Program Director

Sami H. Elmansoury

Sami H. Elmansoury is a leading visionary with Precision Learning. He completed his undergraduate studies at Rutgers University – New Brunswick and holds an International MBA from the University of Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne – Sorbonne Business School in Paris, France. Sam has instructed Soft Skills, Leadership Development, Business English, several other languages, and American business culture to both students and business professionals for over a decade.

Sam serves on the boards of several educational and social non-profit organizations, including on the Advisory Board of the New Leaders Council, a nationwide fellowship that seeks to train and mentor the next generation of young leaders in both business entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. In 2013, he was inducted as a Responsible Leader Fellow by the BMW Foundation for his efforts to advance quality education worldwide, and in 2015, he was instated into the Hall of Honor of West Windsor-Plainsboro South, his high school alma mater.

Sam has been invited to speak at academic conferences and events throughout the world. He has visited over 60 countries and has made it his mission to explore and to understand most of the world’s cultures during his lifetime. Sam is also an avid real estate investor, dedicated soccer player, and a contributor to The Huffington Post.

Program Coordinator

Alina Laboy

Alina Laboy has instructed soft skills, leadership development, and Business English at St. John’s University, Union County College, the City University of New York, and Precision Learning. Her core competencies include leadership development for both American and international individuals, Business English, educational strategy, and curriculum design. Alina was a high level instructional design presenter for the New York Times’ Global Awareness Academic Conference. In addition, she publishes an educational blog about content strategies and technology in the classroom.

Alina graduated with honors from St. John’s University with a Master of Science in Education and in Teaching English as a Second Language. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in English.

Instructor

Steve Ahn

Steve Ahn is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal. Steve is a soft skills and leadership development trainer and an avid entrepreneur. For 14 years, he developed and grew his own businesses in Montreal. He has engaged in every aspect of entrepreneurial life: development, customer service, supplier relations, human resources, cash flow management, project management, sales, and finding capital to finance growth. Steve has managed over 100 employees, negotiated contracts with vendors, suppliers, and banks, and taken significant commercial risks to understand the true philosophy of corporate success. His specialty has been to make anything and everything happen, with the limited resources at his disposal, by harnessing the energy and channeling the talents of his team to bring many projects to fruition.

During his expansive business career, Steve has also obtained his Certificate in English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA). He has spent time in various parts of the world and took the initiative to self-teach the French language, in which he is now fluent.

Instructor

Diane Carey-Pape

Diane Carey-Pape received her Bachelor’s Degree with a triple major in Bilingual Education, Spanish, and Anthropology. Her leadership development, ESL, and Business English teaching career began in Colombia, South America, followed by extensive work as a trainer in the Boston area, where she collaborated extensively in curriculum development.

For two decades, Diane was a top-ranking business professional in the world of advertising sales, working in the publishing, education, and library markets, most notably at Library Journal and School Library Journal. Before returning to teaching, she began her own publishing consulting service, working on numerous new business development projects for Tutor.com, The NonProfit Times, Westchester Academic Library Directors Organization-WALDO, Marquis Who’s Who, Keesings World News Archive and IGI Global. With Precision Learning, Diane teaches soft skills and leadership development to both American and international students and professionals, as well as Business English. She also holds a Certificate in Fundraising and Grant Writing, and serves as board member and grant writer for the non-profit Community Development Corporation.

Distinguished Instructor

Katarina Grofikova

Katarina Grofikova holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing, and followed her undergraduate studies with a Master’s Degree in TESOL. Upon completion of her studies, she pursued her passion of helping immigrants aspiring to achieve their academic and professional potential via soft skills and leadership development training. After university-level work for several years serving both American and international individuals, she relocated to Slovakia to teach Business English and advanced professional skills.

Apart from teaching in a traditional academic environment, Katarina has taught extensively in the corporate sector, which has given her in-depth knowledge of the business environment; its idiosyncrasies, hierarchy, and dynamics for success. In addition to advanced business vocabulary and writing style, she has taught the professional skills and language particulars for negotiations, meetings, and presentations. Being bilingual in English and Slovak, Katarina has also taught the essentials of translation. After a decade of immersion in Slovakia expanding her professional perspectives, she returned to the United States in 2015. In addition to her work with Precision Learning, Katarina has been a college trainer, where she is always dedicated to teaching and creating an inspiring learning environment for her leadership development and Business English students.

Instructor

Irving Kirsch

Irving Kirsch is a successful STEM professional and entrepreneur who transitioned into education to fulfill a lifelong dream. Prior to joining Precision Learning, his business entrepreneurship led him to gain extensive leadership expertise in the worlds of Environmental Consulting, real estate development, and small business ventures, as well as in management consulting for environmental service companies – experiences that he consistently incorporates into his training.

Irving holds a Bachelor of Science from The George Washington University, as well as a Master of Science degree. A soft skills, leadership development, and certified TESL/TEFL Instructor, he has taught leadership programs and ESL and Business English programs with high accolades around the United States. Irving has also spent years conducting high-level leadership training and ESL and Business English programs in the Balkans. An award-winning ceramic artist, he frequents museums and galleries for inspiration from paintings, sculptures, and historical exhibits. Irving is also a devotee of rock ‘n roll music, literature, and the general arts.

Instructor

Joan Martins

Joan Martins has taught an array of high-level English, Business English, and professional skills courses in the United States. She has also conducted extensive curriculum development for the same. For the last decade, Joan’s primary focus has been to teach American English and skills to non-native English speakers. She has also studied abroad in the United Kingdom and has taught abroad in Egypt.

Joan has achieved formal higher education certifications in TESOL/TESL/TEFL/ESL, Teaching Business English, TOEFL Preparation and Administration, and others. She is currently pursuing an Educational Doctorate, while developing research, writing curricula, and teaching for various intensive programs. Joan recently completed her certification in Teaching and Learning Strategies for Higher Education at Harvard University.

Instructor

Agnes Pokrandt

Agnes Pokrandt has taught soft skills, leadership development, and Business English in public, private, and post-secondary institutions across the United States and the Middle East. She has also served on several college accreditation teams throughout the Southern and Southeastern United States, including military bases and proprietary schools. Agnes earned TESL certification from the Education Graduate Program at the University of Memphis, and TEFL Certification from the University of West Bohemia in the Czech Republic. Her teaching background to both American and international students and professionals includes courses in Business English, Marketing, Management, Business Education, Communication, Accounting and Mathematics, as well as ESL Global-LT tutoring for business professionals, and EFL instruction to both German professionals and Czech public officials. Agnes has also taught Business Education, Business Accounting, and Mathematics courses to Saudi citizens in Aramco schools.

Agnes has served in the corporate training and development arena as a director, facilitator, program designer and internal consultant, with management and budgetary responsibilities. She has facilitated sales and leadership trainings for adults throughout the United States, Canada, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Each day, Agnes brings her wealth of experience in business, manufacturing, construction, service, sales, and retail into the classroom. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, as well as a Master’s Degree in Education.

Instructor

Stacy Publik

Stacy Publik holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and an English teaching certification, and has committed her life to training American and international individuals of all ages. She has been teaching Business English, soft skills, and leadership development for over twelve years, and returned to school to complete her graduate studies at Drexel University in English as a Second Language.

When she is not in the classroom, Stacy enjoys traveling, reading biographies of inspirational historical figures, and running marathons. Stacy has competed in many races, and finished a triathlon in 2014.

Distinguished Instructor

Timothy Warren

Tim Warren has been a soft skills, leadership development, professional writing, and Business English professor and university administrator for over thirty years. In addition to his work with American and international individuals in the United States, he has instructed in several countries including Japan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Tim received his Master’s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from the American University in Cairo, where he also taught in the English Rhetoric and Composition Department. At AUC, he served as Director of the university’s Writing Center and as a prominent member of the university’s Academic Integrity Committee.

Distinguished Instructor

Jeffrey Welfel

Jeffrey Welfel is a passionate educational leader in the field of leadership development and foreign language acquisition, and has worked extensively with both American and international students and corporate professionals. He spent several years of his career in China training both students and professionals in soft skills and Business English, along with a variety of professional skills courses including Public Argumentation. Jeffrey has collaborated successfully as a trainer with Fudan University, Shanghai Sunsea School, École de Design Nantes Atlantique, and the Yangpu Educational Bureau of Education.

Jeffrey’s graduate studies focused on International Education with a concentration in Business. He also holds TESOL certification. During his free time, Jeffrey loves to travel extensively, and enjoys sharing his many cultural experiences in varying countries throughout the world so as to create an enriching classroom environment that comes to life for his students.

Instructor

Matthew Zonis

Matthew Zonis has developed a career centered around business sustainability and growth, social enterprise, soft skills, and Business English across three continents. In the business world, Matthew previously co-founded Shwe Holdings, a financial technology company that worked to provide mobile money and financial inclusion to the Myanmar market. Matthew also worked in Nairobi, Kenya with Ecosandals, an organization that focuses on upcycling scrap fabric and used tires from the slum neighborhood of Korogocho, then transforming them into fashionable Massai style sandals for sale around the world.

Matthew has led diverse corporate training seminars around the world, including leadership skill building and Business English with managers at the Provincial Waterworks Association of Thailand, and sales and Western customer service training with the Thailand branch of HeroLeads. In addition to corporate training with American and international individuals, Matthew has served as an educational consultant and college counselor to students from the United States, Vietnam, Thailand, and China. Matthew also writes on a number of issues. His work was recognized at the 2013 APSIA Undergraduate International Affairs Research Conference and has been cited in the Suffolk University Law Review and in the Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law at Florida State University. Matthew holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Jewish Studies from American University in Washington, D.C.