APTO Coaches
We are proud of our Apto Coaches – dedicated professionals who have a passion to see education transformed for underserved communities.
All our coaches come from backgrounds in education and have been through our training in order to become certified. They all follow our guidance protocol for conduct and only feature on this page when they have passed their assessment. If somebody claims to be an Apto Coach and you cannot find them here, then please contact us to resolve the matter.
Rachael UnderwoodApto Early Years Specialist
I believe it is essential we invest in quality early years education and work together with families if we want to make a positive difference to our communities and improve the quality of life across generations.
With over thirty years of experience working with local government, national and international education development organisations providing training and support to those working in early years education I enjoy building relationships with others and working in different contexts. I care deeply about learning, development and growth. I am inspired and humbled when leaders and teachers achieve more than they dreamed was possible.
Josebene de Lima
I believe in the power of relationships and of the synergy that happens when two different cultures come together with shared aims. Born in Goiânia, Brazil, I worked first as a teacher and then, specialising in Botany, I led sustainability projects in the Amazon supporting indigenous tribes. I have worked in education development since 2011, leading a support school in an under-served community, and later expanding into education consultancy in partnership with the Instituto Total, working with clients in 4 different Brazilian States.
Gail Hard
I am retired after 35 years working in primary schools, latterly as a Deputy Head and then, for 8 years, as a Headteacher. I have worked in Saudi Arabia and lived, as a child, in West Africa and these experiences have undoubtedly contributed to my understanding of different cultures and communities. My wide and varied experiences have led to a deep and sympathetic understanding of the challenges of school improvement, and I remain enthusiastic and passionate about all aspects of education. I love the stimulation of working with other like-minded professionals and I am committed to improving the life chances of students, especially those whose start in life has suffered some instability or conflict.
Andy Ball
I have been in education for the past 20 years. I have an MA in special and inclusive education and am a qualified Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO). I am passionate about education and addressing inequalities in access to education around the world. I have been married to Kirsty for 14 years and we have two children aged 6 and 9. We lead a church in Derby and love spending time outdoors in and around the peak district where we live.
Lorna Barker
As Country Manager at the Jinja Educational Trust in Uganda, I feel empowered to fight the inequality and prejudice experienced by those who are part of an underserved community and show how education can push open the door to a new start and a wealth of opportunity.
Having moved from the corporate to the NGO world and from Europe to Africa, I bring a multi-cultural perspective and empathy to my work in Uganda. I love building bridges of understanding and seeing eyes around the room light up whenever the teachers we are training embrace another new concept and say they can’t wait to bring it to life in their school. I am proud to lead and be part of a strong and creative team and excited about the school culture of the future we are working together to build.
Harriet Bell
I'm Harriet Bell, Education Director of Pursue Kenya. Prior to moving to Kenya where I co-founded Pursue following several years of volunteering, I was a primary teacher in the UK.
At Pursue we believe that all children deserve access to high quality education, regardless of the circumstances they were born into. We work with over 30 rural primary schools to provide training and coaching to school leaders and teachers, so that schools become vibrant centres of learning where every child is valued and feels safe.
I am privileged to work with such an incredible team of education professionals who tirelessly travel far along dusty roads to ensure even the most rural schools get support.
Ezra Kirya Muyinda
I am Kirya Muyinda Ezra, born in a small town in Uganda called Jinja and partly raised in California, USA. I am passionate about art, ICT and children. I currently work with JET as a Resource Center Manager. As such I am responsible for the smooth running of JET's Resource Center daily operations, ensuring training and other activities all take place as planned. I also manage the JET Examination Board as well as teaching IT and holding other training sessions in my capacity as an Apto Coach. Am also a gifted artist and an interior designer and I put my skills to work in the JET schools facilities
Kwagala T Yiga
I am Taubah Kwagala Yiga and I am assessment manager in the Nursery Section working with JET in Uganda. I love children so much. As an Apto Coach I particularly enjoy helping teachers to become coach teachers, not tornado or spanner teachers! I help train teachers on how to make lesson plan involving instruction, active learning and formative assessment. The use of this assessment data is important so teachers can diagnosis the issues, use effective therapy to help children and then test to check learning has happened.
Sharing my faith about Jesus Christ with people is important to me.
Phannice Omondi
I am Phanice Namwaka Omondi from Kenya, Kakamega county. I am working with Pursue Kenya as a School Liaison Officer in our model school.
I have a BA in Early Childhood Education and love young children from the way they grow and develop. I do mentor and train teachers in the model school on lesson planning, use of formative assessment,how to implement positive discipline and ensuring that they use child-centered learning approaches in teaching learners. I also ensure that the teachers bring out the best when it comes to the teaching and learning process so that other teachers from the schools we partner with can visit the model school for benchmarking exercises where they get an opportunity to learn from our best teaching and learning practices.
Morris Mukuzi
My name is Morris Mukuzi. I was born and raised in the western part of Kenya in a small village called Vokoli, Vihiga County. I am a teacher, currently working with Pursue Kenya as an Education Training Officer. I am passionate about children and I love working with both school leaders and teachers to overcome challenges faced in their schools and turn their schools into excellent centres where quality education and learning is offered. I am always excited about coaching and mentoring teachers to reach their full potential professionally. Creating a network of professionals where ideas and best practices are shared is always the epitome of knowledge, this guarantees learners the best from their teachers. This greatly inspires me since learners reach their full potential too, and the community is transformed
Beatrice Ayako
I working in Pursue Kenya as an Education Training Officer. I have worked for over 6 years as a headteacher and 5years as an education trainer of both Primary and Early Years schools.
My wide and varied experiences have led me to a deep understanding of the challenges of school improvement and I remain enthusiastic and passionate all aspects of education.
I love the stimulation of working with other like-minded professionals and I am committed to improving the life chances of students, especially in early childhood.
More on their way!
Details to follow!
APTO Coaches in Training
Luciano Servante - Brazil
Mireille Chami - Lebanon
Nairy Mardirossian - Lebanon
Evans Ogino - Kenya