Our Team of Professionals

Our Team of Professionals
Welcome to our Management and Professional Educators team. They are our most prized asset and represent the core of what makes SpringHills so unique, and so successful.  Our management personnel are experts in their specialized fields and they all share a firm commitment to the SpringHills' vision and the importance of the Training and Development Industry.

Our educators can draw from years of teaching experience and are specifically trained in the development and delivery of our targeted programs and curricula. They bring to the SpringHills team a wide scope of skills and expertise from a wide variety of industries, ranging from education, business and engineering. Our educators have developed a strong reputation from their highly innovative and advanced teaching and training approaches, which focus on empowering our clients for success.

SpringHills' Commitment to Quality

All educators and staff at SpringHills are commitment to provide a superior quality service to students and professionals in our programs.


Geoff Lawrence, Managing Director (Toronto Division) of SpringHills International Education Group, has over ten years of English, ESL and foreign language teaching experience in colleges, private schools and universities. Geoff has designed and managed international educational programs, and has extensive experience in communications, marketing and e-learning technologies. Among his many accomplishments, his work with the Ontario government on their Youth Employment programs, which were funded by the Ministries of Education/Skills Development, was widely praised.  He also lectured on Communication skills in business programs at the University of Toronto. He has an undergraduate degree in French and Spanish and a Master of Arts in curriculum, teaching and learning where he specialized in the use of computers and technology to enhance second language learning. He has conducted extensive research and made numerous presentations on the ability of computer mediums to enhance second language learning. Mr. Lawrence has published numerous articles in several leading industry journals, including CALICO, CALL, and the Canadian Modern Language Review.

Peggy Irwin, Director, Language and Professional Training has worked in ESL since 1984. She co-founded the Canadian Cooperative for Language and Cultural Studies, a non-profit language school, in Toronto in 1991; during her time there, she held key administrative and financial posts. She has designed and taught a widely recognized TESL certificate program, and has organized a variety of ESL programs for both newcomers to Canada and international students, including general ESL, skill-focused ESL, ESL literacy, business ESL, academic ESL, workplace ESL and computer-assisted ESL. In 1996, she co-founded the CeL-The Centre for Lived Language, where she developed and administered CeL's ESL and language teacher training programs. She has made presentations on Cross-cultural Communication at the Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario and also lectures on Communication for the International MBA Program at the Schulich School of Business, York University. Currently, her responsibilities at SpringHills include curriculum planning, financial planning, staff supervision and human resource development. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature.

Ray Bennett, Educational Program Consultant has worked in the education industry for over ten years, specializing in teaching and designing TESL and language training programs. Curriculum planning and program execution remains his key responsibilities at SpringHills. He has developed and taught courses in Canada and abroad, in topics as diverse as music in ESL, grammar for ESL teachers and teaching grammar communicatively. In 1996, he co-founded CeL-The Centre for Lived Language, and helped develop CeL's ESL and language teacher training programs. He has been designing the English language Business Culture and Communication programs and also lecturing at the International MBA Program, Schulich School of Business, York University since 1999. He has a Master's degree, specializing in language teaching-learning environments, from York University in Toronto.

Erik Nissan, Director of Marketing, comes to SpringHills with over 5 years experience in Marketing, Sales and Account Management in the Publishing and Telecommunications industries.  Prior to joining SpringHills, he spent several years at Microcell Telecommunications Inc., where his responsibilities focused on sales, channel and product management. Most recently he held the position of Marketing Auditor at the Canadian Circulation Audit Board. In this role, he consulted with a wide variety of business and consumer publications across Canada on improving circulation, accounting and reporting methods in order to increase advertising revenue. At SpringHills, Erik Nissan's core functions are to identify key market entry strategies, build strong client relationships and to maintain service quality control. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in Marketing and a minor International Business. He speaks French and Romanian.

Sonya Gosine, Marketing Analyst, primary responsibilities focuses on business development and strategic planning for operations in North America. Prior to joining SpringHills, she was based in the Caribbean as a business analyst for Chemcontrol Inc., one of the Caribbean's largest Plastics, Chemicals and Steel Distributors.  Prior to that, she worked with Royal Bank, in the commercial banking division for four years. Sonya Gosine holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and is currently pursuing her CFA designation.