Gavin Dudeney, Director, The Consultants-E and published author
 

I have worked in education for the past 20 years, as a teacher, teacher trainer, writer and materials developer. In 2003 I set up my own online training and development consultancy with Nicky Hockly. I am a past coordinator of the IATEFL Learning Technologies Special Interest Group and past editor of the SIG journal. In 2007 I was elected Honorary Secretary of IATEFL. Publications include: "The Internet & The Language Classroom" (CUP 2000, 2007) and "How to Teach English with Technology" (Longman 2007, with Nicky Hockly). This second book won the 2008 International House Ben Warren Award for the most outstanding work in the field of language teacher education. Forthcoming publications include a book on blended learning and a chapter on the use of Second Life in further and higher education (both in 2010).

My company (www.theconsultants-e.com) works primarily in online teacher development and training and our CertICT course won a British Council ELTON in 2007. Among our other courses we also offer the first online CertIBET. When not writing or training teachers, I look after our three islands in Second Life and spend time building and scripting for the education community - our Second Life project EduCation@EduNation was shortlisted for a second British Council ELTON award in 2009. You can follow my blog at: http://slife.dudeney.com
 

Jun Liu, Professor and Head of the Department of English, University of Arizona
 

Jun Liu is Professor and Head in the Department of English at the University of Arizona. His research interests include language policy, standards development, curriculum design, program administration, teacher education, classroom-based second language learning and teaching, and second language reading and writing. He has published in TESOL Quarterly, ELT Journal, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, Language and Intercultural Communication, and Educational Research Quarterly, among others. He is the author of the book “Teaching English in China: New Perspectives, Approaches and Standards” by the Continuum Publishing (2007), and author of the book “Asian students’ classroom communication patterns in US universities” published by the Greenwood Publishing Group (2001), and the co-author of the book “Peer Response in Second Language Writing Classrooms”, published by University of Michigan Press (2002). He is editor of the peer-refereed journal “Review of Applied Linguistics in China”, and also co-editor of Michigan Series on Teaching Multilingual Writers. A recipient of The 1999 TESOL (Teachers of English to the Speakers of Other Languages) Newbury House Award for Excellence in Teaching, and co-founder and Past Chair of Nonnative English Speakers in TESOL Caucus (NNEST), he served on the TESOL Board of Directors serving as Director at Large (2001-2004), and was appointed as TESOL Representative in China in 2004. As the first Asian TESOL President (2006-2007) in TESOL’s 41- year history, Dr. Liu served in three-year term as TESOL President (2006-2008). Dr Liu is also Director of Confucius Institute at the University of Arizona. He concurrently was elected as Vice President of Chinese Language Teaching Association based in China (2008-2011). Dr Liu has given more than 60 plenary and invited speeches in over 20 countries since 2000.

Steve Simpson, international consultant and author

Steve Simpson is an international speaker, consultant and author based in Queensland. Described by UK based e-Customer Service World as ‘Australia’s leading corporate culture authority’, Steve has created the concept of UGRs® which is receiving global acclaim as a tool to understand and improve organisational culture.

Steve has spoken at two world conferences on customer service management, in the US – where he rated in the top 10 speakers. He has recently spoken at UK Customer Management Conference in Edinburgh, the Regional Conference for the Academy of Chief Executives in London, and the International Leadership Symposium in Johannesburg. He is the author of two books and a contributing author to a further two books.

Steve has been accredited as a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), the highest speaker distinction recognised by the International Federation for Professional Speakers.
 

Comedian, Anh Do (closing keynote address)

Anh Do is one of Australia’s most popular and well- loved comedians. He’s done over 1500 comedy performances throughout Australia and Overseas. Anh’s clean, corporate friendly material and absolute reliability make him one of the country’s top corporate entertainers and a regular on TV.
 

Dr Janet Zadina, Assistant Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience / Educational Neuroscience, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans

Dr Janet Zadina is a cognitive neuroscientist, reading specialist, and former high school and college teacher. She received her doctorate in the College of Education at the University of New Orleans, conducting her award-winning dissertation research on the neuroanatomy of dyslexia through collaboration with Tulane University School of Medicine. She continued with a Fellowship in Cognitive Neuroscience researching developmental language disorders through MRI brain scans. She is currently an Assistant Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience. Dr Zadina is author of Six Weeks to a Brain-Compatible Classroom – a workbook for educators. She has presented keynotes and workshops internationally.