We have over 200 staff working with us in Colombo and Kandy, including over 100 teachers from the UK and overseas.
Learn more about the people in our senior management team who drive our organisation:
Orlando Edwards, Country Director
Orlando Edwards has worked for the British Council for a combined total of 15 years. He is currently the Country Director Sri Lanka. Previously, he was Country Director Algeria, where he oversaw School Reform programmes, the launch of the British Council’s digital library – attracting the largest British Council library membership overnight – a rich cultural programme, and Climate Change programmes in support of COP26.
Before Algeria, Orlando was the Regional Manager in the Global Network Team at British Council headquarters in London, supporting senior management and Directors in the Americas and East Asia.
As the Cultural and Education Consul in Wuhan, and Hubei, China, he initiated the expansion of the Mandarin Excellence project and facilitated a number of new higher education partnerships and cultural exchanges.
He is a keen sportsperson, passionate about culture and cultural relations, and speaks Chinese and French.
Rajitha Mendries, Director Business Operations
Rajitha serves as the Director – Business Operations and strategically leads all Business Operations for Sri Lanka, ensuring that resources are efficiently and effectively deployed. She enables the various sectors and unit operations to meet business objectives for English, Exams, and Cultural Engagement (i.e. arts and culture) activities. She also represents British Council in endeavours to support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between the UK and Sri Lanka.
Rajitha has more than 20 years of experience in Business Operations and Administration, spanning banking, ICT, education, and travel industries.
She is an avid traveller, passionate about experiencing diverse cultures, and is fluent in Japanese and is focused on International Relations.
Dominic Hudson, Director Exams
Dominic Hudson is the Exams Director for British Council Sri Lanka and the Maldives. He has worked at British Council for 21 years, most recently in exams as Regional Commercial Development Manager and Regional Marketing and Business Development Manager in Africa; he is a former Cambridge and IELTS examiner. Dominic was the Deputy Teaching Centre Manager in Sri Lanka 2012-15, where he managed teaching in Colombo, and an English capacity building project in the north and east, and set up partner teaching centres in the south. He has also managed teaching centres in Egypt, Bangladesh, Jordan and Kenya, and was an English teacher from 1996. Dominic has undertaken the following professional training and qualifications:
- Lead Digital Certificate Avado Learning
- Professional Marketing Diploma CIM
- Certificate in Language Testing (Roehampton University)
- MBA Marketing (University of Leicester)
- Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults (University of Cambridge).
Galina Pereira, Assistant Director of Resources and Finance
Galina has been with the British Council for over five years. Previously, she worked in the corporate sector for over 10 years as Head of Finance of a large conglomerate in Sri Lanka in the tea and travel industry. She started her career in auditing and was involved in consultancy assignments at Messrs Ernst and Young Sri Lanka for four years. Galina is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK) and has a Masters in Business Administration.
Sanjeevani Munasinghe, Head of Programmes
Sanjeevani Munasinghe is the Head of Programmes and has been working at the British Council for the nearly 20 years. She has over 30 years of work experience and knowledge in the development sector especially in Renewable Energy, Education and Non-Formal Education. She is the senior lead for the Social Enterprise component of the EU funded “Enterprise” project on Integrated Rural Development.