Our Experts

Cheryl Baker Director
(BA, Dip.Ed. TESL, MA Applied Linguistics)

Cheryl has a Master of Applied Linguistics in which she specialised in intercultural communication.  She has a strong background (13 years) in training people from different cultures, both in Australia and overseas. 

In addition to having worked in England, Switzerland, Thailand, Korea and China, Cheryl has experience in 27 countries. 

One of her most notable overseas assignments was to set up a cross-cultural business course for Monash University at the International Business Institute of Shanghai University in China. Cheryl formerly sub-contracted for Managing Differences and more recently with Australian Volunteers International (the former the Overseas Service Bureau) as a cross-cultural consultant in the corporate training department. With Australian Volunteers International, Cheryl designed and delivered pre-departure, re-entry, inpatriation, area briefings and international negotiation sessions for companies such as Merryl Lynch, Western Mining and Ford Credit Asia Pacific. 

She also delivered cultural awareness and communication programs for Australian Volunteers International staff.  She regularly delivers programs for Adult Migrant Education Services (AMES) including sessions for survivors of torture and trauma.  She is a member of the International Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR), and a member of the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI).


Joanne Clarke
(BBSC Grad Dip Health Psych)

Joanne Clarke is a consulting psychologist and an associate member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS).

She is in the process of completing a Master of Applied Psychology. She has experience in the fields of Organisational Psychology, Counselling, Educational and Developmental Psychology.

Joanne's focus is on improving the effectiveness of the individual, the team and the organisation and managing the process of change in a pro-active and purposeful way.

Joanne provides psychometric assessment tests in order to aid organisations in their selection of international personnel and to facilitate team development of existing staff.  She offers organisational review and re- design, strategic planning managerial communication and mediation.

Joanne also offers a variety of workshops for both executives and their families who are leaving for, or returning from overseas. These workshops address issues such as: career path planning, successfully adapting to change and stress management. With each of her services, Joanne is able to bring to bear the rigour, objectivity and ethics of applied psychology. The trust between her client and herself is of fundamental importance and she places a high value on the integrity of her work practices.Joanne has visited 18 countries across Europe, Asia and Latin America. She has also worked abroad.


Other Experts

We also employ a number of other experts, including host nationals of target cultures and Australian business people who regularly do business with target nationals. 

Our staff are all very well travelled and they have first hand experience of overseas locations and cultures.