Our Team

• adela@internationalschool.is

Berta has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Boston University and a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Growing up in Saudi Arabia, Berta attended international schools in both Saudi Arabia and Italy. She has many years of teaching experience, having taught all levels, from kindergarten to university preparation in the U.S., Iceland and Japan.

In 2004, Berta founded the International School of Iceland. She has attended numerous conferences and workshops on education through the European Council of International Schools and AERO Office of Overseas Schools in Washington DC.

​Email: berta@internationalschool.is

• berta@internationalschool.is

Daniel Roh graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor's Degree in English. He worked in a 5th grade math classroom for a year in Richmond, Virginia and was an instructor at the NYC Outward Bound Schools and Northwest Outward Bound Schools in New York, Washington State and Oregon. He has also volunteered as a GED Instructor at the Richmond City Justice Center for Incarcerated Residents. His educational philosophy is centered around Outdoor and Experiential Education. He believes in cultivating student self-sufficiency by empowering academic, social and emotional development in all aspects of student life.

Outside of the classroom, Daniel is an Association of Icelandic Mountain Guides certified Glacier 1 and Mountain 1 guide and graduate of the FAS Mountaineering school. He writes about Iceland and the outdoors for small online publications. Please say hello if you see him around town with his young son and large Icelandic family!

• daniel@internationalschool.is

Elísa Ósk has a Masters degree in Special Education and a B.Sc. degree in psychology. She has worked as a behavioral instructor for children with special needs, specializing in social skills and behavioral training, since 2012.

Elísa grew up surrounded by mountains in the Westfjords of Iceland. She enjoys music and plays the guitar.

Email: elisa@internationalschool.is

• elisa@internationalschool.is

Hanna has extensive experience in the private sector, both as an administrator and entrepreneur. She received a BA in Human Development and Educational Science from the University of Iceland in 2005. In 2007, she received her MA in Education Administration and Leadership from the same university. She joined the ISI team in 2007. In 2008, she was promoted to Assistant Headmistress and, in 2013, to Headmistress.

Hanna has attended numerous courses and conferences on leadership with the European Council of International Schools, AERO Office of Overseas Schools and Dale Carnegie.

A true believer in the partnership between home and school, Hanna sat as a member of the School Board, School Council and as President of the Parent Association in Alftanes Primary School.

Email: hanna@internationalschool.is

• hanna@internationalschool.is

Originally from Germany, Kirsten has a BA in Early Education from Alte-Eichen in Hamburg, Germany. Her MA, in Elementary School Education, is from Elly-Heuss-Knapp. Kirsten also attended art school for 2 years at Christian-Albrecht University in Kiel, Germany.

Kirsten has more than 20 years of teaching experience in Europe and the United States. She worked in Sweden at the International School of Lund, in the US at St. James Episcopal School in Los Angeles and Cedar Creek Elementary School in Canyon County, CA.

In addition to her education degrees, Kirsten studied Art History and Painting, Drawing and Sculpture at Temple University in Rome. Her talent and experience is perfect as the Art Department Head at ISI.

Kirsten has also completed Forest School Teaching training (Level 3) which allows her to teach effectively in nature. Kirsten loves horses and dance. She started horseback riding at age 5 and is a certified Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning, specializing in Interactive Vaulting. She has danced professionally and at a competitive level for 13 years and is a certified Ballroom Dance instructor (Level 1) from the Dance Vision International Dance Association.

• kirsten@internationalschool.is

Lára worked at Sierra Vista Kirk Baucher School in Modesto, California, from 1999 to 2012. At first, she taught art and culture related subjects to children ages 6 to 14. As she was going to school, she served as support staff in various classrooms until she graduated from Stanislaus with a degree in Art and minor in Art History. In 2005, she took over teaching technology at the same school as well as yearbook creation with the help of the 7th and 8th grade students.

Since returning to Iceland in 2012, she has taught Icelandic at Centrum Studium Linguae in addition to her work at ISI. In the summer of 2013, she attended the IPC Summer School conference in the Netherlands.

She is currently enrolled in a program to earn an International Teacher Certificate through Cambridge University and the European Council of International Schools (ECIS).

Beyond teaching, Lára is an accomplished artist. She participated in a group show at the Jay Jay Art Gallery in Sacramento, CA, in 2012. The following year, she showed her art at the Götusýning Reykjavik Art Festival.

• lara@internationalschool.is

Lucy originates from Scotland and graduated with a B.Ed in Primary Education from the University of Edinburgh. In 2020, she achieved a PG.Cert. in Bilingualism in Education from the University of Birmingham.

Lucy taught in a primary school in Scotland before joining ISI in 2013. During the summer breaks, she has enjoyed traveling to different parts of the world. She has worked as an arts and crafts specialist at a children’s summer camp in New York and spent two summers teaching English to children in Kenya and Bali.

In the summer of 2018, Lucy participated in an AERO workshop in Washington D.C. which focused on the teaching of English Language Arts within the curriculum.

• lucy@internationalschool.is

Maria was born in Barcelona, speaking Catalan as her mother tongue. She grew up speaking also Spanish, English, and French. She earned an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education with speciality in Music at the University of Barcelona, and is currently finishing her master's degree in Teaching Spanish as a foreign language.

• maria@internationalschool.is

• mirjam@internationalschool.is

• neha@internationalschool.is

Ólafur graduated from the University of Iceland with a B.Ed in 1998 and has taught music ever since. He is a full-time music teacher at our host school, Sjálandsskóli, and has taught ISI students since 2007. In addition, he works part-time at the University of Arts. Alongside his teaching, he is working on a MA degree at the University of Iceland.

Music is Óli´s passion and he is both a classical and jazz pianist. He can also play various other instruments, when necessary. In his free time, he creates educational materials for the National Association of Educational Materials, plays football, reads and, of course, listens to music!

• olafurs@sjalandsskoli.is

Pam has a Diploma in Educational studies from the University of Iceland. She also completed B.A. degrees in Icelandic for Foreigners and English at the same university.

Originally from England, Pam worked in scientific research before setting off on her travels. She lived and worked in Australia and Israel before arriving in Iceland in 1986. During her time in Iceland, Pam has taught English in Icelandic primary and secondary education, adult ESL and in the Moðurmál English Program.

At ISI, she teaches English and Humanities. Pam is passionate about literature and all things connected to reading. As a result, she is perfectly suited to being the school librarian.

Pam has been the High School coordinator since September 2016.

Pam has been teaching at the International School of Iceland since 2004, apart from the 2011-2012 school year, when she was on sabbatical at the International School of Oslo.

• pamala@internationalschool.is

Rachael grew up in Columbia, South Carolina in the United States. She has earned an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Furman University, a master's degree in English from Wake Forest University, and a second master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Boston University.

Rachael has worked in K-12 education in a variety of contexts. After completing her master's degree at Wake Forest, she moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to serve as the Coordinator for Youth Leadership and Education at a community nonprofit. In this role, she organized educational programs for K-12 students focusing on local history and oral history storytelling. She then moved to Lynn, Massachusetts after accepting a secondary English teaching position. Throughout the next four years, she taught 9th, 10th, and 11th grade English Language Arts, Multimedia Journalism, and Creative Writing. At ISI, she teaches English and Humanities and works with the IB team.

Outside of working in education, Rachael loves reading, cooking new and exciting foods, being outdoors, knitting, and spending time with family and friends. She graduated from Háskóla Íslands with a diploma in Icelandic as a Second Language, and is continuing to learn in her spare time. Her favorite things about living in Iceland are the beautiful nature and being closer to family and loved ones.

• rachael@internationalschool.is