Sara Esam has worked as a Senior Program Manager with the NCE Secretariat for almost fourteen years. During that time, she has provided guidance to a broad array of networks and centres. Sara has training in linguistics (Universities of York and Edinburgh, UK) and project management (Project Management Institute, USA). The two main threads running through her career are a passion for the French language and a belief in lifelong learning. In addition to her time with the NCE, Sara’s professional experience includes teaching French to diplomats at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, guiding academics in the evaluation of their teaching at the Victoria University Teaching and Development Centre (Wellington) and managing projects that focused on lifelong learning at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.