Yasmin Fortune

Self-Employed - New Equine Assisted Learning Business

Currently setting up an Equine Assisted Learning Business. Watch this space ....

Yasmin Fortune - Dancing Home - A Collection of Poetry - Self-Published Author of poetry book

Click on the following links to view/ order my Book of Poetry
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/yasminfortune
http://www.lulu.com/shop/yasmin-fortune/dancing-home-a-collection-of-poetry/paperback/product-20740480.html

Self-Employed - Free-lance Educational Consultant

January 2012 - September 2012 Designing and writing materials for FAS-spec FETAC level 4 Workplace Safety, Teamworking and Communications modules for a charity which specialises in delivering education to teenagers with disabilities and special education needs in an equestrian setting.
Following a highy competitive interview process I was offered the position of Equine Instructor at Cherry Orchard Equine Centre in February 2012.

Festina Lente - Equestrian Training Programme Facilitator

Festina Lente is a world renowned Charity which provides training, occupational,learning and employment opportunities to people whose needs are not being met by mainstream society through the medium of horses and horticulture.

Teaching Horsemanship,FETAC Level 4 Communications, Stable and Yard Routine and Animal Welfare to 18 students with disabilities and behavioural issues (Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, ADHD, Addiction; Dyslexia, Schizophrenia, Asperger's, Autism) and managing and supervising them in caring for 40 horses (feeding, grooming, rugging, muck-out, turn-in, turn-out, tack-up, yard management)

Assessing students for FETAC certification in Sport Horse Riding and Stable and Yard Routine

Facilitating Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) therapeutic sessions with horses and teenagers; completing Individual Training Plans (ITP's) and Progress Reports with students

Teaching Natural Horsemanship horse training skills (Chris Irwin method) to students

Developing L4 Communications Handbook specifically for equestrian setting

BrayTravellers Community Development Programme - Facilitator - Diversity Training - Traveller Culture

Training Travellers, who are existing community leaders in Co. Wicklow, to deliver presentations on their culture in local school settings. Facilitating the group to make a presentation on Traveller Culture for College Academics and the Garda Minorities Liaison Unit for Munster at the University of Limerick. I designed a powerpoint presentation for the course which John Heneghan, Senior Lecturer at UL, has requested be used to inform a visiting delegation of Turkish officials who are coming to UL to see best practice in working with nomadic groups.

Co. Wicklow VEC - Literacy and Numeracy Teacher/ Project Manager - Literateen Project

Literacy and Numeracy Teacher in Bray Youthreach and Wicklow Youthreach
Singled out for praise by Brendan Doody, Senior Inspector in Dept. of Education for excellent literacy and numeracy contribution and achievement
2010 winner of National Adult Litercy Agency (NALA) 's Adults Continuing Education (ACE) Award with my 'Liter-a-teen' Project - developing a system and materials and resources for teaching literacy to teenagers - prize included €10,000 for in-centre project research and development, software development
Project Manager - Literateen Project - budget management, managing literacy team, research and development
My Project featured on Six One News - 6th July 2010
see: http://www.rte.eu/news/2010/0706/6news.html
(Pioneering literacy programme to be rolled out
Kathy Donaghy reports the National Adult Literacy Agency's programme offers early school-leavers a second chance)

(http://www.nala.ie/press_releases/2010/05/project-aimed-tackle-teenage-literacy-wins-2010-adults-continuing-education-a)

Co. Wicklow VEC - Youthreach - Teacher: Communications; Cultural Studies; Interculturalism; Personal Effectiveness; Personal and Interpersonal Skills; Maths; Work Experience; Living in a Diverse Society

Teacher: Communications; Cultural Studies; Interculturalism; Personal Effectiveness; Personal and Interpersonal Skills; Maths; Work Experience; Living in a Diverse Society
I taught the above FETAC modules to teenagers - I also taught the Young Mother's Programme (for single parents)

Bray Travellers Community Development Programme - Teacher/ Tutor - Literacy; Diversity; Cultural Studies

I was teaching literacy/ communications and later FETAC Living in a Diverse Society to Traveller women

Bray Adult Learning Centre - Tutor: Literacy;Numeracy; ESOL; Spellings

Tutor: Literacy; Numeracy; ESOL; Spelling groups
Outreach - Literacy Tutor for clients with mental health issues such as schizophrenia at Lincara House Bray (Mental Health Centre)

Pace Language Institute - TEFL Teacher

All levels – Groups and 1 to 1. Including one to one tutoring for members of Spanish army and teaching staff members at Marriott Hotel, Kilcoole. Preparation for PET, FCE, CAE, TOEFL, TOEIC and IELTS exams.

English in Dublin, Merrion Square - TEFL Teacher

All levels - including teaching Embassy staff at Russian Embassy, Rathgar. Preparation for PET, FCE, CAE, TOEFL, TOEIC and IELTS exams

Exchange House Travellers' Centre - Administrator

Administration, reception and secretarial duties

Sihanoukville Cambodia - Anthropological Research for MA and voluntary TEFL Teacher

I conducted research for my MA thesis "Heads above the Water: Coping Strategies and Survival Tactics in Present-Day, Post-Communist, Cambodia" in Sihanoukville Cambodia. My thesis was largely comprised of oral histories and survivor testimonies which I collected during my field-work
I also taught English voluntarily to local street-workers and tourism employees

Reed Recruitment, Dawson Street - Front Desk Office Manager & Recruitment Consultant

I started as a Candidate Consultant/ Front-desk office manager in which role I ran the front-desk office, screened CVs, interviewed candidates, gave advise on making CVs, designed marketing-mailers and leaflet on tips for sucessful intervews and CVs, and organised promotion events. I was promoted to Multilingual Consultant: I set up the multilingual desk from scratch. I was approached personally by Chairman of the Reed Group - James Reed - and asked if I would like to get involved with the company's charity work for Africa. I declined at the time as I had my heart set on returning to Cambodia.

Tamagawa High School, Kusatsu Japan - High School English Language Teacher

1 of 44 candidates selected from over 1000 Irish graduate applicants for prestigious Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme run by Japanese Board of Education

Masters/PostGrad - Social Anthropology

The Queen's University of Belfast

Bachelor/Degree - English

UCD - University College Dublin

Bachelor/Degree - English - Erasmus Year

Universiteit van Amsterdaam

Links

• My Award Winning Project - http://www.nala.ie/press_releases/2010/05/project-aimed-tackle-teenage-literacy-wins-2010-adults-continuing-education-a
• Six One News: My Winning Project - see Pioneering literacy programme to be rolled out - http://www.rte.eu/news/2010/0706/6news.html
• My Project in NALA Magazine - http://www.scribd.com/doc/33731854/Final
• Me training my kids' pony - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rTFTJiebKs
• My Book - Yasmin Fortune - Dancing Home - A Collection of Poetry - http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?type=&keyWords=yasmin+fortune&sitesearch=lulu.com&q=&x=11&y=7
• Me in the Author's Spotlight - Yasmin Fortune- Dancing Home - A Collection of Poetry - http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/yasminfortune

Languages

• Irish - Working knowlege
• French - Working knowlege
• Japanese - Working knowlege

Interests

Horse-riding; Travelling; Asian Cultures; Anthropology; Community Development; Volunteering; Culture; Writing; Reading; Painting; Drawing; Hill-walking; Education; Politics; Equine Assisted Learning; Equine Assisted Therapy; Equine Assisted Learning; Horse Training; Member of Connemara Pony Breeders’ Society (CPBS) and Kerry Bog Pony Society (KBPS). Horse Training; Basic Level of Cambodian/ Khmer
Buddhism (I studied Vipassana meditation in Burma)
Poetry (published in local booklets as a child)
Voluntary work: teaching street workers and kids in Asia, teaching art at my children's school; teaching Japanese culture at a kids' summer camp, teaching Traveller kids, teaching literacy, and helping out on a friend's election campaign.

Memberships

Election Campaign - Volunteer
I was very involved in a voluntary capacity in a friend's successful National Parliament Election Campaign - I canvassed door-to-door; postered; mobilised local business people to attend Business Breakfasts; interviewed local businesses for a survey on Challenges to Local Business; organised 'Tea-Party'events; recruited volunteers; advised the team on Education Policy - specifically in the areas of literacy, numeracy, classroom management and parental involvement in education.
I have worked as a groom/ horse-riding extra/extra on Braveheart; Far and Away; Into the West; Moll Flanders. I was approached in 2002 personally by Christina Noble of The Christina Noble Children's Foundation to relocate my family to Mongolia and manage the Ulan Bator office. I declined as I felt it was not the right move for my young family at the time.

Awards

NALA ACE Awards Winner 2010 'Literateen' Project - €10,000 dvpt. prize. Featured on 6-1 News Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) – Level 1 Sports Coaching Course Horse Boy 1 Training with Rupert Isaacson – November 2012 EAL & EAT Training Rancho Bosque Equestrian Centre – July 2011
VEC Managing Abusive Behaviours in Students Training 2010; VEC Equality, Child Protection, & Dignity in Workplace Training 2010; Dyslexia@Bay Training 2010; VEC QFI (Quality Framework Initiative) Training and Equality Training 2006-2010
VEC Special Education Needs (SEN) Training - 08
Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) Curriculum Dvpt. and Group Dynamics modules towards Higher Cert. in Literacy Dvpt. - ; Family Learning Training & MLJ - BALC 05 & 06
NALA Literacy Tutor Training - BALC 03
Wrote nomination for Diversity Training Project - 2012 AONTAS STAR Awards - short-listed ,