Writers Series

Nural Seker lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, two children and their beloved Miniature Schnauzer, Albert. Nural and her family love soccer and actively support Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Nural graduated from RMIT University in 2001 completing a Bachelor of Applied Science (Applied Physics). In 2005 Nural received her Master of Applied Science, also from RMIT University, before going on to complete her Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) in 2005 from Monash University. Nural went straight into teaching and hasn’t left since. In 2022, she received completion certificates for coaching and practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming and Time Line Therapy™, in addition to in practitioner Hypnotist certification.During her teacher career, Nural has taught Mathematics, Science, and Physics from years 7 – 12. She loves teaching and working with students and families. She has also spent several years as a middle years and senior years coordinator and has spent time, leading the middle and senior school coordination teams. In these roles, she Nural has gained valuable experience and insights into students, families, and teachers. Nural has begun her business Learn What Can’t Be Taught to do just this. Her website and course are currently under development at www.lwcbt.com.au.

Jennifer Recio Lebedev has over twenty-five years of experience as an English language teacher. Her early career included classroom instruction in Moscow and Boston as well as teacher training, program administration, and in-house publications. She has been online since 2007, offering live instruction and creating a range of digital content. Her YouTube channel, English with Jennifer, has over 1 million subscribers and 90 million views to date. She is a frequent conference presenter and was on Pearson's writing teams for Vocabulary Power and Next Generation Grammar, for which she also served as the Grammar Coach. Her Pearson-sponsored blog launched in 2008 and was recognized with an EDDIE Award in 2010. In November 2022, Jennifer published a collection of personal reflections entitled Being a YouTuber: One Creator’s Bumpy Road to 1M Subscribers. Credit: EnglishwithJennifer.com.

Dr Tracey Zielinski is a published non-fiction author with a background in clinical psychology. A natural educator, Tracey has an innate ability to explain complex ideas in simple and accessible ways. She paints pictures through metaphors and analogies that help her readers easily grasp the concepts she outlines in her self-help book, Get it Together Forever! The Ultimate Guide to Stepping into Control of Your Own Life. Always an avid reader, Tracey has, since publishing her first book, been writing fiction. Inspired by various short fiction competitions, she is currently building both her writing skills and a catalogue of short stories she plans to self-publish this year. Tracey is involved at an organizational level with a couple of local writing groups which provide both writing and mentoring opportunities. She delights in sharing her knowledge, ideas, and accumulated wisdom with others. It is her privilege to help others find their unique voice. Support Dr. Zielinski's work by visiting Get It Together Forever. 

Emily Goodwin (she/her) is a passionate researcher and writer with a background in journalism before making the leap to Digital Marketing Coordinator at Neon Supply, which suits her just fine since she also has a knack for project management and organizational systems implementation. Writing is a core part of her daily duties as a marketer and is interested in how technological advances will shape the future of writing.

Kara Stokes is an Australian SEO Copywriter for fitness and wellness brands. With over five years of copywriting experience and decades of hobby writing tucked into her backpack, she’s a master at creating engaging stories. When she’s not whipping up fresh, attention-grabbing messages for her clients, Kara loves to watch, read and write fantasy stories. She lives in stunning WA and spends her free time floating on the ocean, adventuring with her three kids and husband, or getting stronger in the gym. Learn more about Kara and her work by visiting karastokescopywriter.com.

Bracha Goetz is not your typical Harvard grad - she's the author of 41 picture books that help children grow spiritually, inspiring each uniquely beautiful soul to shine. Her books make life's deepest concepts clear - in a delightfully simple way - as children find big ideas in little words. Credit: Goetz Book Shop.

Luke Taylor is an English teacher, Writing instructor holding a Masters in Writing and a former detective who cleverly packages his expertise to serve clients through his business Crime Story. In his words, "Ideation is the best way to describe my approach to life, learning and education. If there is a more engaging, dynamic, purposeful and fun way of learning, then that's what I want to work with. Whether educating high schoolers, university students or corporate executives, they all want the same thing - an experience that is unforgettable, to reach and unshackle the innovator within." Learn more by visiting Crime Story.

Joshua Spodek PhD MBA hosts the award-winning This Sustainable Life podcast, is a four-time TEDx speaker, bestselling author of Initiative and Leadership Step by Step, professor at NYU, published in the New Yorker, and leadership coach. He holds a PhD in astrophysics and an MBA from Columbia, where he studied under a Nobel Laureate and helped launch a satellite (having emerged from some of Philadelphia’s most dangerous neighborhoods). He left academia to found a venture to market an invention that showed animated images to subway riders between stations. He teaches and coaches leadership and entrepreneurship at NYU and Columbia Business School. He has spoken at Harvard, Princeton, West Point, Google, IBM, The New York Academy of Science, Children’s Aid Society, and other renowned institutions. He has been published in The New Yorker, TIME, Inc., Quartz, and Psychology Today. Featured in pieces every major network, the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and more, he has been called “best and brightest” in Esquire’s Genius issue, “astrophysicist turned new media whiz”* by NBC, and “rocket scientist” by Forbes. He visited North Korea twice, swam across the Hudson River twice, has done burpees daily since 2011 (195,000 and counting), takes 3 years to produce one load of garbage, hasn’t flown (by choice) since March 2016, is in his second year with his refrigerator unplugged and sixth month with his apartment unplugged from the electric grid, and his carbon footprint is about 1 ton per year. He blogs daily at joshuaspodek.com.