Sophie Elizabeth Malone Bsc, Msc.
Director of Joy and Adventure and Cafe Manager at Empowering, Teacher, Expedition Leader and ‘Unicorn in the love department’.
Empowering freedom and adventure is my passion. Maintaining a state of love, harmony, and vibrant health is my motivation for self-care. Sharing compassion and joy is my purpose and living a life in harmony with nature is my aspiration.
As the owner of Rainbow’s End Cafe, I led a team to achieve ‘the number one cafe’ in Prague on TripAdvisor within one and a half years. As an environmentalist and expedition leader, I have traveled to over 50 countries and learnt diverse skills. From a young age, I have enthusiastically embraced adventure at every opportunity.
Friends have called me a Unicorn for many years before it gained its own meaning in the business world. I am humbled to be told that I radiate love, compassion, and joy. It is my integrity to share this gift with the people around me.
Empowering inspirational, effective, and fun education is my passion. A sustained state of happiness, health, and resilience drives my commitment to personal wellbeing. Improving the lives of vulnerable people is my purpose and improving the lives of everyone I meet is my aspiration.
As a yoga practitioner and teacher, I delved into my own trauma and repaired myself after two nervous breakdowns. I rebuilt a strong nervous system to courageously live a life I actively created and I am told that I radiate resilience. As an English teacher, I have established inspiring relationships with influential clients and encouraged the introduction of movement, fun, and meditation into schools. As a sales manager, the company I worked for grew from £3m to £10m in five years whilst we designed and built our own factory and facilitated employee ownership.
I believe that to live fully and with an open heart, it is essential to share happiness, embrace fun and adventure whenever possible, and dive into pain to find the sweetness of the solution that is seeded from within.
Lisa Marie Cunniff
MD and Founder of Empowering, Teacher, Consultant.
Sebastien Olivier Martineau
Trainer for Empowering
I am Global People Development Director at Vendavo, and by background a psychologist and Aikido teacher (3rd Dan). My passion has always been people development, particularly leadership, excellence and well-being.
For over 15 years, after a management career at the UK Ministry of defense, I was a full-time corporate trainer, working in major leadership and organizational development programs for companies such as Microsoft, Vodafone, Merck, BNP Paribas, Olympus, Astra Zenica, Gefco, Ikea and for governmental organisations such as UK educational authorities and the European Parliament.
Following an Executive MA in Positive Leadership and Strategy at IE Business School in 2014, I am an expert practitioner in the application of Positive Leadership to leader growth and development. In 2015 I was certified as a happiness facilitator (Bloom Company). In 2019 I was certified as an embodied facilitator (EFC) and in 2020 as a Lumina practitioner.
At Vendavo I offer coaching and development to our people aimed at empowering exceptional performance in individuals and teams, as well as establishing positive enabling cultures in the workplace and in company leadership teams.
I moonlight as an Aikido Sensei, Lightsaber Fencing coach, and corporate trainer offering only the very best and most entertaining of my programmes.
Kendra is an American citizen and a longtime resident of Prague. After teaching English in the Czech Republic and Colombia for 11 years, she transitioned into technical writing and strategic communications. However, writing did not always deliver the same satisfaction that teaching did, and for 2022 she made it a personal goal to find a way to use her collective skills to help others. After the invasion in Ukraine, she joined forces with the other directors and offered her skills to help create the necessary documentation for the NGO and its social media strategy. Empowered by a love for language and the strength of the Ukrainian people, she continues to provide support where needed.
Kendra Gaffin
Director of Strategy and Marketing
Mgr. Elen Andrusenko
Elementary school teacher and teacher at Empowering
My number one passion in life is my family. I care about the wellbeing of my husband and daughter very deeply. I also enjoy having my own free time. My main hobbies are morning or afternoon runs in the park with my dog or watching detective themed shows.
One of my proudest moments as a teacher was when one of my students won a national Russian language competition in the Czech republic. Also, I am very proud to be working with Ukrainian refugees and giving them a chance to assimilate here after leaving their home behind. Otherwise I am completely satisfied working as an ordinary teacher and bringing knowledge to my students.
Ukrainian 
English 
Czech