range of school and other leaders and his current clients are diverse, ranging from Headteachers to Cyber Security specialists.

Previous senior roles have included Regional Director for Bath and Wells Multi Academy Trust, a large MAT of 32 schools, and working for Nord Anglia as Cluster Leader in the United Arab Emirates, leading a team of 20 advisors in 4 local schools on the implementation of a new curriculum.

Jon specializes in coaching schools and their leaders to make rapid but sustainable improvements by working intensively alongside clearly defined personal goals. Jon is accredited in the 360-degree evaluation and Personal Profile Analysis which he uses with clients to support their coaching goals.

More widely Jon is an Associate Lecturer for the University of Worcester and contributes to a range of NPQ awards, as a Mental Health and Wellbeing Instructor Jon has trained over 400 mental health first aiders to better support colleagues in the workplace and beyond.

A Physical Education graduate from Reading University, Jon holds the Certificate for Executive and Senior Level Coaches and Mentors (ILM level 7), National Professional Qualification for Headteachers, and is a Mental Health First Aid (England) approved instructor.

Ellen Feig

With twenty-two years of experiences, Dr. Ellen Feig holds a BA from Smith College, a JD from NY Law School, an MFA from National University, an MS from Central Michigan University, and a post-doc in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She received the title of full professor and tenure in 2017.

Dr. Feig is eminently qualified to prepare students for the university. She has tutored students from kindergarten to graduate school in time management, study skills, writing and reading, AP/ACT/SAT verbal and college essays, and applications.

Dr. Feig has taught composition, literature, and creative writing at Bergen Community College (BCC), the largest two-year academic institution in New Jersey, USA for the last twenty years. Dr. Feig has been awarded the Roueche Excellence Award for Teaching (a national merit award), seven TED licenses, and two fellowships focused on global ethnic literature during her tenure at BCC.

Dr. Feig used to work as an independent legal consultant for entertainment companies, including Zig Zag Productions (a London-based company), Nikki Akmal (on a Tokyo-based production), and numerous other film and television productions. As a former attorney for eleven years, Dr. Feig practiced entertainment and contract law including four years at Columbia Records/Sony Music.

In addition, Dr. Feig has published numerous works of creative non-fiction in magazines and journals and four books of non-fiction, including The Ex-Files (Simon and Schuster). During the summer of 2020, she wrote a textbook for first-year composition students for McGraw Hill Publishing.

Joanna He

Joanna He has been engaged in higher education for over 15 years in South China, teaching various undergraduate courses including English, creative presentation skills, international communication, and modern design history.

Joanna applies creative visual arts and digital technology to design and implement tasks or project-based learning activities to motivate students and increase their engagement.

Her classes have become increasingly popular with undergraduate students, especially those who plan to study abroad. So far, of the more than 1600 students taught by Joanna, 20% leave China to study in countries such as the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Italy. She is excited to support more students in their preparation for university overseas.

Motherhood inspired Joanna to become a teacher many years ago. Her journey as a teacher has provided a broad spectrum of experiences interacting with a diverse range of students. Joanna often provides a friendly listening ear for her students, identifying their learning challenges and needs, then helping them construct the knowledge and higher-order thinking to achieve their targets.

To deepen her understanding of teaching higher-order thinking skills, Joanna is studying for the doctoral program of education at Liverpool University, UK. Her research focus is on how to improve student engagement in blended learning.

Under Joanna’s oversight, her elder twin son also went abroad to study at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver), and now works as electronics engineer there. Joanna’s younger twin son pursues his talents and interests through the medium of oil painting.

Ardeen Top

Ardeen Top holds an M.A. in Humanities with a Concentration in Linguistics from the University of Louisville, K-12 Teaching Certificate, and an Endorsement in ESL.

She has been teaching English and English Composition at the university level, training language instructors and directing university ESL programs, to a diverse range of students, both internationally and in the US since 1999.

Ardeen is well versed in preparing students to succeed at university and has hands-on experience working with international and American students preparing them for rigorous university research, study, and writing in a range of areas from business and nursing to engineering and the arts.

She has also designed and delivered workshops extending from language teacher training to cross-cultural communication and understanding. Currently, Ms. Top develops curriculum, implements instructional and reporting structures, and trains instructors for language and education instruction.

Ardeen has presented at NAFSA and TESOL conferences on international students making the transition to US university study, intercultural communication, and Teaching Knowledge Test preparation and workshops for EFL teachers abroad.

She enjoys traveling and leading seminars in countries ranging from Sudan to Hungary and China.