Our Staff
Meet the team.
Christopher Upton
M.A. (Oxon.), M. Sc. (Reading) – Chairman & Managing Partner
Christopher is a graduate of University College, Oxford. He gained an M.A. in Agriculture and Forest Sciences and an M.Sc. from Reading University in Agricultural Economics. His passion for education and the environment has taken him throughout the world, working extensively for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on rainforest protection in the Congo basin. His publication, *The Forest Certification Handbook* (Earthscan, 1995) has become the standard text for forest managers wishing to implement a sustainable forest management system.
Christopher is also an authority on ‘the Southern Beech’ (*Nothafagus* sp.) on which he has published papers for the University of Aberdeen and has recently worked as a consultant to a local company researching effective pollination alternatives to the honey bee.
Christopher regularly teaches English, Mathematics and Verbal Reasoning skills to younger students, and advises on applications to British universities. He is also the Chairman of the College’s Board of Governors.
Alex Gray
M.Math (Oxon) – Managing Partner
Alex read for a Masters in Mathematics at Magdalen College, the University of Oxford (where he was a scholar) before going on to undertake research in Mathematical Physics, specialising, in particular, in the geometry of space-times that locally resemble doughnuts (known mathematically as *tori*). He has taught and tutored extensively at sixth form, undergraduate and Masters level. A passionate believer in the unique advantages of the Oxford tutorial method, he still tutors for the College whenever his schedule permits. Alex’s educational research interests lie in the effective use of new and emerging technologies to support and enhance the learning process and he directs the development of Greene’s cutting edge, cloud-based student online learning resource, Greene’s Online. In his spare time Alex enjoys croquet, British polyphonic music of the early renaissance and hiking in the Alps.
Matthew Uffindell
M.A. (Oxon.), Cert. Ed. (Exeter) – Managing Partner
Matthew has an M.A. in English Literature and Language and received a major exhibition and an English prize from University College, Oxford where he studied. Since leaving he has had wide experience in teaching and organising academic courses for students up to and including university level. He has taught a wide variety of subjects including the History of Language and Literature from Chaucer to the 20th century. However his specialist topics are the English Romantics and Charles Dickens. He has also provided English language tuition and advice for businesses on the use of English. Matthew was a Company Director and a Director of Studies of d’Overbroeck’s College in Oxford for a number of years and has lectured on English Literature at American universities. He has been an Assistant Lecturer at the Open University and continues to tutor when possible.
Grant Connor
M.Phil (Oxon), B.A. (Hons) (Oxon) – Academic Director
Grant is the Academic Director of the College and is based at 45 Pembroke Street. He is a graduate of Magdalen College, the University of Oxford, where he studied Philosophy and Modern Languages (French). Grant’s academic interests are varied, but he specialises in the literature and thought of the early modern and modern periods, with especial focus on the development in French literary form (cultivated, in part, over his time at l’Université de Paris-Sorbonne). As a linguist he naturally has a strong interest in translation theory, linguistics and stylistics in a formal academic setting. An accomplished philosopher, Grant took his M.Phil. also from the University of Oxford specialising in pre- and post-structuralist French literary theory and criticism, during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Carmen Dare
B.A. (Exon), M. St. (Oxon) – College Principal
Carmen is the College Principal and is based in 45 Pembroke Street. Carmen has overall responsibility for College’s students. Having read Modern Languages at Exeter University (which included a year at Bologna University’s Specialised School for Interpreters and Translators), Carmen graduated with an M.A. in Mediaeval and Modern Languages from Brasenose College, Oxford. She also acquired a CELTA qualification in 2009. Prior to joining Greene’s, Carmen was the Head of Studies at the Institut Auf Dem Rosenberg in Switzerland.
Agnieszka Balicka
Ph.D. (Oxford Brookes) LL.M. (Oxford Brookes) M.A. (Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński) – Director of Partnerships
Agnieszka is the College’s Director of Partnerships. Following her MA studies in Political Science and LLM in International Law she completed her PhD at Oxford Brookes University where she also worked as a lecturer. Her thesis, “Changes in International Law in response to terrorist attacks. A comparative study of Israeli and the U.S. state practice” was a combined study of International Law and International Relations. It was a culmination of her long interests in Middle East politics and international conflict and its aim was to contribute to the understanding of nature, status and determinants of international law in the aftermath of 9/11. She is a very experienced tutor, who taught Politics, International Relations and Law.
Becky Simpson
M.A. (Oxon.) – Director of Studies
Becky Simpson is the College’s Director of Studies. Hugely experienced working within a close college community both on the pastoral side and in a number of varied and effective teaching and leadership roles, Becky brings to Greene’s the valued knowledge of an educator skilled in a broad range of effective teaching methodologies. Becky received an M.A. from the University of Oxford (Lady Margaret Hall) in English Language and Literature. Having left university, Becky was appointed as English teacher at Bryanston School, Dorset, and as a Personal Tutor, responsible for the welfare of a number of pupils at the school. She later became a Housemistress at the school, overseeing the welfare of 60-70 girls in a boarding house with careful monitoring of their social, academic and emotional wellbeing.
Georgina Bartlett
B.Mus (Miami), M.Mus (Miami), D.Phil (Oxon) – Academic Registrar
Georgina is the College’s Academic Registrar and is based at 43 Pembroke Street. She studied for her undergraduate and Master’s in music at the University of Miami before undertaking her doctorate at the University of Oxford, where she researched 19th-century British broadside ballads under the supervision of Professor Suzanne Aspden. She was previously a lecturer in music and co-ordinating tutor at St. Peter’s College of the University of Oxford.
Lamine Djelalli
B.Sc. (Oxford Brookes) – Tutor in Mathematics
Lamine is a full-time tutor in Mathematics at Greene’s. He teaches students for a very wide range of levels and qualifications at our study centre 97a, St. Aldate’s Street. Having studied and worked in many different countries, Lamine has a wide international education and experience. He holds a BSc qualification in Computer Science from Oxford Brookes and has been teaching Mathematics in the UK and at a range of levels for over 15 years. His particular area of interest is Decision Mathematics and logical mathematical frameworks. Lamine is a strong believer in a well structured academic programme for each of his students and takes a very careful, caring and systematic approach. He likes a “hands-on” approach to learning Mathematics and this is reflected in his tutoring at Greene’s. Lamine has been a Mathematics tutor at Greene’s since 2016 and also runs Mathematics workshops and revision classes to help students at Greene’s consolidate their learning through practice.
Ilona Harizi
T.E. Diploma in Accounting and Finance (Swidnica) – Bursar
Ilona is responsible for the day-to-day management of student accounts and has overall supervision of students who are taking supplementary tuition. She is also trained in first-aid and responsible for the health and safety provision at 45, Pembroke Street, where she works. Ilona holds a diploma and the professional title of Economist from the Wincenty Stys Economic School in Swidnica, Poland where she studied for four years and specialised in Finance and Accounting. She has worked as an accountant in Oxford since 2004 and has been the Bursar at Greene’s since 2008.
Katja Behrens
Ph.D. (Hertfordshire), B.A. Hons (Oxford Brookes) – Marketing Manager
Katja is the Marketing Manager of Greene’s Education and is based at 45 Pembroke Street. Katja has worked and studied at the intersection of marketing communication, culture, philosophy and philosophy of education. Using media creatively, has not only been part of her professional work in Marketing and Online Marketing, but Katja’s B.A. (Hons) in Communication, Media, Culture & Philosophy, but also served as a main inspiration for her PhD thesis on social actions online (Title: Click – social actions in the 21st century) which was funded by Microsoft Research, Cambridge. Katja is interested in the philosophical implications of the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and publishes on the subject to date.
Miriam Galbiati
M.A. (Universita’ degli Studi) – Head of Tutors
Miriam joined Greene’s in 2019 and is the Head of Tutors. She is the first point of contact for tutors and therefore responsible for the day-to-day management of tutor enquiries and relations. Miriam has also the overall supervision of tutor database, compliance, and observations. Academically speaking, Miriam has always been fascinated by different subjects and this has led her exploring different sectors. She obtained a Master’s Degree in Law from Universita’ degli Studi in Milan where she graduated discussing a thesis in Private Comparative Law (titled: “The new frontiers of promissory estoppel”). After a few years working at Ferrari Pedeferri and Boni – a Milanese independent Law Firm, she was admitted to the Bar at the Milan Court in 2017. Miriam moved to the UK for family reasons, and before joining Greene’s, she gained experience in the luxury retail industry, focusing on store management. She was also appointed as customer relation manager across several outlet stores in the UK and Europe for a well-known British premium clothing brand. In July 2019 she obtained the Legal Secretaries and PA Diploma at ILSPA (The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs).In her spare time, Miriam loves to travel, exploring the outdoors and trying new cuisines.
Rowena Fletcher-Wood
CChem PhD MChem (Hons Oxon) – Academic Manager (Science)
Rowena read her Master’s degree in Chemistry at Somerville College, the University of Oxford, specialising in air sensitive superconducting materials. She obtained a First Class honours degree and a Distinction in additional History and Philosophy of Science. She undertook her doctoral studies at the University of Birmingham, and was awarded her PhD for research into environmental materials (thesis: Zeolites and Other Molecular Sieves for Chromate Remediation). An analytical chemist, she is one of a small number of specialists in Mössbauer spectroscopy. Since 2014, Rowena has worked as a research fellow into nuclear waste disposal at the University of Birmingham, Department of Metallurgy and Materials, a teaching fellow in Environmental Science at the University of Reading, and an engagement and evaluation expert at the University of Oxford. A Science Communicator, she has worked for the charity Science Oxford and as a freelancer, writing articles, training scientists, and delivering hands-on science events. Rowena is the Chair of the Environmental Chemistry Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry, executive editor of their biannual Bulletin, and outreach lead. She has been teaching maths and science since 2007, and has worked at Greene’s since 2015.
Zakkaria Raja
B.A. (Gloucestershire) – Marketing Assistant
Zakkaria is the Marketing Assistant at Greene’s College Oxford and is based at 45 Pembroke Street. After graduating in 2019 with a first-class honours degree in English Literature, he joined Hachette UK, the second-largest British publishing group, as an Editorial Assistant, where he worked on the marketing material for a number of Amazon bestsellers and a Sunday Times bestseller. During 2020, he gathered over 4,000 followers on TikTok and received over 245k likes, having posted twice-daily for a year. In his spare time, he enjoys meditating, writing, cooking, and exercising.
