Meet the team

Role description: I keep an eye on all the plates we’ve got spinning, work with team leaders to make sure projects are on track, talk to potential partners and lead on methodology.

Time with SSi: I’m one of the co-founders of the company – we formed as a company in 2010 after launching our first course in 2009. We released the first course 4 days before my daughter was born, which in hindsight wasn’t a particularly fine piece of scheduling.

Languages: I speak English and Welsh, and I can hold enjoyable conversations (with plenty of entertaining mistakes) in Spanish and French. I’ve a fair amount of Italian, Arabic, and German, but not enough to hold a conversation. I can also say ‘I want to watch the football at the weekend’ in Manx, which would be more helpful if I liked football.

Interesting fact about Aran J: I’ve swum with dolphins in New Zealand, ridden a horse through a herd of zebras in Zimbabwe, driven from Seattle to New York, lived in Germany, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Zimbabwe and Dubai, I used to own a royal python called Dylan and I’m passionate about meditation.

Role description: I assist a design & marketing agency in improving our company profile. I provide creative content for our social media platforms, website, newsletter and SoundCloud account. Additionally, I provide voice recordings for some of our language courses.

Time with SSi: I am an SSi co-founder, so I have been part of the company since January 2009.

Languages: I am a first-language Welsh speaker, and I’m currently learning French. I also have the tiniest understanding of Spanish.

Interesting fact about Catrin J: I used to be a full-time nanny to the rich and famous, but these days I enjoy the challenge of fine art drawing and, as a nature lover, the freedom of walking in the hills. In my spare time, I enjoy amateur photography and birdwatching. I’m currently writing my second Welsh language novel.

Role description: I run the SSi office. I develop and implement new administrative systems, look after SSi clients and process invoices and salaries. My skill set is administration based, so I’m often responding to random queries, which keeps me on my toes and my job interesting.

Time with SSi: Since July 2021.

Languages: Welsh and English.

Interesting fact about Catrin Rh: I was instrumental in establishing a Rowing Club in Moelfre, Ynys Mon (Anglesey) that now boasts 48 members! From day to day I work from a recording studio which I share with my hubby who’s a musician!

Role description: My primary role involves providing daily support to all language learners, addressing their queries, and prioritising technical issues for the Tech Team to resolve. I monitor our email account, participate in the SSiW Community Chat for Welsh learners in Slack, and oversee the SSi forum. Additionally, I assist with testing new course material. I also lead online group and partner chat sessions on Zoom, which are open to all subscribed Welsh learners.

Time with SSi: I began learning Welsh with SSiW in 2009, started volunteering in 2010, I then became part of the team in 2015.

Languages: English, Welsh, Esperanto, Spanish, a little French, German and Japanese, and I’m currently learning Basque.

Interesting fact about Deborah M: I’ve been a nomad for most of my life – I’d lived in 5 different houses and 2 different countries by the age of 5! I now live in the Basque Country, and given the amount of hard work and dedication that goes into learning Basque, I’m not planning on throwing that away by moving again!

Role description: I’m mainly responsible for leading the board and contributing to strategic planning.

Time with SSi: I have been with the company since the summer of 2021.

Languages: English and French

Interesting fact about Dr Joanne P: I hold first (BSc Joint Hons Medical Cell Biology and Biochemistry) and second degrees (PhD, Dept of Medicine) from the University of Liverpool. Walks in nature feed my soul, particularly in North Wales and I indulge my creative side with painting.

Role description: I maintain SSi’s network and server infrastructure, write backend and frontend software, and provide second-line technical support to learners.

Time with SSi: I started at the very end of 2013, though before that I’d been a member of the SSi community since January 2010.

Languages: Native English, fluent in Welsh and French, conversational in German and Esperanto, mostly-passive Spanish and Italian. I’ve held very basic conversations in Swedish and Manx in the past, but probably couldn’t do so anymore. I’ve dabbled in Finnish, Japanese, Polish and Mandarin, but couldn’t string a real sentence together to save my life.

Interesting fact about Ivan B: I often enjoy learning about things by creating my own versions of them. As such, my hobbies include writing music, designing and implementing retro computers, and devising constructed languages!

Role description: I develop and improve course content, writing scripts for our course creation system. My work involves enhancing existing courses and occasionally building new ones. I listen to feedback from the team and our learners to make the courses as effective as possible.

Time with SSi: I have been volunteering with SSi since 2017, getting involved in a wide array of tasks. In 2019 when I moved to Wales full time, my involvement with the company intensified and in 2021 I officially became part of the team

Languages: Welsh, Finnish, English and Italian. I've also dabbled in some Swedish, Spanish, and Mandarin. More recently, I've been learning Japanese through our new course.

Interesting fact about Kai S: I had always planned on studying maths or physics at university, but at some point I stumbled across the Welsh language and fell in love with it. I soon became immersed in Welsh culture and developed a passion for Welsh literature, so I changed my mind and ended up applying for a different degree course.

Role description: I oversee partnerships and marketing.

Time with SSi: I officially joined in the Summer of 2021, but I had previously been introduced to the company by Global Welsh in 2019 – at the height of the Covid pandemic!

Languages: English and French and I’ll be starting my SSiWelsh course this year!

Interesting fact about Nick P: As a complete sports nut I have been lucky enough to attend many football, rugby and cricket World Cup finals – unfortunately, though, none of them featuring a Welsh team! But who knows what the future may bring.

Role description: I focus on applying the SSi methodology to language learning in schools, starting with Welsh for English-medium schools and developing English for Tamil-, Sinhalese- and Mandarin-medium schools.

Time with SSi: I started creating experimental SSi programmes in 2016 with Portuguese and Chinese. I officially joined the company in May 2021.

Languages: Spanish, a reasonable amount of Chinese and French and I’m working on Welsh, Portuguese and German.

Interesting fact about Tom C: I have 8 children, I play jazz piano and I’ve written books on problem-solving published in 6 languages.