IDP Canada Team

Onshore Student Recruitment Team

Ranjitha Gowda - Education Counsellor

Ranjitha specializes in international mentoring students to find the right university and presenting their best applications to gain admissions to highly selective schools, colleges and universities. She guides international students who have already arrived in Canada for college and university enrollments and transfers. 

Ranjitha is a certified counsellor by Personal Counselling Skills in India, with her 7+ years as an education counsellor, she has successfully facilitated student admissions and transfers to reputed institutions located in Canada, USA, and Germany.

Yumin Gwak - Education Counsellor

Yumin was born and raised in South Korea. She has completed her B.A. in English Literature and Language and holds an associate degree in Community Development.

Before joining IDP, Yumin has 7+ years of experience in program development and international student recruitment across public and private post-secondary institutions in Canada and abroad. Yumin is also a TESOL licensed ESL instructor.

Alex Liang - Education Counsellor

As an onshore education counsellor, Alex is responsible for providing student placement services to international students already present in Canada. A graduate in Business Administration, Alex has 10+ years of experience in advising international students on admission processes and academic programs in both China and Canada. Having been an international student himself, Alex credits his personal experience to his enhanced understanding and ability to service international student needs.

Sam Lu - Education Counsellor

Sam was born in Taiwan and moved to Canada at the age of 12. A graduate of UNBC, Sam has spent the last nine years of his career in the education industry, the last five of which he worked as an Education Counsellor at IDP Taiwan. 

With years of counselling experience behind him, Sam has an excellent grasp of the Canadian educational sector and has guided many students towards admissions into the U15 and other top-ranking universities. Earlier in 2019, Sam relocated to IDP Toronto and looks forward to continuing his passion for helping students find the best educational fit here.

Karan Suri - Education Counsellor

As an Education Counsellor for Canada’s onshore student recruitment team, Karan is responsible for international student placement within Canada.

Karan was born and raised in India and moved to Canada in 2012 as an international student. After completing a two-year post-graduation diploma in Global Business Management from North Island College, Karan joined the retail sector to work in customer service. He later transitioned his career into immigration services and international recruitment by qualifying as a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC). Prior to joining IDP, Karan worked as a Regional Sales and Student Recruitment Manager at VanWest College, Vancouver.

Amy Ma - Business Unit Manager – Student Recruitment

Amy is responsible for growing the IDP client portfolio in Canada, managing and improving existing client relationships, and in supporting the work of IDP network colleagues.

Amy comes to IDP most-recently from Quad Learning, where she worked for almost three years as Manager for Greater China and East Asia, launching their flagship US College Pathway Program. Prior to this role, Amy spent three-and-a-half years with IDP China in Shanghai, as Client Relations and Events Management Lead, where she planned and promoted student-recruitment events, work closely with the five on-shore teams to facilitate client visits and engagement, advise clients on strategic planning, and execute in-country marketing plans.

Sanaa Al Hasni - Destination Business Development Manager

Sanaa joins IDP Canada Student Placement as Business Unit Manager on a temporary assignment till September 2020.

Sanaa previously spent eight years with IDP in her career. Initially, at IDP Saudi Arabia as an Education Counselor, she then moved to Dubai, where she was promoted to different roles at IDP before becoming Business Unit Manager. Sanaa was also the process champion for the newly launched global “CRM” to ensure complete utilization and critical feedback for the enhancement of the platform. She left IDP to move to Canada in 2015 and worked as an international and domestic admissions coordinator at a private college in Toronto for 3 years.

IDP Canada Team

Michael Poblete - Marketing Manager

Michael is responsible for leading marketing initiatives for IDP Canada.

Michael has always enjoyed helping and watching businesses grow. Growing up in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), his interest in business was further inspired by the Canadian business reality show ‘Shark Tank’. Seeing entrepreneurs on TV and hearing them try to understand their customer’s behaviour lead Michael to study Psychology at York University, Brand Management at Seneca College, and Digital Marketing and Analytics through countless hours of self-studying and practice.

Before arriving at IDP, Michael has lead marketing teams with a heavy focus on driving digital change and results. Most recently, he spent the last four years within the Education Industry helping Canada’s top educational publisher, Nelson Education, transform their online presence by growing their social media following from 1000 followers to over 75000 and helped launch two new revenue-driving e-commerce stores. Outside of work, Michael enjoys listening to marketing audio books, cooking, MMA, Jiu Jitsu, and basketball.

Mishal Eshai - Marketing Coordinator

Mishal supports marketing activities for both the Partner Relations and IELTS teams to help meet IDP’s objectives and targets in Canada. In addition to running point on various marketing initiatives including stakeholder engagement, Mishal manages and creates content for IDP Canada’s internal and external communication channels.

A graduate of McGill University, Mishal has 7+ years of experience working in international education and has formerly worked as a student counsellor with IDP in Kuwait.

Jimena Romero - IELTS Operations Coordinator
(Canada & Latin America)

As the IELTS Operations Coordinator, Jimena manages the day-to-day functionality of the Toronto office.

Her responsibilities include office management, administration, logistics, bookkeeping, and supporting the Melbourne Finance teams with Canadian billing inquiries. She possesses strong attention to detail, she's a self-starter and a great team player. Jimena is effective at planning, organizing and managing priorities. 

Jimena joined IDP Canada team in August 2019. She is a highly motivated professional with over ten years of experience in logistics, customer service, administration and general accounting. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public accounting from Mexico City School of Business and Management, and a Post Grad in International trade commerce import-export from Montreal La Salle College. She speaks Spanish, English and French.

IDP Connect Team

Christine Wach - Director of Client Partnerships

Christine leads the IDP Connect Canada team, including strategic partnerships across digital recruitment and student placement. Christine joined IDP Connect with 15 years’ experience in post-secondary education including international recruitment, partnerships, IELTS testing, and tech-driven student support programs.

Lexie Axel-Berg - Client Director

Lexie joined IDP Connect in 2012 and brings global experience to the Canada team. In previous roles within IDP Connect, she delivered digital campaigns for UK and US institutions. In her current role, Lexie leads on digital recruitment to support Canadian partners who have focused on traditional recruitment methods. Through her time at IDP Connect Canada she has supported the integration of the Core Membership for the market.

George Kaberman - Network Engagement Manager

As the Network Engagement Manager, George manages the day-to-day liaising between IDP Canada clients and our global network on Fam tours, webinars, international recruitment events and much more.

George holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from York University and a Post-Grade in Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management from Seneca College.

Luna Das Bangia - Client Director

Luna Das is an experienced leader in international education with 15+ years of experience and has held leadership roles in dynamic and diverse organizations such as – Canadian Education Center, Fulbright Commission- Education USA, Middlebury College and IDP Connect across various countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Currently, Luna works in Toronto as the Client Director for IDP Connect responsible for the delivery of student placement and digital marketing services to Canadian higher education institutions.

Premal Modha - Senior Client Manager

Born and raised in Winnipeg, MB, Prem is a Senior Client Manager, bringing almost a decade’s worth of international education experience including time as a Student Recruitment Officer for UWinnipeg and York University. An extensive traveller, Prem has developed an in-depth knowledge of student recruitment. He uses this knowledge to foster and maintain positive working relationships with client institutions.

Tal Sethi - Client Manager

Tal has over seven years of experience in the higher education sector, serving a wide range of roles in student advising, recruitment, event coordination, and partner relations. Being a former International Recruitment Officer at York University, he has a thorough understanding of college and university needs. Additionally, he has experience advising and recruiting students in South Asia, Asia Pacific, GCC, Caribbean, USA, and Canada.

IELTS Team

Ismete Kroi-Malasllani - IELTS Administrator - IDP Canada National Testing Unit

Ismete manages the overall operations of the IDP Canada National Testing Unit.

Ismete comes to IDP from Tirana, Albania, where she worked for three years in the role of Test Centre Administrator for the British Council. In this role, Ismete oversaw the administration of IELTS and UKVI testing, as well as other academic exams.

Muhammad Fahad Rafique - Deputy Administrator - IDP National Testing Unit

Muhammad Fahad is responsible for ensuring a first-class customer experience across all of IDP's National Testing Unit venues. He supports the setting up of new venues, training new and current test day staff and managing test day operations.

Born and raised in Dubai, U.A.E., Fahad has a post-graduate degree in Business with more than 10+ years of experience in Human Resource and Logistics Management. Prior to joining IDP in Canada, Fahad has also worked with both the British Council and IDP in Dubai as a Test Day Supervisor for 7+ years.

Sabrina Louie - Deputy Administrator - IDP National Testing Unit

In her role, Sabrina assists candidates throughout the IELTS process, from general inquiries to registration, using the highest standards of customer service. On the operations side, Sabrina is responsible for managing IELTS staff and venues to ensure smooth and professional test delivery.

A native Torontonian, Sabrina holds a B.F.A. in Theatre Technical Production. A keen traveller, she left home to complete an M. Ed. from Framingham State University in the United States, following which she spent a decade teaching in Asia.

Geoff Staudt - National IELTS Operations Manager, Canada

Geoff is responsible for meeting company objectives and targets in the IELTS business unit and leads IDP's existing third-party test centres in expanding operations across the country. 

Geoff comes to IDP from the retail giant Target Canada, where he worked as a Senior Business Partner. Prior to his work with Target Canada, Geoff spent five years at Loblaw Companies Limited where he worked in multiple roles, optimizing business-unit purchasing models, and conducting programs aimed at driving sales and profitability.

Alex Contreras - Manager - IELTS Operations (Latin America)

Alex provides day-to-day operational assistance to Canadian IDP Test Centres by acting as a reference for IELTS procedure and as a point of liaison between centres, Cambridge English, and IELTS Central Operations. He also supports business development activities by reporting on market data, test-taker demographics, and competitor activities.

Before joining IDP, Alex worked in the language sector for several years. He was the Academic Director at a downtown Toronto language school and has spent many years teaching English in Saudi Arabia, Germany and Japan.