The EADL is run by experienced distance learning practitioners from all over Europe.
They make up two committees, the Executive and the Research and Development who operate alongside the President and Executive Director.
President - John Trasler
John is a director and owner of Elearn in the the UK. Passionate about developing people John is an experienced muliti-national Director with significant coaching and leadership development expertise in a range of blue chip organisations and the public and not for profit sectors.
Currently working on a number of coaching assignments and senior level leadership development programmes John specialises in blended and distance learning approaches using a mix of media.
His research interests include using psychometrics and media in recruitment and the use of technology to innovate learning.
Executive Director - Tony Horsfield
Tony is a Director of Elearn, which provides consultancy in organisational development together with training courses and coaching in leadership management and professional development.
Previously Tony led the development and delivery of all learning programmes produced by Worldwide Learning, News Corporation’s global education business.
He has considerable experience as a senior manager, consultant, writer, executive coach and trainer, leading major projects for organisations in the UK and overseas .
In addition to engineering qualifications, including a post graduate National Diploma in Agricultural Engineering, Tony holds a Masters degree in management and is a Johnson Medallist, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Training and Development, a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, a Member of the Institute of Consulting.
Executive Committee
Vice President - Dr Martin Kurz
Managing director of ILS, Germany´s biggest distance learning institute, and Euro-FH, one of its leading private universities.
An expert and professor in the field of occupational education since more than 20 years, running the German Association for Distance Learning for 12 years as President; acting Vice President of the European Association for Distance Learning (EADL).
After studying economics, started at Bertelsmann Professional Information building up educational enterprises in Germany, France and Eastern Europe.
Treasurer - George De Jongh
George De Jongh is the Managing Director at Dirksen Opleidingen.
Dirksen Opleidingen has grown from a specialist in electronics training into an all-round trainer for anyone who is or will be dealing with technical ICT. Having over 50 years of experience in training individuals and groups.
George has over 15 years experience in education and training.
George is also a member of the EADL Research and Development Commitee.
Ellen Gunning
Ellen Gunning MA, MIAPR, FPRII, NUJ is a director of the Irish Academy of Public Relations (www.irishacademy.com), a specialist communications college with 25+ years’ experience of teaching PR, journalism, event management, radio and television, online, in 6 languages, across 50 countries. The Academy has a joint venture in the Middle East with Orient Planet PR (www.opacademy.com). Corporate training is offered through www.irishacademytraining.com.
In 2019 she formed Mettacomms (www.mettacomms.com) , an artificial intelligence platform which identifies embryonic threads of future trends. Built for the PR industry, it can help with crisis identification, thought leadership, political lobbying and strategic planning.
In 2020 she won a Gold Stevie in New York for Best PR invention. In 2022, Ellen won the Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Diversity in Tech and in 2023 she won the Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Women in Tech.
Professor Elsebeth Korsgaard Sorensen
Elsebeth Korsgaard Sorensen is Professor Emerita in Digital Communication & Learning and head of the AAU research group, D4Learning (http://d4learning.aau.dk) at the Dept. of Learning and Philosophy at Aalborg University. She was previously director of the successful master programme in ICT and Learning (MIL), offered in equal collaboration between five Danish Universities (Aalborg University, Aarhus University, Copenhagen Business School, the Danish Pedagogical University, and Roskilde University).
Her research – which is directed towards both the field of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) and distance and open learning (DE) – comprises pedagogical/instructional design and implementation of technology across virtual and physical teaching and learning contexts.
Professor Antonio Ragusa
Anna Kadieva
Anna Kadieva is a co-founder and principal of Le Sallay International Academy.
Graduating from Sorbonne University, Anna had been working with kids with special learning needs and bilingual teenagers from all over the world before co-founding Le Sallay International Academy, the first blended full time school for students aged 10 – 16. Combining intensive short boarding experience with prolonged periods of online learning, Le Sallay offers highest quality education for English speaking students from all over the world whether they come from frequently moving families, remote locations or simply seeking for international education without changing their homeplace.
Research and Development Committee
Jens Greefe
Jens Greefe holds a diploma in Economics and is member of the board of the Forum Distance Learning, the german association for distance learning.
Since 2014 he is also Chairman of the Research & Developing Committee of EADL.
Jens Greefe is the Director of Studies at the ILS in Hamburg, Germanys biggest distance learning provider, educating app. 70.000 students in more than 300 distance courses. He is responsible for the development and the organization of the course programs and for the quality management of the ILS.
Tony Hopwood
Tony Hopwood is the Chief Assessor and a Trustee of the Open & Distance Learning Quality Council, a UK-based accreditation body.
His special interests include standards design and assessment methodology, resources development, learning design, and management in education.
He has degrees from the universities of Kent and Reading and postgraduate diplomas in teaching and marketing.
Dr Christos Hadjiyannis
Christos has been Director of Quality at CIM since 2016. He is also leading the Distance Learning operations at CIM. Christos’s background is in English Literature.
He holds degrees from Nottingham, Cambridge, and Edinburgh and was formerly Research Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford. He continues to publish scholarly work on modern and contemporary literature.
Niels Henrik Helms
Henrik has a longstanding track record of research and development work in ICT and learning.
His main focus is on therelationship between media, learning and innovation.
Andrea Feddersen
Andrea Feddersen is head of the APOLLON Academy in Bremen – a distance learning institute of APOLLON University that focuses on courses in the health sector.
After studying social education and social work, she first worked in public youth work. To specialise in e-learning, she completed degrees in Multimedia Production and Educational Media in Kiel and at the University of Duisburg-Essen.
In 2005, she joined the founding team of the APOLLON University of Health Care Management and was responsible, among other things, for setting up the (e-)learning environment. In addition to her management function at the academy, she is still active in the area of media-based learning at the university.