Language Program Directors
Our Language Program Directors are a very special group of motivated people, all of whom have studied with Dr. Neufeld personally and all whom have a passion for making this material available to parents and professionals in their own cultures and languages. A brief description of the various language programs in available in the About Us section.
Mathieu Lyons
Director of our French language program
Social Worker & Academic
Ottawa, Canada
Mathieu is a powerhouse of energy in his mission to forward the Neufeld approach into the French language. Mathieu brings many talents to this directorship, including his gifted teaching abilities, technical proclivities, organization flair and natural leadership. He worked within the child and family mental health field for ten years before becoming a College Instructor in the field of child and youth services. In addition to his therapeutic work and college teaching, he is also the sole parent of two young children.
Learn more about the
Marcela Escalera
Director of our Spanish language program
Psychologist
Mexico City, Mexico
Marcela – a faculty member, mother, and grandmother - delivers the Neufeld courses and directs a very successful and energetic facilitator training program in Spanish from Mexico City, where she lives. As a psychologist herself, she has attracted many other psychologists into her training program. Besides Mexico, her sphere of influence includes Chile, Spain, Argentina, USA (Florida and New York), Germany and Singapore, with plans for furthering the approach in other Spanish speaking countries. She has successfully organized many events in Mexico for Dr. Neufeld, including the Advanced Intensives in Acapulco.
Learn more about the
Elana Strobinsky
Director of our Hebrew language program
Psychologist
Alei Zahav, Israel
Elana has been a faculty member with the Neufeld Institute since 2014, taking over the directorship of the Hebrew program from her mother in 2024. As a psychologist working in schools, Elana is well-suited to bring the attachment-based developmental approach into the educational system as well as to helping professionals. She leads a group of Hebrew language facilitators that bring various Neufeld Institute courses into homes, preschools and community centres. Elana also maintains a private practice. She is a mother to five.
Learn more about the
Jonas Himmelstrand
Director of our Swedish language program
Author & Consultant
Geta, Finland
Jonas first met Dr. Neufeld at an international attachment conference in Europe in 2007. A strong social advocate, his ability to articulate his concerns has resulted in high level involvement in European conferences and even an address at the United Nations. Jonas has also spearheaded Dr. Neufeld's involvement in both Sweden and the European Union in general. Now a senior faculty member, he teaches Neufeld Institute courses to parents and teachers in Swedish as well as providing leadership to an increasing number of advanced students. Jonas is a father to three children, including an autistic young adult.
Learn more about the
Olga Pisaryk
Director of our Russian language program
Organizer & Educator
Victoria, British Columbia
Originally from Minsk in Belarus and now living near Vancouver, this single mother of four has been a powerful force in furthering the approach in the Russian language, managing one of our most successful language programs of the Neufeld Institute. Besides delivering the Intensive One and Intensive Two to Russian speakers all over the world, she has mentored leadership in a number of our other language programs as well. In the past, she has also organized a number of speaking tours for Dr. Neufeld in Russia and the Ukraine. As a multilingual senior faculty member, Olga continues to serve an influential role in the Neufeld Institute at large.
Learn more about the
Joanna Bylinka
Director of our Polish language program
Psychologist
Lodz, Poland
Joanna is a psychologist, publisher, and mother of two children. Her classical doctoral education in psychology (University of Warsaw) and breadth of knowledge about current psychological intervention models has put her in good stead to lead the Polish Language Program. As a faculty member, Joanna is in charge of our research centre and has led important projects, including a special play and relationship based program for Ukrainian mothers and children fleeing into Poland. She conducts training for teachers and professionals and consults with various early education programs.
Learn more about the
Grete Lyngdorf
Director of our Danish language program
Educator
Skanderborg, Denmark
Grete has been a long-time educator in the Waldorf tradition. She organized various events for Dr. Neufeld in Denmark in the past and translated the Hold On To Your Kids into Danish. She also translated and continues to deliver a number of Neufeld Courses in Danish, focusing primarily on the flagship Power to Parent series. Grete pioneered bringing in the Neufeld Approach to the training programs for Waldorf kindergarten teachers in Denmark. Grete had the opportunity to study extensively with Dr. Neufeld when living in Canada for a time. She is the mother of two adult children.
Learn more about the
Evelyne van Winden
Director of our Dutch language program
Trainer & Therapist
Meppel, Netherlands
Long interested in the topics of personal development and therapeutic process, Evelyn began her studies with the Neufeld Institute in 2015. She has been facilitating Neufeld Institute courses since 2019 and took over the directorship of the Dutch language program in 2025. Besides delivering and supporting Neufeld Institute courses, she also works as a counsellor and guide to parents who have foster/step/adoptive children, as well as educators and helping professionals who are seeking support.
Learn more about the
Jule Epp
Director of our German language program
Psychologist
Berlin, Germany
Jule was a former university student of Dr. Neufeld's and went on to do graduate studies in Europe, becoming an expert in working with autistic children and their parents. Now a senior faculty member of the Neufeld Institute, she brings an incredible depth and mastery of the Neufeld approach to her leadership role in the German language. Besides hypersensitivity, she also has a special interest in the role of play in development and treatment. Jule has lived experience of this material as the mother of an autistic young adult. Fluently bilingual, she also serves as faculty in the English Program.
Learn more about the
Ksienia Majznerová Biazrukaja
Co-Director of our Czech & Slovak language programs
Psychologist
Prague, Czech Republic
Ksienia is a psychologist, therapist and mother of two, originally from Belarus. She co-founded (with Lina Vizelman) a project called Rodičovství Hrou (parenting through play) with the purpose of bringing the Neufeld paradigm to the parents, foster parents, teachers, and other professionals working with children in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Now on faculty, Ksienia comes to her role with a masters degree in economics and management as well as experience as a professional photographer. She is currently studying personally with Dr. Neufeld as a faculty intern.
Learn more about the
Lina Vizelman
Co-Director of our Czech & Slovak language programs
Therapist
Prague, Czech Republic
Lina, also a faculty member, shares the leadership of the Czech and Slovak languages with Ksienia. She has a background in psychology and computer science and is a mother of two sons. She was raised in Georgia and has also lived in Israel. She co-founded a project called Rodičovství Hrou (parenting through play) with the purpose of bringing the Neufeld paradigm to the parents, foster parents, teachers, and other professionals working with children in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Besides teaching courses, Lina also serves as marriage therapist and parent consultant.
Learn more about the
Dr. Urška Žugelj
Director of our Adriatic Languages Program
Professor & Psychologist
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Dr. Žugelj bridges the worlds of academia, therapy and parenthood. Being fluently multilingual and having lived in a number of cities in the Adriatic/Balkan region, she is well-suited to bring Neufeld's attachment-based developmental approach to parents and professionals in these languages. Now a faculty member, Urška's initial introduction to Dr. Neufeld was through her curiosity about his approach to attachment as a university professor of attachment herself. Urška helped execute Dr. Neufeld's very successful 2024 speaking tour in Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia & Herzegovina, sponsored by the Novak Djokovic Foundation. She is a mother to three.
Learn more about the
Sandy Hitchens
Director of our New Zealand regional program
Counsellor & Consultant
Christchurch, New Zealand
Although part of our world-wide English language program, the culture and time zones are unique enough to warrant regional leadership. This was first provided by Adrienne Wood of Auckland and has now been passed on to Sandy Hitchens of Christchurch. Sandy's professional background is as a counselor specializing in working with children and their parents/caregivers in both school settings and through her private practice. She comes to this role with much energy and enthusiasm as well as over 30 years of experience in leadership in a variety of settings. She is a mother of four adult children.
Iryna Shokur
Co-Director of our Ukrainian Orphan Project
Educator
Waterloo, Ontario
Iryna is a gifted teacher and a master of the Neufeld approach, delivering the Neufeld Institute courses in Ukrainian with sensitivity and sensibility. Iryna is founder of the family school “PrudenSchool”. In addition to facilitating the Neufeld Institute courses, she consults with parents regarding their children. Living in the Ukraine until the war, she sought refuge with her family in Canada from where she continues her work delivering Neufeld Institute courses in the Ukrainian language.
Learn more about the
Yulia Fomina
Co-Director of our Ukrainian Orphan Project
Administrator & Psychologist
Richmond Hill, Ontario
Yulia comes to her role as coordinator of the Ukrainian Orphan Project with a administrative background in banking and practice as a helping professional. Her giftedness as an organizer is a godsend to this project and the Ukrainian language program. Yulia is a practicing psychologist, employing the attachment-based developmental approach to working with trauma and to crisis intervention. She also consults on issues of parent-child relationships.
Learn more about the
Inquiries
If you have questions or require additional information that you cannot find on our website or FAQ page, you may contact our office on our Inquiries page.
Charity & Non-Profit Status
The Neufeld Institute is a registered Canadian charitable organization under the name Neufeld Institute Foundation and is also registered as a NPO in British Columbia. If you would like to make a contribution to us, please go to our donation page.
Stay Connected with the Neufeld Institute
Sign up for our newsletter to receive insights, editorials, and updates on new courses, webinars, and scheduled classes—all rooted in the Neufeld approach. Whether you're a parent, educator, or professional, our resources are here to help you make sense of the children in your care.
You can also follow us on...
Vancouver, BC V6M 1L3
Canada