Cushla Jones, our Lower Loop Leader, has held leadership roles as a  Curriculum Coordinator, Elementary Assistant Principal and Head of Lower School in her previous schools in her home country of New Zealand, China, and Japan.

She served the Marist Brothers International School in Kobe for 8 years and is currently the Elementary Assistant Principal at St. Mary’s International School in Tokyo. 

Cushla holds a Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) from the University of Waikato in New Zealand, and a Masters in Educational Leadership and Change from The Education University of Hong Kong. She has a strong background in instructional leadership, curriculum development and helping teachers grow professionally. 

Suzanne Kitto, our Director of Curriculum & Learning, is a Kiwi who has spent almost two decades living and working at international schools in Asia - Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand, with her child, Sam, in tow.  

Suzanne started her career as a Japanese Second Language, English and Social Studies teacher in New Zealand before being introduced to the International Baccalaureate, specifically the Exhibition year of the PYP. Wanting to share her experience, Suzanne became an IB workshop leader and school visit team member. She has led professional development workshops at conferences all around Asia. 

Suzanne has long held beliefs that education systems are flawed, favoring satisfying bureaucratic and political agendas over the best interests of the learner. She became particularly interested in learner-driven pedagogy when given the opportunity to pilot a self-directed learning model at the International School Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam in 2017. 

Suzanne’s hope is that VERSO will provide an environment where transferable skills are at the forefront of learning and the traditional university to track is merely one option among many when transitioning into life beyond school. 

Dr. Rolly Maiquez is our Director of Educational Technology & Innovation and Data Protection Officer tasked with leading, planning and implementing the educational and operations technology at VERSO. 

Rolly holds a Doctorate in Education, a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology, and a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. He is also an Apple Distinguished Educator (class of 2010) and is involved with VEX Robotics.

Rolly believes in the affordances that technology can potentially provide in the educational setting. He is involved in several projects around the school to help improve and streamline educational general operations. He hopes A.I. could do more to help in tasks and add more fun in the process.

Hidden talent: He can play the keyboard and his original composition was selected for the South Pacific Games in Guam in 1998.

Ryan has over twenty years of experience as a teacher, coach, and leader in international schools.

He began his professional career as an ESL/EAL teacher in South Korea in 2000 before returning to Canada to obtain his teaching credentials. Ryan was the Instructional Program Leader (K-12) at Halton District School Board, Canada, where he coached and facilitated the professional development for K-12 staff on creating inquiry-based lessons and units of study with a DEIJ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice) lens. 

In 2014, he returned to Korea International School in Seoul, as a classroom teacher before quickly being promoted to the role of Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning where he developed school wide systems, such as the Assessment Policy and the Climate and Culture Policy and created a Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Cycle to guide professional learning and standardize curriculum review. Ryan also worked with a variety of grade level and department teams around developing transdisciplinary units of study within a project based learning framework.

In 2018, he joined the International School of Curitiba in Brazil as the Director of IT and Innovation where he planned, designed, and implemented a Design and Innovation Center, a new Student Information System, a new Learning Management System, and a new Admissions System. He also developed his team's expertise in Stanford's Design Thinking Framework. In 2020-2021, Ryan took on the role as interim Head of School and facilitated the development of the school's strategic plan for 2022-2027.

Ryan completed his education in Ontario, Canada. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University, a Bachelors of Education and a Master's degree in Education from the University of Toronto, and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership degree from the University of Western Ontario.

Chad Walsh, our Middle Loop Leader, is an experienced international educator. After completing his degree and teaching in Australia, he has spent the last 20 years working as a teacher and administrator across the globe with positions in Australia, Europe, Africa,  and Asia. Up to now he has held teaching and leadership positions in 7 different countries. This is his second time in Bangkok. His educational philosophy has been influenced by strong pedagogical mentors that he still connects with from time to time.

Chad embraces new opportunities for learning, reflection and growth. His passion as an educator lies in developing connected and meaningful relationships.  

Chad believes learning should be inclusive, flexible, challenging, and fun.  He believes that  our role as educators is to inspire and empower learners to explore and discover who they are by providing them with authentic experiences. He believes that promoting a culture where students learn to struggle, fail, and make mistakes is essential. 

Chad is excited to gear up for year 2 at VERSO and build a school where there is a rich and rewarding culture of collaboration among colleagues and learners. That way, learning at VERSO can be vibrant, meaningful, and relevant for everyone.