Every member of the Mindful Sparks team continues to be actively engaged in educational roles, whether as teachers, leaders, or support staff.
This ongoing involvement keeps us in sync with the ebb and flow of school life and enables us to offer you the most practical and relatable support.
By maintaining this connection, we are well-equipped to provide the best possible support and guidance to teachers, staff and students on their mindfulness journey.
Lilly is an experienced educator and mindfulness advocate from the UK, currently based in Bangkok, Thailand.
Her career in education began in 2006 as an ESL teacher in Italy and has since worked in England, China, Nepal, and Thailand. She worked in different ESL roles as a teacher, a global trainer for the world’s largest online ESL school, curriculum development and Q&A before moving into international schools where she has worked as a homeroom teacher, Mindfulness teacher, Pastoral Lead for Primary and DSL on the Child Protection Team. She has also volunteered with local organisations to teach children and individuals rescued from sex trafficking.
Lilly enjoys being in nature, especially being by the sea and she finds a lot of joy through movement especially, yoga, crossfit, rock climbing, running and swimming. She has been vegan since 2014 and is a big advocate for a vegan lifestyle and diet. She loves reading and for some quiet time, nothing beats curling up with a good book or a jigsaw and her cats.
Maeve Downey is a passionate advocate for mindfulness and wellness. With a background in Biochemistry and eight years of living and working in Thailand, Maeve discovered her true calling in teaching, both in the classroom and outside of it!
Her journey in the Land of Smiles ignited her deep passion for meditation, mindfulness, yoga, breathwork, and flow arts, and she became fascinated with exploring how these transformative tools can enhance not only our personal lives but also the lives of students and communities around us.
Additionally to working at Mindful Sparks, Maeve dedicates her time to teaching an upper elementary homeschool group, as well as facilitating breathwork journeys and teaching movement classes on the island of Koh Samui, Thailand.
Alice loves working with children as an Early Years teacher, especially when focusing on mental health and wellbeing.
Through her personal mindfulness practice, she has seen the power it has to help develop resilience and gratitude in classroom environments. Alice is currently undertaking a Postgraduate Certificate in Therapeutic Play Skills, which allows her to use mindfulness to support children to release emotions in play.
Alice lives and works in Bangkok, Thailand. She has always loved being part of an international community, having grown up attending an international school in France.
Kheng is an Electrical & Electronics Engineer hailing from Malaysia. He has worked in manufacturing since 2004 and has been an engineering consultant for various projects. His strong passion for building, repairing and improving things spans from complex machinery to simple gadgets.
He loves architectural and industrial design, robotics, and the development of innovative, eco-friendly manufacturing techniques.
Outside of work, Kheng is committed to leading a balanced lifestyle, dividing his time between sports, cooking, gardening, and spending time with family, friends and his cats.
Mr. Mark Renie is Principal of Delta Global School in Hanoi, Vietnam. He is an experienced international educator with 20 years of teaching and administration experience in five different countries in Asia. He has led schools in China, Thailand, and Singapore. He has a Master of Education in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Development from the University of Toronto in Canada.
Mark is a veteran curriculum designer and implementer for a number of education programs and is well versed in active, collaborative, and inquiry-based learning. His early teaching was in the primary division and he has taught at all levels of school. Mark has extensive experience in developing professional learning programs for teacher growth and development, believing that the ongoing learning of teachers is just as important as that of their students.
Developing the whole child is one of Mark’s important priorities as a school leader and wherever he has been he has focused on not only the cognitive development of young learners but also their social and emotional wellbeing. He is committed to mindfulness in education and has introduced it at his last three schools. He firmly believes that children’s socio-emotional development is not only as important as their academic development but it is the foundation for their future success in all aspects of their life.
Outside of school Mark enjoys hiking, reading and travelling. He feels privileged to have spent the past 20 years in Asia and enjoys the food and culture and people of the countries he has lived in. Through this experience he has seen the power of having an internationally minded outlook and the impact it has on building bridges and forging peace.
In 2016 Rose left a job in banking to pursue her PGCE in England and took her first teaching job in an international school in Bangkok where she worked until the summer of 2021.
The move into education was one of the best decisions of Rose’s life. She is passionate about children’s well-being and learning and is committed to learning, developing and implementing key practices such as mindfulness, compassion, and social awareness. She believes in the power of wider reading, deep conversation, and reflective thinking.
Rose moved back to the UK in 2021 where she has been finally reunited with her family and beautiful dog, Elsie. She spends her spare time outdoors, reading, doing yoga, practising martial arts, and is a passionate amateur artist. She’s always looking forward to the December holidays when her family reunites from around the world and she gets to wear her favourite rainbow sweater.
