George Brown Polytechnic is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and other Indigenous peoples who have lived here over time. We are grateful to share this land as treaty people who learn, work and live in the community with each other.
The TLC team brings learning supports to all George Brown Polytechnic students. The TLC's main focus is on development literacy, numeracy, and learning skills to support course learning throughout all college programs. Read on below to see how the skills and experience of our team further our united goal of making learning accessible for all of our students.
Staff
Michael (he/him) is the TLC Advisor at the Waterfront campus. He has an M.Ed. in Languages and Literacies Education from OISE, an M.A. in Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, a Teacher of Adults Certificate, and OCELT Certification from TESL Ontario. Michael has worked as a Research Assistant, a CELBAN Assessor, an Assessment Advisor, a translator, an editor, and has over twenty years of teaching experience. He has taught in China and in Turkey, as well as at Centennial College, Seneca College, George Brown Polytechnic and York University. In his spare time, he likes reading and studying foreign languages.
Amanda (she/her) is the TLC advisor at the St. James campus. She is OCT Certified (Ontario College of Teachers) and holds a BA in English Language and Literature, a BEd, and a Master’s degree in Education (curriculum and pedagogy). Amanda has nearly a decade of experience in secondary schools across the GTA. Within the public and private sector, Amanda enjoyed a variety of roles such as English Department Head, Student Success Teacher, and Assistant Soccer Coach. Between these roles, Amanda also travelled around Southeast Asia where she volunteered in a Thai school and ran literacy workshops across Singapore.
Alana (she/her) is the TLC Advisor at the Casa Loma campus. She has a Master of Education in Language, Culture and Teaching, a Graduate Diploma in Post-Secondary Education: Community, Culture and Policy, and TESL Canada certification. With 15+ years of experience teaching general and academic English in the private language industry, Alana is committed to ensuring students enjoy their studies and achieve their language goals.
Sergio (he/they) is the TLC math Advisor at St. James, Casa Loma and Waterfront Campuses. They hold a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in mathematics from Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla and a PhD in mathematics from York University. They have taught mathematics at the high school, college, and university level, and have been tutoring from elementary to university level. They frequently visit different stages of math anxiety (depending on the area and topic of the trigger), but they’re ready to tame their anxiety with every new question they do not know how to answer.
Henrique (he/him) is the Accounting Advisor at the Tutoring and Learning Centre at the 200 King Campus. He holds a BEng in Industrial Engineering and a Business Diploma from George Brown Polytechnic. Henrique previously owned a small business, which gives him both academic and hands‑on experience with the subject. Before becoming an Advisor, he worked at the TLC as a peer tutor, where he valued empathy in education and supported students in building confidence, feeling comfortable asking questions, and connecting with a supportive academic community.
Rebecca (she/her) is a TLC Advisor at the St James and TMU campus. She holds a BA in English, an MA in Communications, a TESL certificate and a graduate certificate in Strategic Human Resources Management. Rebecca considers herself an enthusiastic lifelong learner and has enjoyed travelling and teaching around the world including teaching assignments in Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Japan. She is excited to be part of the TLC community and looks forward to supporting others on their learning journey.
Katharine (she/her) is the Senior Manager, Learning Support Services and has worked with many student support services both at GBC and other Canadian post-secondary institutions. She has taught professional writing, literature and ESL courses and has created curricula and supports for writing and research practices and more broadly, learning and study skills for students. She enjoys helping students improve their academic performance by finding skills and strategies that work for them and their unique needs, as well as their academic disciplines. She is also a former TLC Advisor.
Linh (she/her) (on leave) is the TLC Advisor at the St. James Campus. She is a certified teacher with OCT (Ontario College of Teachers) and TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) Canada. She holds a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto. She has 8+ years of teaching experience in ESL, Science, Math, and Social Studies, where she has worked with students at the high school, college and university level. More recently, Linh has worked in a university research lab, with the recruitment and coordinating of numerous developmental psychology projects. Linh has a passion for working with ESL students and loves learning about different languages and cultures from all around the world!
Peer Tutors, Peer Leaders and TLC assistants
The TLC includes a large team of Peer Tutors, Peer Leaders, and TLC Assistants. They are GBC students and University of Waterloo co-op students who have demonstrated strong academic achievement, with many of them having completed other college or university programs before coming to GBC. Through the completion of the TLC Tutor Training and Development Program, certified as an International Tutor Training Program, TLC Tutors develop and enhance tutoring skills and strategies to effectively support students in reaching their academic goals. For more information on becoming a tutor, please visit Becoming a TLC Tutor or Peer Leader.