Where Great Minds Grow

Ira

Ira earned a Bachelor degree of Fine Arts from the University of Rijeka. She taught Fine Arts in Croatia at both the elementary school and high school levels and has completed her Croatian teacher's certificate. Later she moved to the United States where she lived and worked for 14 years.While in the U.S. Ira obtained a Diploma in Computer Graphics and Advertising Design and earned a TESOL/TESL/TEFL certificate. Upon her return to Zagreb she has been working as a head teacher at the International British School and as a Language Leader at the Croatian-American Society. Additionally, she has worked on multiple translating assignments. Ira has a long-standing experience in teaching where she likes to incorporate her creative side. In her free time Ira enjoys working with clay, hiking, gardening and spending time with her family.

Dajana

Diana has been teaching English at CAS for 14 years now.
Her lessons are interactive, creative and interesting. She strongly believes that students should feel relaxed and unpressured when learning a language. Her lessons incorporate all language aspects - grammar, vocabulary, development of your speaking and listening skills. Diana believes that it is important to learn grammar, but it is also important to be able to apply it and use it in real-life conversations.
Diana's best quality is her patience. Her goal is to show students how fantastic learning English can be and for students to feel comfortable using it. That takes time and work but it is definitely worth it in the end. There is almost nothing that makes her happier and more proud than to see her students’ progress with each new lesson.

Steve

Steve has a long history with Croatia, originally serving in the US Army with the Defense Attaché Office in the US Embassy from 1997-2000. He and his son returned to Croatia nearly two years ago, so his son could attend high school in Zagreb. Steve's last position with the US government before retiring was at the Army's prestigious Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California where he provided English language grammar familiarization courses to military officers prior to their assigned foreign language course. Steve has a Master's degree in Education from California State University Dominguez Hills, and a teaching credential in secondary mathematics. He speaks Spanish, Arabic, Irish and is polishing up his Croatian.

Maja

She started learning English at the age of 7. During her high school years, Maja travelled to England and Malta and acquired a Passport Language School Certificates in the English language. She graduated from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb. She earned a MS in English language and literature and Phonetics. Furthermore, Maja runs her own company - MNM Translations.. She has been translating for over 20 years and teaching English for 12 years. Maja believes learning a foreign language does not include only learning new vocabulary and grammar, but also another culture. She believes it gives you a new outlook on life and opens a window to new world opportunities. If you know English, you have a skillset you can use anywhere in the world.

Lucija

Lucija was born in Zagreb where she competed her higher school education before moving to England to complete her college BA and Master's Degree in Marketing, PR and Corporate Communication. She has been working at CAS for four years now helping students become fluent in the English language!

Darija

Darija was born and raised in Zagreb. During her elementary and high school years she was a student at the Croatian-American Society where she perfected her English over a number of years. Currently she’s studying law at the University of Zagreb. After graduating she wishes to specialize in Maritime law.

Zrinka

Zrinka has two language Master's Degrees, one of them being in English language teaching. She has been teaching English at CAS for seven years now. Her goal is to help students become effective communicators in the academic and social world. Zrinka makes sure her lessons are always energetic and positive. She uses various activities, projects, assignments and games in order to improve students' English skills. Her classroom is always filled with new learning experiences and fun. She is very passionate about teaching and proud of her students!

Kaja

Born and raised in New York City to an American father and Croatian mother, her nomadic childhood had her growing up in five countries and attending international schools. Kaja returned to the U.S. to earn a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Rochester, followed by a M.S. in Public Relations and Corporate Communication from New York University. Kaja is looking forward to helping her students build confidence through engaging lessons, focusing both on receptive and productive English language skills. With her student-centered teaching approach, she is eager to aid her students with their cultural, linguistic, professional, and educational objectives.

Nikol

Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. She grew up up in Croatia and returned to Australia to pursue a Bachelor of Nursing. She has been enjoying living in Croatia for the past 2 years and is excited to teach at CAS. With her fun and holistic approach to education her goal is to nurture children’s passion for learning and continuous development as well as teach them to apply critical thinking skills to problem solving scenarios.

Thaina

Thaina was born and raised in Brazil. She attended international schools her whole life. This early contact with different languages and cultures led her to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in English Linguistics. She has taught for more than ten years now. Thaina says that educating children and teenagers is her true passion in life. She likes to tell her students that not only she teaches English, but also about life.

Gabriela

Gabriela was born and raised in Bulgaria. She graduated from an English Language High School with a degree in English Literature and History. She moved abroad to pursue further education and graduated with a BA in Political Science at the University of Dundee, Scotland. She then pursued further studies and graduated with a MA in Intercultural Communications at the University of Munich, Germany. Gabriela has extensive international experience spanning five countries. She has volunteered as an English teacher for children in China. Gabriela believes that each life experience shapes our characters. She wants to teach her students how to effectively communicate in English and to be independent and self-reliant.

Neven

Neven was interested in foreign languages and cultures from a young age. This is why he decided to acquire two Master's degrees, one in Sociology and the other in English Linguistics. He is also looking to complete additional courses when he can, such as Exploring Gender Equality in Education offered by the British Council. Neven always had a genuine interest in the process of learning, so he started exploring different methods of studying. He finds joy in teaching others how to study more effectively. This is why he thinks of teaching as his calling.

Stephanie

Stephanie was born in Kalamazoo, MI, U.S.A., and lived many years in Venezuela, where she attended a German-Venezuelan school. Learning different languages from a young age awakened her love for languages and cultures. She graduated in Production Engineering and finished all the credits for Art History and Theory. She lived for one year as an exchange student in Japan, where she did her final research and volunteered at an English school for children. She loved the experience and took the three Modules for the Teaching Knowledge Test-Cambridge English Language Assessment. She has taught English and basic Japanese to teens and young adults in Venezuela and Business English at companies in Mexico. She always puts extra effort into creating a safe and fun environment where her students feel free to ask any questions they have.

Jan

Much to his surprise, Jan was born in Zadar, during the golden sunset years of Yugoslavia. At the age of one, he decided it was a good idea to accompany his parents when they planned to emigrate. When, suddenly, their ship was blown off-course and they found themselves not on Dugi Otok, but on Long Island, New York, which, they decided, was a fairly decent place to stay. His long-term exposure to New York left him with a deep love of jazz, George Carlin, British humor, and the Oxford comma.

Having graduated from a Massachusetts university, armed with a freshly-forged degree in Communications, he set out to change the world by helping his grandparents pick olives and grapes, in the very city from which he had departed nearly two decades ago. Perturbed by the idea of manual labor, he returned to New York for a few years only to get lost and end up in Zagreb where he has resided for the last five years. In his free time, Jan enjoys music, board games, and casually subverting the status quo.