Meet Team English for Canada
We want you to see results!
You can trust that we’re all highly qualified, but most importantly, we all love to teach.



Maria Alfaro
A UBC graduate and certified by Cambridge, with years of experience teaching in Canada and Brazil



Maria Alfaro
Due to Maria's experience working at the ELI, after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and a postgraduate certification in Project Management, both from the University of British Columbia, Maria decided to acquire her CELTA certification (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from the renowned Cambridge University.
Maria was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, and since she is also fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, she understands the difficulties that students face when it comes to learning English. She can quickly identify common mistakes that Portuguese and Spanish speaking students make, and can, therefore, help her students overcome challenges.
Finally, she also takes the emotional side of learning seriously and always makes the extra effort to ensure her students feel nurtured and supported throughout their time studying with her school.
Interesting tidbits about Maria: Maria loves to travel around the world and has also been a musician since she was a young child. In fact, she has played the trumpet professionally in several orchestras and ensembles in Canada and Brazil!
Founder
“As the school founder, my goal has always been to create a supportive and positive environment for you to achieve your goals”



Matthew Lyon
TESL Certified and a Bachelor's graduate in Psychology and Anthropology from the University of Toronto - Canada



Matthew Lyon
Interesting tidbits about Matthew: In his spare time, Matthew plays a variety of instruments, writes, and produces music. He also likes cooking Japanese cuisine and trying new dishes.
Educational Manager



Elaine Estrella
Estrella has an MBA in Human Resources and years of experience working in administration



Elaine Estrella
Administrative Manager
“I’ll be here to help answer your questions! We want you to feel welcome right from the start”



Natalie Garrison
Certified both from TESL Canada and Ontario and a graduate from the University of Western Ontario - Canada



Natalie Garrison
As a teacher, she has had daily full-time experience teaching TOEIC, IELTS, CELPIP, and TOEFL preparation, pronunciation, and general English grammar classes. Her favourite part of teaching is personalizing the curriculum and seeing her students improve!
Interesting tidbit about Natalie: She loves spending time in nature and supporting her friends.



Josh Pirie
A graduate of the University of Toronto with over 20 years of teaching experience



Josh Pirie
Interesting tidbits about Josh: Josh now lives in beautiful Vancouver, BC, where he coaches rep fastpitch softball in his spare time. When he's not on the sports field, you'll find him at home reading about semiotics, linguistics and philosophy.



Ryan Friesen
TESL Canada certified instructor with several years of exam prep teaching experience



Ryan Friesen
“When I’m not scoring goals, I love helping my students achieve theirs!”



Fernando Arcos
TEFL Certificate from the University of California, Irvine, and a master’s in TEFL from the Universidad Central de Chile.



Fernando Arcos
“I have over 20,000 hours of teaching experience! I LOVE teaching and I can’t wait to help you in class”



Lisa Guglielmi
Bachelor of Arts in Writing from the University of Victoria, and graduated from Vancouver Community College in 2006 with a TESOL Diploma.



Lisa Guglielmi
“I’ve helped hundreds of students pass their English proficiency test. I’d love to help you too!”



Marc Chouinard
Native Canadian teacher that has been teaching both English and French for many years now, having worked at the Berlitz language centre



Marc Chouinard
“I genuinely hope to meet you in class!”



Anthony Seaberg
TESL certified instructor and has been teaching English since 2013.



Anthony Seaberg
“Looking forward to supporting your learning goals!”