Jane Dancaster has worked in language education since 1983 and holds a senior leadership role at Wimbledon School of English. She has been actively involved in IALC through the Membership and Quality Assurance Committees, giving her a strong understanding of the association and its members.
Jane also brings extensive governance experience, having served as a Trustee of English UK for 18 years and Chair of English UK London for over a decade, building strong relationships across the sector.
She believes that strong international associations like IALC are more important than ever, and her vision is to build on IALC’s core strengths—quality, integrity, and collaboration—while continuing to support member schools, strengthen partnerships, and ensure the association remains a relevant and trusted voice for independent language centres worldwide.
Blanca Roters is the general manager of CLIC Seville, Cadiz, and Malaga. Founded in 1983, CLIC is one of the most reputable language schools locally, nationally, and internationally. Students of all ages come to the school to learn Spanish, English, French, German, Portuguese, and Italian.
With a degree in Business Communication and Public Relations, as well as an Executive MBA, Blanca is a prime example of language tourism. Having lived in Brazil, Australia, and Berlin, she now resides in Malaga. She worked in CLIC’s Marketing Department for several years, taking on the role of General Manager since 2021.
Passionate about languages, gastronomy and travel, Blanca brings new energy to IALC.
Born in Lisbon, Portugal, Alexandra has a degree in International Relations as well as post graduate studies in this area. Her involvement in languages started early on, when she studied English, French and Spanish in the family’s school CIAL, a leading name for Portuguese as a Foreign Language since the early 1970s.
Alexandra joined the school in 1991 after graduating. She also worked in the organisation of Expolingua Portugal, Portugal’s language fair, from 1989 to 1998. Since then, she has devoted herself full-time to CIAL.
Alexandra served as IALC President from 2011 – 2014.
Darren started his English language teaching career in Egypt in 1989. He subsequently taught in England and Australia, before settling back home in New Zealand.
He has been Director of Languages International in Auckland since 2005, and is current chair of English New Zealand.
As a language teaching professional, he has a Masters in Applied Linguistics and MBA; as a language learning amateur, he dabbles in learning other languages: current project – Italian.
Anna has been the Director of IS Aix-en-Provence since 2008, but has held various positions within the school before. Anna discovered the language travel industry by chance but felt at ease right from the start with likeminded people that understand and encourage the importance of learning a language abroad today .
Anna loves to travel and to meet students as well as school staff from all over the world. It is a privilege to serve the association and to bring people together at IALC’s workshops that are the best that the industry has to offer.
Justin is the CEO of Centre of English Studies (CES), which operates eight year-round schools across Ireland, the UK, and Canada. CES is also a leading CELTA training provider in the UK and Ireland, and an official IELTS and OET test centre in four countries.
With over 30 years of experience in international education, Justin has served on the boards of ACELS, MEI, and EAQUALS — where he held the position of Chair for six years. He has also been an active member of the IALC Membership Committee for the past decade.
Justin is passionate about languages and the power of global language exchange. When he’s not working, he enjoys spending time with family, staying active, and following Irish and Leinster rugby. Sailing and five-a-side football are among his favourite ways to unwind.
The IALC Team
Executive Director
Giorgia Biccelli
Director of Operations
Julia Patasheva
Marketing Officer
Sophie Wykes
Administration Officer
Rosie Erby
