Teaching English as a foreign language on the following courses - Gestão Hotelaria e Alojamento; Gestão e Comércio Internacional; Itinerários Turísticos e Promoção do Património; and Gestão de Vendas e Marketing.

Communicating effectively is paramount for all leaders in today's world. We are all leaders, if not of others then at the very least, of our 'own' life! I help private individuals and the collaborators of corporate clients prepare for the delivery of important business presentations.I also create and deliver tailormade out-of-the-box programmes which cause 'shifts' in communication and leadership, team building, motivation and personal development. I gain additional inspiration from watching videos and reading books by Sheryl Sandberg, Nancy Duarte, Cindy Ventrice, Rosamund Stone Zander & Benjamin Zander, Seth Godin, Daniel Pink, Adam Grant, Robin Sharma, Chip & Dan Heath, Tal Ben-Shahar, Simon Sinek, Marcus Buckingham, Ram Charan, Prof. Richard Wiseman, Sir Ken Robinson, Michael Neill and Marshall Goldsmith, among others. I love to share my 'new' learnings with others.

I am an English language teacher at the British Council, Porto. I teach all levels - primary, junior, young learners and adults.Teaching provides me with the opportunity to connect with people through the art of communication in the English language. I am a 'great' friend of each student and I am always ready to empower them because I firmly believe that each person 'has exceptional talent'. As an educator, I am constantly tapping into this unique reservoir in order to bring out the best in people!

I am the 'oldest' Toastmaster in Portugal. I first joined Toastmasters in South Africa (1991-1993). I re-found Toastmasters in Portugal in July 2008. At present I am a member in good standing at Oporto Toastmasters Club, Mind Business Toastmasters Club and Tecmaia Toastmasters Club. I also regularly visit neighbouring clubs.I am a double DTM (2012; 2014) - Distinguished Toastmaster, the highest recognition award of the Toastmasters International educational program.I was club president of Oporto Toastmasters Club (2009-2010), Area Governor (2011-2012; 2012-2013). I have served, and continue to serve, Mind Business Toastmasters Club and Tecmaia Toastmasters Club as a club officer.Numerous Toastmasters colleagues - past and present - have benefitted from my unselfish 'giving' and skilled mentoring.I am currently writing the e-book - "Toastmasters em Portugal: as estórias por trás da história, 2006-2018" - a comprehensive, yet fun, account of the Toastmasters story in Portugal.

As Conference Chair it was my responsibility to invite the right Toastmasters colleagues in Division L to fill and lead each of the 5 important areas - Education (Program + Contests); Communication (website and social media); Registration; Venue and Catering; and Accommodation. The original springT-E-A-M saw some alterations to its makeup as the day of the conference drew ever closer. Getting different personalities to work together in a cohesive team can be a big challenge at the best of times. My interpersonal and leadership skills were tested to the limit. In the end, a dedicated group of persons put on a highly successful conference together with the active participation of Toastmasters in Division L (central and northern Portugal + Galiza, Spain) on conference day.

Starting in 2012, together with two prominent Portuguese Toastmasters at both national and European level I began campaigning for Toastmasters' manual in the Portuguese language. We put together a team of volunteers and produced a very comprehensive English-Portuguese glossary of Toastmasters' terminology which we forwarded to Toastmasters International.We got our break in 2014 when Toastmasters International kick-started their strategic plan for exponential growth in Brazil; manuals in Portuguese were now a priority. Adjustments were made to the glossary to accommodate Brazilian Portuguese.I was successful in my application to become the Chief Reviewer at the Translations Reviewers Program (English - Brazilian Portuguese). Since October 2014 I have led a team of international reviewers - living in Brazil, the United States, Canada and Portugal.For the long-standing, and still in use, Education Program - our team spent hundreds of hours reviewing the following manuals in Portuguese: Competent Communication (CC); Competent Leadership (CL); Storytelling (advanced manual); Persuasive Speaking (advanced manual); Club Leadership Handbook; DCP and Club Success Plan; Moments of Truth; Speech Contest Rulebook; How to Build a Toastmasters Club.For the new Toastmasters Pathways program - our team has, again, spent hundreds of hours reviewing the 59 Pathways projects and their accompanying videos and tutorials; The Navigator [a guide on how to optimise your Pathways experience online]; and the manuals - Fundamentals of Public Speaking, How to Build a Toastmasters Club (updated version) and A Toastmaster Wears Many Hats.

Cidade das Profissões is now integrated in the Town Council of Porto (Divisão Municipal de Promoção da Empregabilidade) and is part of the international network Cité des Métiers, consisting of more than 30 cities worldwide. It is based on the model "Cité des Métiers" created in France in the early 1990s.I am a communication workshop facilitator at Cidade das Profissões, in Porto, Portugal. My workshops are aimed at helping participants make impacting elevator pitches.

Originally conceived as a program for mentors to be better equipped to 'serve' their mentees at the Oporto Toastmasters Club. It was much more than that from the outset... rapidly transforming itself into valuable shared best practices and training for recently arrived, as well as older and more experienced, Toastmasters from all clubs in Areas L1 and L2 of Division L, northern Portugal and Galiza (Spain).As the coordinator of this program I worked closely with the Education Committee of the Oporto Toastmasters Club to elaborate the program content, to identify the most suitable available Toastmasters to lead the dynamics of each of the 6 sessions held, and then grant them the necessary freedom to optimise their expertise in the service of all participants.Tremendous new learning took place. Toastmasters in northern Portugal and Galiza, Spain, are now better informed on: why the Competent Communication (CC) and Competent Leadership (CL) manual projects are structured the way they are; how to plan and deliver their prepared speeches (SPEAKING); how to give structured and effective feedFORWARD evaluations on colleagues' speeches (CRITICAL THINKING) ; how to successfully approach challenges posed by Table Topics (impromptu speaking); how to use congruent and effective body language; how to add emotion to their speaking voice; and above all - how to LISTEN ACTIVELY to others .

I served as a workshop facilitator - FeedFORWARD: Communication and Leadership in the 21st Century - at Universidade Junior, a program of summer courses at the University of Porto, directed at secondary education students (9th to 11th grade). Universidade Junior courses simultaneously challenge and promote reflection and learning.

I taught English to the staff at Porto Business School, one of the leading business schools in Portugal. Teaching adults an essential skill - the English language - is a rewarding challenge in today's world if you give these professionals what they need. My focus was always on them and their needs... neither they, nor me, were ever 'slaves' to a prescribed coursebook.

The Oporto Toastmasters Club has met at Porto Business School since day #1 in November 2006. Nearing the end of my second term of office as Area Governor, in April 2013 I approached the Dean and Vice-Dean of Porto Business School regarding the possibility of their hosting the D59 Spring Conference 2015 at the soon to be completed new and bigger premises. They immediately agreed. On the way to the Toastmasters Leadership Institute training in early July 2013, I discussed this 'vision' with both the new Area Governor and the new President of the Oporto Toastmasters Club. They also immediately agreed... and what later was to become Team R-E-A-D-Y began to take shape.As the Education Chair of the D59 Spring Conference 2015 - "Toast with Porto", I articulated well with both the Contest Chair and the Workshop Chair, and was always on hand to contribute. I built an excellent working relationship with the then D59 Lt. Governor Education and Training [now called - Program Quality Director, District 59]. And, naturally I also worked closely with the Conference Chair in determining the conference programme as well as finding positive solutions to numerous other important issues.I was a pivotal member of Team R-E-A-D-Y who put together "the District 59 conference" that is still much talked about today as an excellent example of organisational profesionalism.

Conference Chair and a Guest Speaker at EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION - Iberia 2010 (Division H Spring Conference, D59 Toastmasters). This was the first international Toastmasters conference held in northern Portugal. At the time, Spain and Portugal formed one division in the D59 structure.I led a small team of committed volunteers who put together a conference that did our region, our country, Toastmasters in the Iberian Peninsula and further afield proud.If you ever want to try your hands at Crisis Management, try organising an event that coincides with a week-long no fly zone over Northern and Western Europe due to heavy volcanic ash spewing high into the air as a result of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruptions in Iceland and your Keynote Speaker, Ed Tate - WCPS 2000, is left stranded in Florida, USA, two days before the conference? Our other Keynote Speaker, John Zimmer suggested Mel Kelly as a more than suitable replacement. A few quick phone calls and all was back on track within hours.