ACP Faculty Listing
Janice Morris, B.A. (SFU), M.A. (SFU)
English Faculty
Janice has taught at Kwantlen since 2006. Her career in English Studies is preceded by 18 years of business experience in labour relations and executive recruitment. Her varied background as a teacher, researcher, tutor, volunteer, administrator, and business owner serves her well in working with learners from all disciplines.
E-Mail: Janice.Morris@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.2316
Geoff Dean B.Sc. (M.I.T.), M.Ed. (Rutgers)
Math and Science Faculty
Geoff Dean lives in Surrey and has been teaching college-prep math, physics and related subjects at Kwantlen for many years. He strives to help students see how their intuition and instincts about the world give them a solid base for using math and science to solve problems of various types. He's been active in bringing on-line learning to ACP math courses and in helping to identify the thinking skills students need to succeed at Kwantlen and other educational settings.
E-Mail: Geoff.Dean@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.2330
Diane Walsh Cert. Adult Lit. Ed. (SFU), B.A. (SFU)
English Faculty
Diane Walsh is in her 19th year (2009 – 2010) teaching in her chosen field, helping adults improve their abilities to use text and language. A lifelong Surrey resident, Diane began her post-secondary education at what was then Kwantlen Community College , and continued her studies in English and in Adult Literacy Education at SFU. During her teaching career, she has continually studied in her field and learned in the classroom, and now is again engaged in formal studies. Diane is a student in the St. Francis-Xavier University Master of Adult Education program. Her study and research interests include: encouraging and enabling self-study and self-directed study for lifelong learning; inter-relationship of skills, knowledge and values in learning, teaching and in professional development; educational and social theory in educational practice; principles and pragmatics of program and curriculum development. As well as her educational and academic interests, Diane is also an organic gardener, a homebuilder and remodeler, and a small business creator and operator.
E-Mail: Diane.Walsh@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.3113
Gene Brush Dip. T.E.S.L. (VCC), Cert. Teaching (SFU), B.Sc. (UBC), M.Ed. (U. Wash.)
Math and Science Faculty
I have been teaching at Kwantlen for 14 years, in sciences and math. Before coming to Kwantlen, I was department head of science in Mission and a Ministry of Education consultant. Presently, I am on the Langley campus.
E-Mail: Gene.Brush@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.3337
Jim Beaton Cert. Teaching (UBC), B.Sc. (UBC)
Math Faculty
Jim Beaton began his teaching career as a high school mathematics and science teacher then discovered the pure sweetness of Kwantlen College in 1990. He has been teaching Developmental Mathematics courses at KPU since then. He enjoys almost all aspects of working with adult learners. In particular he takes pleasure in facilitating the success of students.
E-Mail: Jim.Beaton@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.2900
Janet Lynn Webster DIP. T.E.S.L. (VCC), B.A. (Concordia), M.A. (SFU)
English Faculty
Janet Webster has 20 years of experience teaching English in BC's post secondary sector. Janet holds a B.A. in English and Philosophy. She began teaching in 1990 at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops working with diverse populations in a variety of programs. She moved to Vancouver in 1996 to pursue her MA in Liberal Studies at SFU, focusing on interdisciplinary approaches to English literature, and she began working at UBC in the First Nations Sciences Access Program as well as at Kwantlen's ACP Dep't. She has now taught advanced English courses at Kwantlen for 15 years, and she has been instrumental in developing the online Qualifying English courses for ACP. Janet is a part time writer having had one short story published in the Graduate Liberal Studies Journal and other writings and poetry published over the years in a variety of journals. She is currently collaborating on a memoir with a colleague at George Brown College in Toronto. Before her teaching career, she ran a prefab log home construction business in the interior of BC where she headed the marketing department. Janet describes herself as an adventurer of life and as an interdisciplinary learner and teacher.
E-Mail: Janet.Webster@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.2549
Peter Robbins P.I.D. (UBC), B.Sc. (UBC), M.Ed. (SFU)
Math and Science Faculty
Peter is based at the Surrey campus, and teaches the following courses: Intro to Human Biology, Intro Physics, and mathematics (all levels from Fundamental to Advanced). Initially trained as a geologist, he started teaching math in 1978, but maintains a keen interest in the earth sciences. A true renaissance man, Peter knows a little bit about almost everything; Peter has visited nearly two dozen countries on five continents, driven across North America, crewed a sailboat, written a textbook, collected fossils in Yukon Territory, cycled down a 10,000-foot volcano, made more than 600 parachute jumps, photographed giant tortoises in the Galapagos, and watched two total eclipses of the sun. His other outside interests include photography, astronomy, military history, wine-making, kayaking, and cycling.
E-Mail: Peter.Robbins@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.2952
Margot Brown Cert. Teaching (UBC), B.A. (UBC), M.Ed. (UBC)
English Faculty
Margot has been helping adults improve their English skills for over 25 years, first with the Delta School District and then Kwantlen. She completed her Masters in Education at UBC during the 1990s in order to familiarize herself with the most up-to-date teaching materials and strategies. Margot finds her job extremely rewarding because she witnesses her students progress towards their personal, employment or academic goals.
E-Mail: Margot.Brown@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.2547
Helen Mendes Cert. E.S.L. (U. Tor.), B.Ed. (Queens), B.A. (W. Laur.), M.A. (U. Tor.)
English Faculty
I teach the basics of academic writing and critical thinking to Kwantlen students from a diversity of cultural, social and educational backgrounds. To them and my colleagues, I bring 30 years of training and experience in adult education, online teaching, professional writing, research, and participatory development work in urban and Aboriginal Canada and worldwide. Above all, I bring my own love of learning, which I enjoy especially by listening to people talk about what’s important to them; by exploring the world, reading fiction, expanding my own creative life; and, last but never least, by tuning in to CBC Radio. People who give me courage are those who insist on living authentic and creative lives; and those everywhere, famous or not, who work for what is fair and just.
E-Mail: Helen.Mendes@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.2537
Sue Lee Cert. C.E.L.T.A. (Cambridge), B.A. (SFU), M.A. (Chicago)
English Faculty
Sue became a teacher because she was very fortunate to have had many great teachers, and she would like to be to her students what her teachers were to her. She wants to share her passion for learning by helping students become better learners. Sue often gets strange looks from people when she confesses that her primary interest in literature is the essay. Her love for the essay started when she took a first year SFU course on creative nonfiction. Her fascination with the genre led her to the University of Chicago where she wrote her M.A. thesis on the objectivity and addressivity in the personal essay. When she became a teacher, she taught composition with natural enthusiasm. These days, Sue’s life involves essays of all sorts. Inside the classroom, she teaches students the skill of essay writing as a tool of academic communication. Outside the classroom, she explores the art of essay writing through works of great writers like Joan Didion, Joseph Epstein, and M.F.K. Fisher. Most of the time, you would find Sue poring over countless student essays and scribbling detailed comments on each.
E-Mail: Sue.Lee@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.3171
Sean Conway Cert. T.E.S.L. (ESL Int. T.C.), B.A. (Dal.), M.A. (U.B.C.) English Faculty
Sean has been teaching English courses at Kwantlen since 2006. He did his B.A. in English and Contemporary Studies at Dalhousie University and the University of King’s College, lived and studied in Europe, and then moved to Vancouver in 2000 to do his M.A. in English at UBC. He began teaching at that time and discovered that he loved teaching as much as he loved learning. Since then, he has taught a variety of English courses to adult learners and still continues to pursue his own interests in language, literature, film, music, and travel.
E-Mail: Sean.Conway@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.2316
Danny Wrench B.Ed. (McGill), T.E.S.L. (UBC), M.Ed. (UBC)
English Faculty
Danny has taught high school and college English courses in Montreal and Vancouver for 25 years. At Kwantlen he has been teaching in the ACP (Adult Basic Ed.) and Qualifying Studies programs since 1999. His passion for teaching is driven by both his interest in his students and his desire to teach them the skills and strategies that will benefit them in their academic and professional careers. Being a late bloomer himself, Danny believes that it is never too late to establish and fulfill personal goals. He is also convinced that good teachers and learners are both born and made.
E-Mail: danny.wrench@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.2795
Terry Berg B.Ed. (Alta), B.Sc. (Alta), M.Ed. (Alta)
Math and Science Faculty
Terry has been teaching Mathematics and Physics at Kwantlen, BCIT and Alberta College for over 25 years. His previous research into Physics Teachers has been well received by the international academic community and has been required reading in a number of university physics teacher education programs. As a long term science fiction fan, Terry has been known to use light sabers and Spock Ears as part of his pedagogical practices. Currently, Terry is working on his PhD in the Education Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy at UBC in Sustainability Education, along with actively promoting sustainability curricula and pedagogical/andragogical initiatives within the growing sustainable movement at Kwantlen. For Terry, education is a journey of a Community of Learners.
E-Mail: Terry.Berg@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.2951
Bernice Allegretto B.A SFU
English Faculty
After completing my BA in English and History at SFU, I began my career at Kwantlen College as a volunteer tutor in the early nineties. I worked as a tutor and a contract instructor before becoming a faculty member in 1996. I attended the Kellogg Institute at the Center for Developmental Education at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina in the summer of 2000. Presently, my duties are somewhat varied. I am the Fundamental English Instructor on the Langley campus. I work at the Phoenix Rehabilitation Center for one afternoon a week, and coordinate the ACP assessments with the Testing Department.
E-Mail: Bernice.Allegretto@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.3336
Ronnie Skolnick, P.I.D. (Vancouver), Cert. T.E.S.L. (Teacher Qualification Service), M.Ed. (S.F.U.)
English Faculty
Ronnie Skolnick has worked at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in the Academic and Career Preparation Department since 1998. She has a Master in Education degree from Simon Fraser University where she specialized in curriculum studies. Ronnie grew up in Montreal and went to Vanier CEGEP and Concordia University. She moved to BC to pursue her dream of working with young people. Before teaching, Ronnie worked as a Registered Clinical Counsellor and with at-risk youth who lived in her home. Ronnie believes in the power of literacy and education to improve the quality of people’s lives and our society as a whole. An avid volunteer who has worked for a variety of organizations, she also has a special passion for animals and spent time in Africa volunteering at a monkey orphanage and a game reserve. Her next big volunteer adventure will be in Borneo to work with Orangutans.
E-Mail: Ronnie.Skolnick@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.2768
Christopher Sears, Cert. Power Engineer (VCC), B.A. (U Vic. ), M.A. (U. Vic.)
English Faculty
Chris has taught English at Kwantlen since 1998 after many years of working in a wide variety of school environments. He loves laughing and working with his students and takes great pleasure in helping others reach their goals.
E-Mail: Chris.Sears@kwantlen.ca
Phone: 604.599.2389
