I am the only child and a proud daughter of immigrants from Brazil and Puerto Rico. At the age of one, I moved with my family to Brazil, where we would live for the next few years until we moved to Washington DC and ultimately, New York City. I’ve enjoyed living in various cities and traveling. In all, I’ve lived in or spent a lot of time in the United States, Spain, Portugal, England, Iceland, Italy, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Ireland. I fell in love with travel as a child, going back and forth between the USA and Brazil every summer, for many years.
I graduated from Swarthmore College in May 2000, with a Bachelor of Arts in History. What excited me the most were my classes in Political Theory and Latin American history. I studied abroad for one year and then went back to live in Madrid, Spain after college. I taught English as a Second Language for a while before doing translation work, and ultimately, completing my first Master’s Degree there. Living and working overseas led me to appreciate cultural diversity and enjoy different perspectives. This appreciation has shaped my approach towards working with students of all ages and at all levels.
I returned to the USA to teach middle and upper school Spanish at an all-girls school outside of Philadelphia. Four more years into my career led me to complete a Master of Education in Education Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University. It was there that I learned that it was possible to fuse social justice and leadership development in the classroom. Since then, I have worked with colleagues, students and families as an advisor, as a coordinator of food drives and service days, food drives, a member of a hiring committee, a NYSAIS accreditation committee chair, and classroom teacher.
I chose to work in independent schools in order to join mission-driven communities of learning. Each school has shaped me and molded me into the educator that I am today. I am currently working as a middle school Spanish teacher to gifted and accelerated learners in New York City. When I am away from the classroom, I am a voracious reader that also enjoys bike riding, walking in State Parks, spending time with my daughter and husband, visiting family members and painting!
