MEET THE ITA
ADMISSIONS TEAM

Since his first trip to Europe as a teen, Ian's passion for travel and adventure has continued to grow. An ITA Founder and our most senior advisor, Ian has helped hundreds of people live their dream of teaching English abroad.

Sarah grew up in the Wisconsin countryside and taught English in Japan. Sarah has an extensive background in the field of international education. She worked for the University of Illinois study abroad office, the Institute of International Education in Washington D.C., and worked on the Fullbright Program.

Mike studied abroad outside of Sydney, Australia while completing his Communications degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. After college, he taught English abroad in Chiang Mai, Thailand for two years before returning to the USA. Prior to joining the ITA team, Mike worked at Greenheart International.

Prior to joining ITA in 2011, Jeff spent two years teaching English in Seoul, South Korea. He used the money he saved while teaching in Korea to fund a year of travel in Asia and South America. Here in Chicago, Jeff can always be counted on to make a strong showing in ITA’s annual Halloween costume contest.

A native of St. Louis (and an avid Cardinals fan), Doug has worked, traveled, and/or studied on five continents. When not helping others teach abroad, Doug can often be found playing guitar or spending time outdoors with his wife and 2 kids.

Since becoming disillusioned and bored with his old corporate job in Chicago more than seven years ago, Shay has made it his life's work to help others travel the world by teaching English abroad.

Originally from a small town in Michigan, Matt first lived abroad in Germany to learn the language. He later spent two years teaching English in Seoul, South Korea, traveling the region and visiting countries like Japan and India.

In 2009, Michael became TEFL Certified and moved to Madrid, Spain to teach English. Invariably, whenever asked how he feels about the time he spent living and teaching there, his answer is the same: “Choosing to move abroad was the best decision I have ever made in my life.”

Born & raised in Chicago, Andrew is an International TEFL Academy grad and taught English in South Korea. When he's not working, you can find him hanging around the lake with his pup!

From China to Denmark, Liz is an avid world traveler who has lived abroad extensively and traveled to over 50 countries. Liz left her job in the film industry in Los Angeles to join the team at ITA in Chicago!

Erica was raised in a small town in Michigan, which inspired her desire to discover what the rest of the world had to offer. Erica spent over four years living abroad all over Spain!

Ahmad is a Kuwait-born Palestinian from the south side of Chicago, and after college, he moved to Dubai to teach high school English. Ahmad has a B.A. in English Literature and an MFA in Creative Writing.

An ITA alum herself, Sandra spent five years teaching English in Changhua, Taiwan, before returning home to start her role here at ITA in October of 2021. She attended the University of South Florida where she majored in Criminology.

After teaching in Georgia through the Peace Corps, Ambrosia headed to China to teach for a year before returning home to get TEFL certified right here at ITA. She later went on to teach English in South Korea before moving back to the USA to join Team ITA in October of 2021.

Hailing from smalltown Montgomery, AL, Shelby had big dreams of traveling the globe but was never surrounded by examples of how to do it. An ITA alum herself, Shelby lived and taught in Spain for 4 years; 2 years in Madrid, 1 year in Tenerife, and 1 year in Gran Canaria before Covid-19 cut her travel plans short!

After a solo backpacking trip through Asia that led to running a marathon on a whim in Thailand, Osbaldo was hooked on travel. Because of his newfound love of travel, he became TEFL certified and spent the next 3.5 years teaching English in Jakarta, Indonesia. Osbaldo is excited to help people change their lives through teaching abroad!

A native of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Kimberly spend many years working in the fashion & retail industry before bidding farewell to the corporate world in exchange for a life of adventure. She ventured off to SE Asia and Central America to teach English. She spent almost 2 years teaching in Thailand and 6 years teaching online.