Sarah has spent her career working in education across a variety of roles including as a teacher, academic tutor, curriculum designer, education team manager at nonprofits, and college admissions counselor and essay coach. Having studied in Bolivia, Rome, and Paris herself, Sarah is passionate about the transformative potential of educational experiences that expose students to enriching and diverse unfamiliar environments.

After years of living in Prague, Sarah is excited to be leveraging her skills to help students access the sort of international educational opportunities she found so impactful in her own academic journey. She is happy to connect via email or a call to discuss admissions at AAU.

Since 2019, David has been dedicated to international education admissions and recruitment, initially starting at K-12 schools. Having moved and “started anew” countless times himself, he brings an empathetic approach when guiding prospective students through their university choices, helping them find programs at AAU that align with both their academic passions and personal backgrounds.

In his role, David travels to high schools and attends fairs across Europe and beyond, connecting directly with students and university counselors to share what makes studying at AAU special. He is always accessible via email and happy to schedule a call to explore study opportunities at Anglo-American University.

He has led and participated in numerous national and international research projects and has published extensively in leading journals in social and organizational, emotion, and cross-cultural psychology. He serves or has served as Associate Editor of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, the European Journal of Social Psychology, and the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. His current research program, supported by the European Research Council, advances understanding of how basic relational patterns shape trust, norms, and cooperation across cultures.

Dr. Laker’s dissertation work pertained to the effects of childhood stress and aviophobia His current research project is in borderline personality disorder. He brings a “hands on” orientation to psychology with over a decade of experience in private practice. Prior to returning to university, Dr. Laker worked in finance and legal information services at a Fortune 100 company.

His work has been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions across the Czech Republic and internationally, and is represented in the collections of the and other public and private collections. A recipient of the National Gallery 333 Art Award and the ESSL Art Award: VIG Special Invitation, Bařinka brings extensive contemporary artistic practice and exhibition experience to his teaching.

After returning to the Czech Republic, Liz built a career spanning translation, education and operations management. She worked as a localization manager at Arbes Technologies and later served as manager of the Kids&Us Modřany language school, where she gained extensive experience in educational leadership and team coordination.

At AAU, Liz oversees Student Experience and Engagement, as well as the Career Center and Alumni Relations Office. Her role includes welcoming and onboarding new students, fostering a vibrant and supportive campus community and managing the Academic Tutoring Center and Student Mentor Program. She is passionate about helping students make the most of their time at AAU—academically and personally—and works to create opportunities, connections and experiences that will stay with them long after graduation. 

Having raised two wonderful children of her own, Liz has a deep appreciation for the exciting but also challenging journey into adulthood. Combined with her professional experience, this gives her a genuine understanding of the questions, opportunities and uncertainties many students face. She is always happy to listen, offer guidance or simply have a chat.

In her free time, Liz continues to pursue translation to promote Czech literature abroad. Her translations of works by leading Czech authors such as Alena Mornštajnová, Simona Bohatá and Lidmila Kábrtová have been published by Seagull Books and Comma Press.

Stehlíková began her research appointment at Anglo-American University in 2026. Her academic experience includes roles at the University of Westminster, the Royal College of Art, and the University of Creative Communication in Prague. She also teaches artistic research at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and UMPRUM.

Her cross-disciplinary research connects artistic practice, sensory studies, philosophy, experimental psychology, and art-science dialogue. Her monograph Exiled from Our Bodies: How to Come Back to Our Senses was published by Routledge in 2025. She is founder and editor of Tangible Territory and co-founder of “Ecstatic Truth,” an international symposium series on expanded animation and documentary practice.

Her films, installations and participatory performances have been presented internationally, including at Whitechapel Gallery, Danielle Arnaud Gallery, Prague Quadrennial, Somerset House, Stadtkino Vienna, the British Film Institute London Film Festival, Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, and the Under_the_RADAR festival in Vienna.

She has developed and co-developed several diagnostic and intervention tools widely used in Czech educational and counselling practice and has contributed to many national and international research projects, including the Multilingual Assessment Battery of Early Literacy (MABEL) (). She is a member of the International Society for Scientific Studies of Reading and a founding member of the European Literacy Network. Alongside her research, she has extensive experience in lifelong learning programs for professionals in psychology, counselling, and speech therapy, and is dedicated to mentoring students and early career researchers.