Originally from London, Carrie is a broadcast journalist based in Barcelona with more than 25 years’ experience. She has worked as presenter, reporter and producer for some of the world’s leading broadcasting channels including BBC Television and Radio, ITV News, Sky News, Sky Sports and Euronews. She is a voice over artist, events host and the regular host of the podcasts ‘The Soundtrack to My Life’, ‘Notes on Leadership’ and ‘Turó Talks’.
Carrie is also the co-founder of MumAbroad.com, one of Europe’s leading resources for international families, and FiG Communications, a creative agency. She edited and co-authored the anthology #LivingTheDream: Expat life stripped bare, an exposé on some of the more challenging aspects of expat life.
CORMAC WALSH (Academic & Training Director)
As an executive coach based in Barcelona, Cormac specialises in communication training, public speaking, English pronunciation skills for non-native presenters and professional development. For over 15 years, he has trained thousands of people in the corporate world and top business schools on how to improve and hone all aspects of their communications skills.
Cormac is also the Deputy Director of Anne Sullivan International School, a private school close to Barcelona, a TEDx speaker and trainer, an entrepreneur and a former National Director of Toastmasters in Spain. As the co-founder of Educate to Communicate, Cormac believes that communication skills can radically change lives and that the younger people begin learning those skills the better! He has lived, worked, taught and trained in Ireland, the US, the UK, Venezuela, Costa Rica and Spain.
GABRIELLA OPAZ (Business Development Director)
Native to Chicago, Gabriella is an executive leadership coach specialising in intercultural communication, emotional intelligence, public speaking and conscious leadership development. For over 15 years, she has applied her extensive expertise in fields of mindfulness, diversity, equity, inclusion, mediation and strategic leadership to her work with major universities, startups, corporations and organisations internationally.
Based in Portugal, Gabriella is the co-founder of Educate to Communicate, a certified yoga instructor, a SIY (Search Inside Yourself) leadership coach, an award-winning speaker and author, and a TEDx speaker and trainer. Gabriella has a Bachelor’s in Psychology (graduating summa cum laude) and a Master’s in Education, focusing on human-centric learning models, from the University of Minnesota. She also has an English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching certificate from Hamline University.
JANE MITCHELL (Liaisons Director)
Originally from the UK, Jane has been based in Barcelona since 2003. She is Associate Director and Head of Content at MumAbroad, dedicated to creating an online community for English-speaking families living in Spain, France, Italy and Germany. She interviews guests on all aspects of life abroad from relocation and setting up a business to multilingualism and education, chatting with headteachers, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and other experts in their field. Jane is also a writer for The Good Schools Guide International, a UK based online publication, where she contributes independent reviews of international schools in Barcelona.
Having lived outside of the UK for 30 years Jane has a wealth of knowledge and experience as a teacher, writer, designer and mother living abroad. She taught Film Studies at the American University in Cairo, before obtaining a PhD from SOAS, University of London, on the Role of Women in Egyptian Films. Jane is also a published author and recently contributed a chapter on ‘identity’ to the anthology #LivingTheDream: Expat life stripped bare.
CATRIONA GROVES (Operations Director)
A UK native, Catriona worked for many years in the international television industry in London, collaborating with broadcasters and television and film production companies all over the world, primarily those in Europe, Asia and the United States. In 2005 she relocated to Barcelona with her family where she continued to work within the media industry before becoming a freelance marketer, specialising in market analysis. In 2017 she co-founded FiG Communications, a marketing, communications and creative agency, with fellow 4Voices co-founder Carrie Frais.
Catriona has a Master’s in Mathematics from Cambridge University and speaks both Spanish and Catalan. She is also involved with the Barcelona theatre and events management scene, recently stage managing a sell-out original musical.
