Meet Our Team
Teacher Qualifications
- Teachers must be native Spanish speakers.
- Teachers must have a Bachelor’s degree at a minimum.
- Teachers must be CPR certified every two years and have background checks performed.
- Teachers are required to have 20 hours of continuing education per year in addition to yearly immersion training, Zoo Phonics training and Handwriting without Tears training.
Meet Our Directors
Señora DeShea is the Program Director of The Spanish Academy. DeShea opened The Spanish Academy in September of 2001. She is a graduate of The University of Georgia with a degree in International Business. She lived in Seville, Spain in 1997. She is married and has three children. Her goal is to create a total immersion environment in which children look forward to coming to school each day while developing a lifelong love of learning and a proficiency in Spanish. She has always had a passion for children and language and loves her job!
Señora Maribel is the Assistant Director of The Spanish Academy in Buckhead. She is a native of Mexico, and she studied at the University of Texas in San Antonio with a major in Communications. She later pursued a Master in International Business degree n Madrid, Spain, where she lived for 6 years. She moved back to the USA in 2007 and came to Atlanta with her husband and two girls in 2011. She is a strong believer of the bilingual immersion education and is excited to be at The Spanish Academy along with her youngest daughter.
Señora Natalia is the Director of The Spanish Academy in East Cobb. She is from Argentina and moved to Atlanta in 2000. Natalia is a graduate from Catholic University in Buenos Aires, Argentina with a degree in Accounting. She worked in the finance for 14 years. She is married and has 2 children. She believes that every kid is different and that learning and fun can go together. This is her sixth year at The Spanish Academy.
Señora Verónica is an Assistant Director Suwanee and a teacher of 2 and 3 year olds. She from Mexico and has been living in Atlanta since 1995. She has a degree in Business and has been working at The Spanish Academy for 11 years. She feels teaching young children is the most gratifying and fun experience. She has two children of her own and lives in Alpharetta.
Señora Tally is the Director of The Spanish Academy in Suwanee. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 2003 with a double major in Spanish and Foreign Language Education. She studied at the Complutense University of Madrid and has traveled to many Spanish-speaking countries. She taught high school Spanish for nine years, the last six at Wesleyan School. Tally and her husband have three children; all of which have attended the Spanish Academy. She is passionate about Spanish, education and children.
Annie is from Lima, Peru. She has a BFA in Graphic Design from Louisiana State University. She has lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as well as Connecticut, Louisiana, Texas and now in Alpharetta, GA since 1997. Annie is fluent in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. She has three grown sons and a granddaughter who luckily lives in Buckhead. Annie has been teaching FearLessArt w/anNie for two years with her mission being “To empower children’s great minds and creativity by allowing them to express themselves, therefore building on their problem solving skills and self-esteem.” Annie worked with The Spanish Academy previously for seven years, 2002-2009 and loved every minute of it. Working with children and their families is something she truly enjoys doing. Annie is very happy to be back.
Señora April
A school is only as great as its teachers…and we have the best!
Meet Our Teachers
Señora Adriana is from Caracas,Venezuela and has been living in the USA since 2006. She has a degree in Early Childhood Education and has been working at The Spanish Academy since 2012. She is married and a mother of two very busy children. She loves teaching children in her native language in a fun, didactic and safe environment!
Señora Beatriz is from Murcia, Spain and has been living in Atlanta since 2014. She has a Bachelor degree in Journalism from Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia and degree in Marketing and Advertising from Universidad de Murcia. She is a married and the mother a daughter. She believes in learning languages at an early age is the best way to achieve a high level of oral proficiency and feels strongly that having fun while learning is key.
Señora Carolina is from Venezuela and has been living in the United States since 2011. She graduated from Instituto Universitario de Tecnologia Industrial with a degree in Industrial Production. She loves children and is very passionate about teaching them her native language!
Señora Erika is from Mexico, and has been living in the United States since 2008. She started a bachelor degree in business in 1998 and after one year in the business school she realized that her true passion is to work with children. She graduated from the Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey campus Chihuahua (ITESM) where she obtained the degree in Montessori Teacher in 2001. She has been working with children since 1996. She is has been married for ten years and has two children. She believes that no matter what pedagogical method or beliefs are use, kids can learn when they feel love and respect.
Señora Esther is from Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan in Mexico. She graduated from the Instituto Michoacano de Ciencias de la Educación with a degree in Educational Psychology. She moved to the Atlanta area in 2011 to work as an Au Pair. She had the opportunity to work with children in Mexico as an English Instructor and in the US as an Au Pair. She strongly believes that teaching young children is one of the most rewarding careers. She now lives in Smyrna Georgia with her husband and enjoys mountain biking and volunteering at her church.
Señora Gaby is originally from Venezuela. She has a Bachelor Degree in Journalism and a Post graduate certification in Corporate Communication. She lives in Alpharetta with her husband and her two kids. She loves to work with children and teach them her native language with dynamic and fun lessons.
Señora Jomara is from Ponce, Puerto Rico. She graduated from the Pontificia Universidad Católica with a degree in Secretarial Science. She moved to Atlanta in 2012, with her husband and her two kids. She loves spending time with her family believes childhood is the most important stage of human development . Everyone should take responsibility, since the healthy development of children is crucial to the well-being of any society.
Señora Karina is from Caracas-Venezuela and has been living in United States since 2003. She moved to Atlanta in 2006 with a Degree in Human Resources from I.U.T “Antonio Jose de Sucre” in Venezuela. She has been working at The Spanish Academy since 2011 in Buckhead as Assistant Teacher. She Lives in Midtown, with her husband and her 7 years old son and enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Señora Marcela is from Medellin, Colombia moved to United States 10 years ago. She has lived in Pennsylvania, Ohio and in Atlanta since 2009. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Physical Therapy from University of Rosario in Bogota, Colombia. She has 10 years of experience working as a PT in Colombia and has been working with children from one and a half to four years old since 2011. She is mother of a five year old daughter.
Señora Mariana grew up in Mexico and lived there for over 20 years. She and her family moved to Georgia in 2011 and have loved every minute of it! She has two beautiful daughters who love to spend time cooking, playing games, or at the pool. She started her undergraduate degree in Law and after 3 years dedicated her time educating and learning with her daughters. She believes that at a very early age is when students gain confidence and success in working independently towards personal goals, both academic and social.
Señora Martha is from Bogotá, Colombia where studied and earn a Bachelor in Economics from Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá. She lives in Alpharetta with her husband and two kids and has taught Spanish for more than four years,. She feels blessed to have the opportunity to work with children and teach them in her native language. She enjoys to spend time with her family, reading and loves soccer!
Señora Nancy grew up in Mexico and San Antonio, Tx. She studied at the Universidad del Valle de in Mexico and earned a degree in Fashion Design. She has had 13 years of experience working with children and believes strongly in bilingual immersion education because it opens more doors. (No se como decirlo en ingles, que te “abre mas puertas” así lo decimos tal cual en español”)
Señora Patricia is from Venezuela and has a BA in Journalism and Mass Communication and a MA in Investigative Journalism. Since she came to the US in 2000 has been working in a bilingual environment ever since. She lives in Johns Creek with her husband, two girls and her parents. Patricia enjoys volunteering in her daughters’ school and finds working with children of all ages very rewarding.
Señora Andrea
Adriana was born in Mexico City. She studied communication with a major in live TV production at Universidad Anáhuac del Norte, Mexico. She got married in 2006 and moved to Atlanta where her two girls were born. One of them is an alumni of The Spanish Academy and the other one is still a student here. She has a lot of passion for the arts, especially cinema, photography and singing. Adriana strongly believes in bilingual immersion education and the extended family (grandparents, uncles, cousins and close friends) as fundamental elements for kids development. She is very excited to join the team this year. Working with children is so much fun!
Señora Flavia is from Bogota, Colombia and a graduate from Hôpital Armand Trousseau, Paris in Nursing. She has worked in Pediatric for 8 years and love children! She knows from her own experiences that that language Immersion works, as she is perfectly bilingual in French, Spanish, and English. She is married and has two wonderful children.
Karin is originally from Guatemala and has been living in the Atlanta area since 2000. She graduated from Universidad Francisco Marroquin with a degree in information systems and received her MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School. After working as a senior consultant, she took a break to take care of her two daughters. She loves having the chance to teach children in Spanish and believes that the key to education is to keep activities and materials interesting and engaging.
Señora Maria is originally from Caracas, Venezuela and has been living in the US for over 15 years. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business and a MBA from the American University. Maria has over 5 years of experience teaching Spanish to preschoolers and school age kids. She has also worked for more than 11 years as a dance instructor teaching both adults and kids all ages. While not busy with work activities, Maria spends all of her time with her husband of two beautiful children.
Señora Monica is from Santiago, Chile. She has been in Georgia since 1997. Monica has a Business Degree with a Major in Tourism. She lives in Marietta, has been married for fifteen years and has two sons and a daughter. After having her children, she realized that her true passion is to work with children. She loves the fact that she can teach her native language to the little ones in a fun and didactic environment.
Originally from Mexico, she studied Business Administration at the Universidad de las Americas in Puebla. She moved with her husband and 2 kids to Atlanta in 2011. She is a strong believer that being bilingual is a huge advantage not only to get a good job, but also give the opportunity to know other people and their cultures.
Señora Pia is from Venezuela and moved to Atlanta in 2004. She earned a degree in Preschool Education in Venezuela and upon graduating worked as a Teacher’s Assistant for two years. She has enjoyed the pleasure of working with an American family as a Nanny and Spanish tutor for eight years after coming to the US. Pia is going into her forth year at the Spanish Academy and loves being a preschool teacher! She strongly believes that the preschool age is the perfect age to impact a child’s life in a very positive way!
Señora Rosemary is from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. but has been living in Atlanta Since 2010. She graduated from Instituto Tecnico de Santo Domingo with a degree in psychology with an emphasis in human resources. She currently lives in Marietta, GA with her husband and daughter. She learned English by immersion and knows firsthand the value of this method. She very much enjoys working with children and is very excited to be part of the The Spanish Academy.
Señora Ena is from Managua, Nicaragua and has been living in Atlanta since 2008. She has a BA in Agricultural Engineering but her true passion has always been teaching and working with young children. She lives with her husband, two daughters and her dog mona.
Señora Liz is from Buenos Aires, Argentina where she studied Textile Design in Universidad de Buenos Aires. She also is a Certified English teacher by Cultural Inglesa de Buenos Aires. She has been living in USA since 1999. She is married and is mom to two amazing kids, three rescued dogs and a crazy cat! 🙂 On the weekends she plays with fibers at her studio at The Goat Farm Arts Center.
Señora Nydia is from San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she earned a Master’s Degree in Public Communications. Also enrolled in a course of Psychology Education, consisting on Children Behavioral Modification. After years of experience in journalism, she moved to Atlanta in 2001 looking forward to work in an environment that involved her passion for the Spanish language. After being a stay home mom for 10 years, she wanted to find a job that fits her love for children and education in a bilingual environment. Being a part time as a Spanish adjunct lecturer in Oxford College of Emory University in 2013, motivated her to pursue her career in education. She is certain that she would make a positive contribution to The Spanish Academy, and receive a great deal of personal and professional satisfaction.
Señora Alex is a native New Yorker. She lived in the Dominican Republic for 12 years. She received her bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management from the Pontifical University de Madre y Maestra in Santiago, Dominican Republic. While living there, she taught at a private language academy for 5 years before opening her own language center from 2009 until 2011. She has been living in Georgia since 2012. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education.
Señora Adriana was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. She graduated from Universidad Latina with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Psychology and Human Development. After working in Mexico City as a supervisor at a major company for several years, she decided to move to the Atlanta, Ga in 2008. Adriana has two children—both are bilingual. She is passionate about teaching Spanish to children and leading workshops on social psychology. Adriana believes that children are the future and that they have to be treated with respect and shown the path to their true potential with love and care!
Señora Cecilia was born in Peru, and she graduated with a Law degree, focused on family law. She is a certified Spanish teacher and has a Head Start Program Certification, Children Development Associated (CDA), and Basic Core for child care providers. She moved to Atlanta in 2006 and has 2 children. She has worked for eleven years with children of all ages. She believes each child is special, unique and capable of doing anything if they feel secure and comfortable.
Señora Claudia is originally from Perú where she studied Graphic Design. She came to the United States with her family in 2002. She has three children, two boys and a daughter. She started with The Spanish Academy in 2005 working with the 3-year olds but more recently she has been working in the Pre-K program. She is constantly looking for new, fun ways to teach and engage the children in the best Spanish learning environment.
Coming soon
Señora Rozzana is from México City, México and has been living in Atlanta since 1999. She graduated from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) with a degree in International Relations. She speaks Spanish, English and French. She has worked as a substitute teacher in elementary and preschool in Atlanta. She has been married 21 years and has two daughters that are bilingual, and one of them is proficient in French, too. She strongly believes that learning lots of languages will help students succeed in life.