Yohan Ferreira's - Resume

Resume for Yohan Ferreira

I am currently working and studying.

My Career Goal

I am looking forward to a career in Corporate/Strategic Communications as I enjoy (and have some experience) communicating with individuals and organisations, creative writing, promoting causes, public relations and marketing. Ideally, I would like to work for an international airline, aerospace company or space agency such as NASA or ESA, and assist to clearly communicate its strategies internally, and achievements to media organisations and the public at large.

Employment History

January 1998 - June 2002: I have previously worked as an English Guest Presenter on two monthly radio programmes broadcast on the English Service and one weekly radio programme broadcast on the Education Service at Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), Colombo 7, Sri Lanka.

April 2005 - February 2007: I have previously worked as a Commercial Copywriter - creating search engine optimised (SEO) original text for travel & hotel websites, and the Technical Writer - designing & creating technical documents (user guides / manuals) for web based applications & software created at Open World Lanka (Private) Limited, Dehiwala, Sri Lanka.

2003 - current : I am currently working as an Educator of Speech & Drama- teaching and preparing students for local & international exams in Speech & Drama, Spoken English, Effective Communication, Effective Text Speaking, Individual Acting Skills, Acting in Pairs, Verse & Prose, & Written English at Wendy Whatmore Academy of Speech & Drama, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka.

Other past positions

Mission Control Press Officer at the International Space School Foundation’s 9th annual summer session at NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, USA in July/August 2002. More info: http://www.wesleycollege.org/mars.htm

Co-founded the Open World Lanka (Private) Limited Quiz Team in 2005 and was Deputy Captain of the team which emerged joint champions in the Mercantile Sector at the 'Sri Lankan Masterminds 2005' quiz contest.

Education

2001 - 2007: I studied for a Certificate in Computer Science (CCS), a Certificate in Computer Hardware (CCH), a Diploma in Computer System Design (DCSD), and a Higher Diploma in Computer Based Information Systems (HDCBIS) at National Institute of Business Management (NIBM), Colombo 7, Sri Lanka.

2001 - 2004: I studied for the Associate of Wendy Whatmore Academy (AWWA) in Speech & Drama (Teaching) Diploma and the Associate of Trinity College London (ATCL) in Speech & Drama (Teaching) Diploma at Wendy Whatmore Academy of Speech & Drama, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka.

2005 - 2008: I am currently studying for the Licentiate of Trinity College London (LTCL) in Speech & Drama (Teaching) Diploma at Wendy Whatmore Academy of Speech & Drama, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka.

Other education and training

Wesley College, Colombo 9, Sri Lanka (1987 - 2000):
General Certificate in Education - Advance Level (Mathematics)
General Certificate in Education - Ordinary Level (8 Subjects)

Research and publications

Winner of the 2002 Hakluyt Prize awarded by the International Mars Society in Colorado, USA for the best student letter to world leaders advocating a humans-to-Mars mission. The letter was published in the 5th annual International Mars Society Convention journal in August 2002. As part of the contest, it was sent by e-mail to 319 world leaders and deputy leaders, members of the United States Senate Science Sub Committee, the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. The Hakluyt Prize is named after Richard Hakluyt, the tireless pamphleteer whose writings convinced Queen Elizabeth I and the circle around her to take the policy decisions which made possible the British settlement of North America.
http://www.marsnews.com/archives/2002/07/15/hakluyt_prize_awarded.html

Volunteer Positions

September 2000 – Present
U. S. National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
NASA Volunteer – Education & Public Outreach Coordinator for
NASA Quest and several other programmes and projects:

* Q&A Lead for NASA Missions at the NASA Quest Question and
Answer Project based at NASA’s Ames Research Center, California, USA
http://quest.nasa.gov/qna/sfbios

* Moderator of the 'NASA Quest' online group for educators, students and space enthusiasts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NASAQuest

* Assistant Coordinator of the Student Signatures in Space (S3)
Program, held annually for Space Day and jointly sponsored by
NASA and Lockheed Martin Corporation
http://www.spaceday.org/conmgmt/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=76&o...

December 2007 - Present
Co-National Point of Contact (NPoC) for Sri Lanka
Space Generation Advisory Council in Support of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications (SGAC)
http://www.spacegeneration.org/council

January 2007 - Present
Member of the Strategic Communications Team
Space Generation Advisory Council in Support of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications (SGAC)
http://www.spacegeneration.org/communications

September 2006 - Present
Administrator for Internal Communications, International Space School Alumni (ISSA) Association, Toronto, Canada
http://www.issalumni.org

June 2002 – Present
International Space School Foundation (ISSF), Houston, Texas, USA
* Managing the ISSF 1997 - 2007 online class groups
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ISSF2002 etc.

August 2002 – August 2006
Roshan Wijesooriya Memorial Fund (Fighting Cancer), London, United Kingdom
* Assistant Ward Project Coordinator for the construction of the
2nd floor of the new children’s wing at the National Cancer Institute
in Maharagama, Sri Lanka
http://www.overcomingcancer.org

September 2006 - Present
Founder & manager of the 'Sky Trackers: Window on the Universe' online group exclusively for astronomy and space enthusiasts in Sri Lanka
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SkyTrackers
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6265828590

November 2006 - Present
Founder & manager of the 'Drama Sri Lanka' online group for English drama advocates and enthusiasts in Sri Lanka
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Drama_SL
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=23188508408

Wesley College, Colombo, Sri Lanka Alumni Groups:

Founder & Moderator - Science Class of 2000
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ScienceY2k

Founder & Moderator - Batch of 2000
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wesley2000

Founder & Moderator - Wesleyites
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wesleyites