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Olivia de Bergerac was born on the French Riviera, lived in Paris and stated teaching French to business people while completing a PhD in French Literature and Psychology. In Australia Olivia was teaching at the University of Sydney and then completed an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management and became a management consultant specialised in stress management. Today, Olivia teaches French, does research on neuroscience, longevity and life and death and writes books (in French and English). For Olivia the key is to transform all fears, fear of learning French, fear of getting old and fear of death into love.

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Graciela de Souza Oliver. Tutor of WEA Sydney

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Alison Dean is a languages consultant with over 20 years' experience in teaching, curriculum design, and educational leadership. She has taught and consulted in leading independent schools both here and abroad and was the languages consultant for the Association of Independent Schools of NSW. She contributed to the development of the 2024 NSW Languages syllabus and regularly presents on language pedagogy, Generative AI and curriculum design at conferences and institutions both here and abroad. She has presented courses on ICT integration and language methodology for the Sydney Institute of Community Languages Education at the University of Sydney and is the NSW representative on the National Association of Teachers of German.

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Susan Deas is a professional musician, lecturer and teacher. She has been teaching music appreciation courses for more than twenty years, and is a regular lecturer at WEA Sydney. Her training includes a Bachelor of Music with a major in Performance (Piano) and Musicology, a Master of Music Studies (Studio Pedagogy), a Bachelor of Arts (Communications), and an A.Mus.A in Musicianship. Susan teaches piano and music theory to adults and children, and plays piano and organ at various venues around Sydney. Susan is an Accredited Member of the Music Teachers’ Association of NSW.

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Dr Yvette Debergue has a passionate interest in all things medieval, especially Gothic architecture, medieval saints and heretics and historical fiction. She has taught medieval history and church history at several universities in Sydney since 2006 and specialises in teaching adult education, making history fun and relevant. She is widely published and presents regularly at conferences in Australia and overseas.

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Diploma of Auslan. Tutor of WEA Sydney

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Diploma of Intepreting. Tutor of WEA Sydney

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Dr Donef has completed two doctorates (Anthropology and Politics), as well as a number of other degrees inter alia in languages, social sciences and ancient history. Dr Donef specialised on Turkish political affairs, the role of religion and minorities, as well as minorities in the Middle East. Over the last 25 years Dr Donef have taught a number of courses related to Turkey and Middle East and is able to stimulate student interest and prompt conversation. Dr Donef is committed to on-going education in order to contribute to quality teaching at WEA.

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Aylish Dowsett is an award-winning writer and tutor. She teaches creative writing at The Writers’ Studio, The Writing Quarter, Creative Writing Ink, SGSCC, and now WEA Sydney. Her work has been published in Mythrill Fiction, Collider, Honi Soit, Grapeshot, The Quarry, and many others. She loves cats and all things weird and British.

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Rosanna Dowsett holds a Bachelor of Biodiversity and Conservation and brings hands-on experience from wildlife research, conservation projects and environmental education roles across Australia. An engaging communicator with strong facilitation skills, she combines scientific knowledge with real-world examples to help students better understand and care for the natural world.