Meet the Guardianship Team

Debbie Cowley (CertED PCET)

Debbie joined Gabbitas as Director of Guardianship in July 2009. Prior to joining the company, she was Head of ICT and Business Curriculum at an independent girls’ boarding school in Kent for six years, where she taught students from years 5 to ‘A’ level and was a form tutor for years 8 & 9. Debbie has also run her own business and worked for a Further Education College for three years as an IT Lecturer.

Debbie has two children who were both educated at independent boarding schools and have since graduated from university. Child welfare and safety has always been a key area that Debbie has been both interested and involved in, and this interest, together with her experiences as a teacher and ‘mum’, make her ideally suited to her current role.

Jennifer Britton

After spending eight years in Asia teaching English as a second language, Mandarin speaker Jennifer decided to return to the UK to further her career working with international students. With an understanding of various cultures, she believed her rich experiences as a teacher and as a citizen of Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia would be best put to use by supporting overseas students who are coming to the UK to study.

Her job as Client Relationship Co-Ordinator is to ensure the smooth transition of each and every one of our students' lives here in the UK as well as building strong bonds with Houseparents and Guardian Families alike.

Danielle Radford

Client Relationship Co-ordinator

Danielle has lived in Spain since 2006 before becoming part of the team here at Gabbitas in 2011. She has previously worked as a travel agent, a child minder and a team leader in a retail company. With all of these different roles added to the experience of living abroad, it has given her the ideal understanding to liaise with parents and schools about the welfare of children who are part of our Guardianship programme - and also helps her understand the needs of foreign students who are living away from home.

As a Guardianship Client Coordinator, Danielle deals with our Chinese and Korean students, who are boarding at independent schools throughout the UK. Originally from Devon, Spanish-speaking Danielle studied Psychology and English Language at Richard Huish Sixth Form College in Somerset. She enjoys music and travel in her spare time.

Barbara Hurrell

Client Relationship Co-ordinator

Barbara brings a variety of experience to her role including advice, finance & Welfare. Gaining qualifications in library & information services, careers guidance and healthcare, with a special interest in British sign language. The recruitment and support of our Guardian Families are her primary concern, co-ordinating our regional Guardian officers across the UK and to make sure the accommodation made available to the students in our care is of an exceptionally high standard.

Communicating and sharing some of the wonderful life-enriching experiences our Guardian Families and students have together is an important part of the work Barbara does to make sure that Gabbitas remains one of the foremost Guardianship providers as recommended by the Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students.

Russia

Yulia Ulyamaeva (BEd Hons, PGCE)

Russian Client Consultant

Born and bred in Russia, Yulia moved to the UK after graduating from University in 2001. She continued her education in London by obtaining a PGCE with an ESOL subject specialism qualification from the Institute of Education, University of London. She has taught English to foreign students since 2003. Additionally, she has also provided careers advice and guidance support to her learners.

Yulia’s extended knowledge of the Russian and British systems of education along with her teaching experience helps her deliver excellent services to our Russian students. Yulia is responsible for the smooth running of the Russian Department. She ensures that all our students and their parents are looked after and happy with Gabbitas’ services.

Ksenija Persanova

Russian Client Consultant

Born in Lithuania, Vilnius to a Russian speaking family, Ksenija moved to the UK in 2010. She obtained a BA degree in English Language and Literature and gained a Masters in Interpreting and Translation at Vilnius University. While working as a freelance interpreter, Ksenija pursued a career of teaching English to adults and children which became a passion for many years ahead. She has taught corporate courses, international students from countries all over the world, special needs students as well as provided one-to-one tuition.

Ksenija’s vast experience with international students, as well as her teaching background, helps her understand the challenges Russian-speaking students and their parents face and provide the ultimate support they need. As a Russian Client Consultant, Ksenija is always eager to go that extra mile for Gabbitas clients to ensure they are getting the best service possible.

Shanghai

Sofie Liao (BSc Hons)

Representative Office Manager

Sofie is the Representative Office Manager for our Shanghai office. Born in China, she moved to Sweden when she was 10, where she was educated at an International School. On completion of her studies in Sweden, she worked as an assistant teacher before deciding to further her education by studying at Royal Holloway, University of London, where she gained a degree in Business Management.

Sofie worked in the Gabbitas London head office for over three years before being relocated to Shanghai to run the representative office. She has an excellent knowledge of boarding schools, gained from friends and relatives, and understands the needs and concerns of students from overseas. Sofie is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and Swedish and is therefore particularly well placed to be able to help parents from China who need support for their children, providing a vital link for parents who prefer to communicate with Gabbitas in these languages rather than in English.

Finance

Ian Turner

Finance Manager & Guardianship Accounts

Ian grew up and was educated on the Isle of Wight. He gained an NVQ in accounting and is continuing with his studies toward ACCA and a degree in Applied Accounting. Ian is a fluent Spanish speaker and, along with his Peruvian wife and two children, is an active member of the South American community in London. His interests are badminton, foreign languages and computer programming.

He is responsible for the administration of all client accounts in the guardianship department including expense claims from all our guardian families, transfers in and out by parents and all extra expenses incurred by students. He is also responsible for accounts payable for Gabbitas, all accounts for our overseas representative offices and a share of the emergency 24hr contact for our students.

Jean Rosete

Jean moved to the UK from the Philippines in 1985. She completed a BTEC course in Business and Finance before starting a family. In 1991, Jean then worked for Enterprise Dynamics as secretary to the Managing Director, Rosemary Brown, who was also Chairman of Gabbitas Truman and Thring. After 20 years, Jean joined Gabbitas as we know it today, working part time in our finance department.

Her main role is dealing with expense claims from our guardians and assisting the Finance Manager on other account matters. Jean can speak Tagalog and English.