Meet the StoryLearning Team

There's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes every day at StoryLearning to keep things running smoothly. Thankfully, we have a small but dedicated team of people who are passionate about languages and helping you to learn them.

Let me introduce them…

Olly Richards

Founder & CEO

Olly Richards is a teacher, author, speaker and language learner!

He discovered the power of learning through story after a terrifying near-death experience on top of a mountain.

Since then, he has published 30+ language books, worked with major universities, and featured in documentaries on the BBC.

Dave

Head of Customer Support

From: United States

Speaks:
English, Spanish, Portuguese

Wants to learn:
Russian, German

Dave was lucky enough to have a “quarter-life” crisis in his early 20s. He decided to leave everything and move to Spain!

James

Chief Operating Officer

From: Ireland

Speaks:
English, Spanish, French, Portuguese

Wants to learn:
Italian, Japanese, Turkish, Arabic

James' favourite ice-cream flavour is lemon sorbet—the bitterer, the better!

Words to live by:
“Spend more time reflecting, less time reacting.”

Cara

Blog Manager

From: Scotland

Speaks:
English, French, Spanish

Wants to learn:
Danish, Japanese

When Cara was 22, she moved by herself to a city in France that nobody had heard of, and she's lived there ever since!

Words to live by:
“When you have a cordial for your spirits, think of the good qualities of your friends: this one's capabilities, that one's self-effacement, another's generosity, and so forth. There is no surer remedy for dejection than to see examples of the different virtues displayed in the characters of those around us, exhibiting themselves as plenteously as can be. Wherefore keep them ever before you.”
—Marcus Aurelius

Madeline

Product Manager, VIP Programme Manager

From: United States

Speaks:
English, Swiss German (Zürich region), German, Spanish, some French, some Japanese

Wants to learn:
Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, and (sure, why not!) Xhosa

Madeline marvels at aqueducts—both ancient and modern.

Words to live by:
“It is not death that a man should fear, but rather he should fear never beginning to live.”
—Marcus Aurelius

Stefano

Language Specialist

From: Italy

Speaks:
Italian, English, German, Portuguese, Finnish, French, Japanese, Spanish, Romanian, Icelandic

Wants to learn:
Georgian, Turkish, Hungarian

Stefano can mix a perfect Old Fashioned, and he can do the moonwalk (but not at the same time!)

Words to live by:
“Be yourself, no matter what they say.”
—Sting

Sofía

Project Manager—StoryLearning Spanish Podcast

From: Argentina

Speaks:
Spanish, English, French, Italian

Wants to learn:
German

Sofía loves comic books and animated films (in all languages).

Lisa

Head Scriptwriter

From: South Africa

Speaks:
English, Afrikaans, Italian

Wants to learn:
Brazilian Portuguese, Swahili, Romanian, Swedish, Arabic, Japanese

Lisa is a poet. She says the real magic always happens in the mountains.

Words to live by:
“Write the truest sentence that you know.”
—Ernest Hemingway

Eric

Marketing Manager

From: United States

Speaks:
English, German, Spanish, Egyptian Arabic

Wants to learn:
French, Turkish

Eric once hitchhiked over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Dallas, Texas to Phoenix, Arizona, and took a picture with everyone who picked him up. 12 rides in total. Lots of great stories, but even greater people.

Words to live by:
“Champions are made when nobody is watching.”

Ines

Product Development Assistant

From: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Speaks:
Croatian, Serbian, English

Wants to learn:
Italian, German, Spanish

Ines is a jack of all trades and always wants to learn new things and skills. She is a quick study!

Words to live by:
“Your worth is not measured by your success, but by the impact you have on others.”

Nebojsa

Finance Assistant

From: Serbia

Speaks:
Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian, Englisn

Wants to learn:
Japanese, Spanish, German

Nebojsa is passionate about spreadsheets. He likes music, anime, podcasts, and anything that has to do with psychology and personal development. He also enjoys working out at the gym—it's the best way to build and upgrade yourself physically and mentally.

Words to live by:
“Work smart, play hard.”

Chris

Head of Teacher Training

From: United Kingdom

Speaks:
English, some German, some Polish

Wants to learn:
Vietnamese

Chris has written and recorded three albums and an EP with a friend in Malaysia.

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
—Gandhi

Wendy

YouTube Manager

From: United States

Speaks:
English, Mandarin Chinese, some German

Wants to learn:
Korean, Swedish, Thai, Spanish, Italian

Wendy has a secret talent for making ridiculously good bread, cinnamon rolls, and pie.

Words to live by:
“Our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble, but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward.”
—Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Katarina

Customer Support Assistant

From: Serbia

Speaks:
Serbian, English

Wants to learn:
Spanish, German, Hungarian

Katarina can intentionally move only her left ear!

Words to live by:
“Not my circus, not my monkey.”
—Polish Proverb

Agneza

Customer Support Assistant

From: Serbia

Speaks:
Serbian, English, Spanish, a little German

Wants to learn:
Italian

Agneza can fall asleep anywhere, at any time!

Words to live by:
“A word after a word after a word is power.”
—Margaret Atwood

Diane

VIP Teaching Coordinator

From: Morocco

Speaks:
English, French, Arabic

Diane is an experienced French teacher who teaches StoryLearning's French Uncovered programme and has is the teaching coordinator for our VIP coaching programme.

Kate

CeOLT Student Coordinator and VIP Student Accountability Manager

From: Wales

Speaks:
English

Wants to learn:
Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese

Kate is passionate about Japanese Mokuhanga (woodcuts). She loves admiring traditional prints and making her own contemporary woodcut prints.

Words to live by:
“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.”
—Rumi

Bree

VIP Salesperson

From: United States

Speaks:
English, Spanish, ASL

Wants to Learn:
French, Danish, German, Italian, Japanese

Bree started learning ballet as an adult, and is working her way up to dancing on pointe.

Words to live by:
“Your playing small does not serve the world.”
—Marianne Williamson