I have been instructing the Flight Attendant Program, at the Surrey campus of CTC, since January 2009.

At the age of 15, I was an immigrant to Canada, when my family and I settled in Calgary, Alberta. After finishing my schooling, I applied to Air Canada at the tender age of 18 and was hired as a Flight Attendant. That was the beginning of my life-style of traveling and experiencing what the world had to offer. Much to my own surprise, and indeed shock at how quickly time flies, I remained in the position of Flight Attendant for 30 years.

During that time span, I dappled in other areas, such as customer service, business owner, became a Certified Reflexologist and Certified Facilitator of a Personal Empowerment program. I also raised twin sons, and encouraged them to travel and see the world, as I believed that was one of the highest forms of education.

Throughout my career with Air Canada, I was able to experience a multitude of cultures, with International travel, and overcame many challenges within the industry, embracing every moment as an avenue for personal growth.

I continued to encourage my children to travel and to understand how truly the world is a small place, to learn from every experience and to have the courage to discover this for themselves.

I feel very fortunate now, to be working for Canadian Tourism College, where I have the opportunity to share my knowledge of In-Flight procedures and travel experiences. My present role as Flight Attendant Instructor is extremely fulfilling as I witness the transition of the students, over the 3-month course period. I see these young people emerge as confident individuals, ready to “spread their wings” and go forth with courage to explore the world we live in.

Joanne has spent here entire career in the Hospitality Industry and has worked extensively leading large hospitality organizations throughout Europe, South American, Canada, USA, Asia and the Caribbean.

Formally trained in Business Management, Joanne Graduated first from Quincy College with an Associates Degree in Business Management and then from the prestigious Carroll School of Management at Boston College, in Newton Mass., USA, with a Bachelors in Science, Business Management. Recruited directly from Boston College into the Hospitality Industry Joanne began immediately working internationally with her first job posting being London, England. She most recently obtained her MBA from City University of Seattle and at this time is pursuing her Doctorate in Business Administration.

Having worked Globally with a number of the largest Canadian and US Tour Operators, with direct responsibility for all Hotel, Tour, Cruise, Transportation, Training and Financial divisions of these global operations, Joanne brings an enormous amount of talent  and enthusiasm to her work at CTC.

Joanne resides with her husband, Harald Kurtzke, C.H.A., a distinguished Hotelier, in the Vancouver lower mainland, with their two children. Joanne enjoys spending time with her family, sailing, golfing, reading, gardening, entertaining and traveling. One of Joanne’s favorite pastimes is following the global financial markets.

Joanne is outgoing and has an enormous amount of experience working with culturally diverse organizations and the people they employ. She enjoys sharing her decades of experiences with her students and continues today to have a childlike curiosity and enthusiam for the hospitality industry and the every changing national, international and global markets this industry represents.

Joanne is excited to be a part of the instructor team of Canadian Tourism College and values the academic acumen this accredited college represents.

Anne has enjoyed a long rewarding career in the tourism industry dating from 1979. She combines continuing travel, formal education, and industry work experience to bring a timely, vital, and a relevant focus to the classroom. Anne has extensive experience in many areas of the tourism industry including Airline, Travel Agency, Sales, Cruise line, and education. Anne has successfully attained the Certified Travel Counsellor designation and an Instructor's Diploma from the Ministry of Education.

Anne is happy to be a part of a company which works with it's mission statement always in view and believes this philosophy, that we are "Creating Career Opportunities in a Changing World" and is the catalyst which gives her students the drive, skills, and belief that their dream career is attainable. In the classroom Anne combines this college philosophy, with the ambition to "teach with passion and compassion". Students will find her classroom a safe environment for the exchange of ideas, a place of fun and learning.

David, who is British, has spent his entire career to date in the hospitality industry and has been fortunate to work extensively throughout Europe and North America.

Trained in Hotel and Resort Management, David has pursued both academic studies along with practical applications of the business. David gained his Masters Degree at Oxford University and has also majored in management and business studies alongside hospitality based accreditation.

Having worked for a number of large hotel chains such as Crest International, Hilton, Trust House Forte and Grand Metropolitan Hotel Group, David returned to university to gain academic qualification along side his extensive experience. During his career, David has held many key positions in all hospitality environments worldwide and his most recent commercial position as Director of Commercial Operations gave insight and opportunity to work at a strategic level. David has lectured at a number of British universities in restaurant management, culinary arts, marketing, business finance, human resource management, and organizational behaviour.

David has part ownership of a large and progressive hotel and conference centre in the South West of England and still enjoys the involvement this generates.

David has an energetic nature, outgoing personality and enthusiasm for the hospitality industry and enjoys working with a diverse student base.

David lives locally in An more with his wife and enjoys long walks, reading and entertaining.

David is pleased to be part of the instructor team at the Canadian Tourism College and believes the experience gained during his career gives his students the opportunity and belief to reach for the stars and beyond.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my career as a Travel Professional and continue to seek ways to continue my education while building and maintaining the standards of this industry. It is a pleasure to participate in the lives of our students as they pursue their dream of a career in travel.

I became a member of Canadian Institute of Travel Counsellors (CITC) in 1978 and earned my Provincial Instructors Diploma in 2000.

In May 2008 I travelled to Toronto for the Annual General Meeting of CITC and was delighted to be recognized for my ongoing involvement in this organization by receiving the Al Muir Award for my "Outstanding Contribution to CITC" in 2007.

Canadian Tourism College has generously supported the UNICEF "Schools in Africa" program believing that education can and will change the fortunes of students in less prosperous nations. As a member of the UNICEF team I was privileged to be recognized in early 2008 with the "New Volunteer Award" for 2007. Our college has raised more than $6000.00 toward this worthy cause.

My induction into the world of aviation was a natural progression of events, thanks largely to my father, a reserve RAF pilot during WWII, who subsequently enjoyed testing his limits for many years there after as a private pilot.

At the age of 20, I joined Ward air Canada, then a new charter airline owned and operated by Max Ward out of Toronto, Canada. Although I was passionate about the idea of being a world traveller, most of my flights kept me relatively close to home base. I was restless and ready to expand my new wings. Luck and timing were on my side and, in 1973, I received my letter of acceptance with Canadian Pacific Airlines (known in later years as Canadian Airlines). Initial training took place in Vancouver, BC, where I earned my right to join the ranks of CP's professional air crew. My career with the airline spanned many years, countless adventures, misadventures, and three mergers!

In the mid-90's, I had a compelling urge to unearth my brain and return to University. This was made possible through a leave of absence (frequently offered by the company during slow periods to avoid lay-offs.) Since human behavior has always fascinated me, I chose to study psychology.

Approximately 1-1/2years into my studies, all leaves were recalled due to an unusually busy summer season. At that point, I faced the most difficult decision of my life to put my education on hold or gracefully terminate the only career I had ever known. Since I am a gal who loves to flirt with the odds, I chose to trade my wings for a pair of land legs and complete my university studies.

In 1998, I joined the wonderful team of professionals at Canadian Tourism College, where I assist students in fulfilling their practicum requirements and employment wish lists. Working with our culturally diverse student body is an incredibly fulfilling and familiar experience for me, and proof, beyond doubt, that there really is life beyond the airline!

Best wishes to all!
Jan Sinclair, BA - Flight Attendant Instructor

John was born in Toronto and moved soon thereafter to Peterborough Ontario.

John participated in many extended canoe trips though Algonquin Park as a young boy. During his teenage years he moved on to race Enduro motorcycles, rock climb and scuba dive. John's boyhood fishing interest culminated in experiences with the professional bass fishing series in eastern North America.

During his commerce degree at the University of Windsor, John continued to dive and his interest in the sport of mountain biking began. He participated in many pro-am events in the Windsor area. Cross-country skiing became a great escape from the rigors of studying during his commerce degree.

Following graduation, John moved to the West Coast and settled in Whistler BC. He became involved in the whitewater raft industry and gained experience while working with the mountain's first aid services. John became Operations Manager of a local snowmobile/filming company and enjoyed a life of mountains, movies and fun.

During the summer and fall of 1995 John continued his love of international travel by travelling to India where he worked as a River guide. He returned to manage a rafting company here in BC.  HE has recently completed his Education degree at UBC and continues to instruct Avalanche Awareness course on the south coast.

John has worked at the Canadian Tourism College for seven years as the Adventure Tourism Program Coordinator and Instructor. He enjoys the opportunity to share his vast experience with the students in the Adventure Tourism program, to motivate, to educate and provide quality leadership while training in the classroom and on the off site learning experiences.

John continues to combine his work with his love for the outdoors. He continues to seek relevant industry experience by guiding and rafting in the summer months in between the semesters at the College and updating his own certifications. John keeps in touch with his wide variety of adventure tourism contacts enabling him to assist graduates in their career efforts.  His most recent recreation and certification, kiteboarding , has lead to the wind school now included in the Adventure programs.

John Grant, B.Com, B Ed

Bruce was born in Ontario. Early on, he and his family moved south of the border, taking up residence in Massachusetts, where Bruce spent his days exploring the forests and coastline of an area steeped in North American history. Later in childhood, Bruce and his family moved across the Atlantic to Stockholm and the remote waterways of Sweden, where he enjoyed trekking in the Alps and explorations throughout Europe. A few years later, Ontario beckoned again and back they went. Bruce spent his summers exploring the rivers and lakes of Canada. This included a 36-day canoe trip along the Missinabi and Fire rivers, where he first experienced the joys of remoteness and the camaraderie of travelling in a nomadic wilderness group.

Upon their return to Europe, Bruce's family settled in Geneva, Switzerland. The Swiss had the foresight to offer students every Thursday off from school to go skiing. This helped nurture Bruce's passion for exploring the mountains, glaciers and high peaks. During these years, he developed a thirst for adventure and a commitment to following his heart. Remoteness and wilderness were in his blood, so Bruce returned to Canada to experience North America's fresh-water sailing capital: Kingston, Ontario. Many days were spent honing his skills and knowledge of the wind and water, by sailboat and sailboard, while he pursued his studies at Queen's University. Once a degree was completed, Bruce's wanderlust struck again. The next three years were spent following the sun, wind and snow in such places as New Zealand, Australia, Greece, Switzerland, the Virgin Islands and California.

1989 was the year of the Volkswagen van and the move to BC to attend the Capilano College's Outdoor Recreation Management and Wilderness Leadership Certification program. This led to a job with BC Parks as a Back Country Ranger. During this time Bruce began working as an avalanche instructor and ski guide while developing and launching his first business, Sage Wilderness Experiences.

In 1990, the ocean kayak replaced the canoe as Bruce's watercraft of choice. This led to certification with the Association of Canadian Sea Kayak Guides and the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC, followed by the inception of the Canadian Federation of Ocean Kayak Educators and Harmonic Wilderness Travel.

Bruce's guiding experiences include expedition-style tours in Alaska as an instructor with the National Outdoor Leadership School, several leadership courses on the Queen Charlotte Islands, as well as tours down the entire coast of BC and the west coast of Vancouver Island. Today, Bruce embraces several new challenges associated with being a professional guide, entrepreneur and outdoor educator. These include instructing for Capilano College, the University of British Columbia, the Canadian Tourism College, as well as curriculum design and implementation for high school outdoor education programs.

Bruce is currently enrolled at Royal Roads University in Victoria BC, where he is taking a Masters Degree in Leadership and Training. Guiding and educating are a way of life for Bruce, he continues to find the life style stimulating, fulfilling and ever-changing. Bruce's heart-felt love for wild places helps to facilitate his students' growth, skill development and appreciation for travelling in these fragile areas with empathy, knowledge and humility.

Bruce Wilson, BA

I had the wonderful experience of growing up in a Tourism oriented family with many miles of travel having been completed by my early teens. My parents owned and operated a very successful travel agency in Ontario, however, the cold winters and short summers led them to reconsidering their life style. The West Coast in their vision, they relocated to Vancouver. I attended Simon Fraser University for two years, majoring in Business Administration, however, the travel bug started to merge once again. My Father, having opened another travel agency in downtown Vancouver offered me a position working for him.

Tourism training at that time was limited with courses being held by individual companies within the industry. I gained by knowledge in airline tariffs and ticketing by several courses with Air Canada in Montreal, from there I trained with Via Rail and then gained on the job experience. Through the years I have worked for a number of different companies and have gained experience in various areas such as retail travel agency, group travel departments, leisure travel, corporate travel, tour escorting, in bound tour operations, meet and greet for several cruise ship companies such as Princess Cruises and Holland America, and adding to the list have opened and managed two travel agencies.

My introduction to Tourism Education came when I accepted a position as a tutor with the Open Learning Agency and then I found myself coaching and mentoring students through a Distance Learning environment. I joined the Canadian Travel School, now known as the Canadian Tourism College in 1991 and expanded my educational skills into the class room environment. I soon found this to be a most rewarding experience as I now could relate my many experiences to the students of my class. However, in order to maintain my professionalism as an Educator, I too, had to go back to school and work towards obtaining my Provincial Instructors Diploma which was accomplished in 1995.

Since I started teaching with the Canadian Tourism College, I have found many rewards in life, just seeing and hearing of the successes of my students in the industry and knowing I had a part in that happening is very overwhelming and fulfilling.

Klara was born and raised in Slovakia. She completed her Master's degree in teaching at the P.J.Safarik University and then moved to Canada 14years ago.

Klara had a keen interest in gaining knowledge about the tourism industry so she completed a Travel and Tourism course to prepare her to work for the airlines.

She has enjoyed working at Vancouver International Airport for over 10 years with Globe Ground North America, an Airline Handling Company. Klara has worked as a Passenger Check-in Agent, a Ticketing Agent, Baggage Agent, as a Lead Hand and Flight Controller.

Klara currently works as at the Airport and teaches the Airline Customer Service Representative Certificate program for CTC part time in the evenings.

For over the last 3 years of teaching, she has helped to guide and train students to have the skills to join the exciting tourism industry. Her students enjoy her hands on knowledge of what it's like in the "real" world at the Airport and being that Klara is at the Terminal on a regular basis, she can share all her news on who's hiring, new procedures, security issues, current events and what's evolving.

With over 20 years experience working in the post secondary and corporate training area, Rob brings to the College a wealth of knowledge and expertise in software training as well as business and corporate development. As an instructor of our COE program Rob calls on his extensive experience working in a variety of corporate environments and brings this knowledge to each student he works with. As a Microsoft Master Instructor, IC3 Authorized Instructor together with thousands of training hours Rob's, skill and keen sense of humour ensures that each person's learning experience is both enjoyable as well as informative. Rob provides students and corporate clients with a deeper understanding of how software can be implemented in the workplace.

"Office technology skills are what set you apart from the competition." says Rob, "Business managers must constantly evaluate their implementation of software as a tool to maximize efficiency. They also need to ensure their staff are fully trained in how to use software and work in an computerized environment." Today, many business managers look for certification such as IC3 and MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist) when hiring staff.

Born and raised in Vancouver, Irene has experienced the best of all worlds regarding travel and tourism. Having had the opportunity of living and working in Australia, New Zealand, England and the Virgin Islands, Irene's portfolio of professional experience and knowledge has transcended many areas of expertise. Additionally, Irene's personal travel history contributes to the overall ambience of the learning experience.

Irene brings a reality and professionalism to her classes using a mix of industry expertise and professional development. Irene's Adult Education and Provincial Instructors Diploma is a strong and dominant force in her unique and interesting teaching and delivery style. Student's gain a dichotomy of professional industry related experience and information in addition to valuable and deliberate life skills and real industry perspective.

In February 2009 Irene and her husband experienced a once in a lifetime two week Tanzanian safari followed by a post-safari on the spice island of Zanzibar.

Over the past few years Irene has successfully completed teaching assignments in Guangzhou, China whereby her knowledge and experience of cultural diversity was highlighted and engaged. Irene is a true professional who adds wisdom, knowledge and a touch of humor to the already successful faculty staff of the Canadian Tourism College.

Born in Russia, Kirill left his country at age 12 to live in the United Kingdom. Later, he moved to Switzerland to pursue his college education. Following completion of his studies in Switzerland and having acquired his BA degree and Post-Graduate Diploma in Hospitality Management, he held positions of increased importance in European, American and Canadian businesses and educational institutions. He has spent the last 11 years in hospitality related fields (seven years in academic instruction) and graduated with a M.S. degree in Economics in 2005.

Prior to committing to his career in education, Kirill worked for a private hotel in Switzerland and for a Starwood hotel company in the USA, gaining valuable hands on experience to become a successful hotelier and educator.

Kirill's career as an academic instructor started in November 2001 when he joined the private Swiss owned college, located in Connecticut, USA. This college, where 90% of students are international from over 30 countries, exposed Kirill to many cultures and taught him to apply a variety of teaching methods to create a stimulating learning environment for his diverse audience. Since then, Kirill has lectured at several colleges in Canada and provided numerous hospitality management seminars and presentations in Russia, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, and USA. He is a faculty member of American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA) and has experience in developing curriculum for the Hospitality Management Diploma program.

Kirill is a diligent educator who blends innovative and traditional instruction methods to produce challenging and fun atmosphere in the classroom. His knowledge, enthusiasm, and professionalism allow him to make a significant contribution to CTC's educational system. Kirill is committed to excellence in teaching and to creating and fostering an efficient and productive learning environment. He enjoys to work as a team with other faculty and staff members at CTC to create an interrelated and coherent educational experience for students and help them become successful individuals.