Our Staff

Spanish-Albuquerque-Language-Institute-Margarita

Margarita | Founder and Owner

Margarita is a native Spanish speaker from Colombia and fully bilingual. She is a Certified Spanish Teacher with Command Spanish® and a member of both, the American Translators Association and the New Mexico Translators and Interpreters Association. Margarita holds a Master’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of Florida and has over 12 years of experience in the educational field. She is the founder of SpanishABQ Language Institute and co-founder of  SpanishSmart™.  She is the author of 10 books in the series Spanish: From Beginner to Bilingual  and creator of the instructional board game ¡Viajemos por Nuevo México!

 Spanish-Albuquerque-Language-Institute-Paola

Paola | Spanish Instructor

Paola is a native Spanish speaker from Colombia and fully bilingual.  She has a Bachelor’s in Modern Foreign Languages with concentration in Spanish from the University of Mary Washington in Virginia.  She has over 8 years of teaching experience. She has worked as a translator and interpreter in New Mexico.  Having learned English as an adult, she understands the difficulty involved in learning a second language. She inspires others to overcome the discomfort of speaking in a language that is not their own. She is a member of  Phi Sigma Iota International Foreign Language Honor Society.

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Guadalupe | Spanish Instructor

Guadalupe is a native Spanish speaker from Mexico City with over 10 years of experience in teaching Spanish to adults.  She has a Tourism Business Administration degree from Centro de Estudios en Hotelería at México City. Prior to joining Spanish ABQ she taught at the Ventura College, Ventura, CA., Universidad Cristobal Colón de Veracruz, México, and Universidad Interamericana para el Desarrollo UNID, Plantel Cancún, México. Her background in business and tourism gives her excellent skills which she brings to the classroom when discussing cultures in Spanish speaking countries and teaching Spanish for business and travel needs.

Ana | Spanish Instructor

Spanish is Ana’s first language and she is fully bilingual. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Languages from the University of New Mexico.  She holds a teaching certification in Modern Languages from the State of New Mexico. Prior to joining Spanish ABQ Ana taught Spanish at the following institutions: The University of New Mexico, Santa Fe Indian School, Academy of Trades and Technology, South Valley Academy and Cervantes Institute.  She is an interpreter with the Albuquerque and Rio Rancho Public School Districts.

Spanish-Albuquerque-Language-Institute-Manuel

Manuel | Spanish Instructor

Manuel is a native Spanish speaker with a Bachelor’s in Linguistics from Havana University and a Master’s in Psycho-pedagogy from Institute A.S. Pushkin, Russia. In addition, he has taken advanced studies at the Anglo Mexican Foundation in Mexico City. He holds a certification as International Examiner of D.E.L.E. (Diploma Español como Lengua Extranjera -Diplomas of Spanish as a Foreign Language). He has been teaching Spanish for over 15 years. He teaches medical terminology and conversational Spanish to doctors and medical personnel at UNM Hospital. Before joining SpanishABQ Language Institute , Manuel taught at the Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico City and the University of the Valley of Mexico.

 

Claudia| Spanish Instructor

Claudia is a native Spanish speaker from Mexico.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in science and a master’s degree in business administration. She is the mother of four children (all of them are bilingual). She has been teaching Spanish as a second language for over 17  years to different types of students, from preschoolers to adults and also children with special needs. 

Spanish-Albuquerque-Language-Institute-Alonso2

Alonso | Spanish & English Instructor

Originally from Perú and fully bilingual. Alonso holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from Temple University. Prior to joining Spanish ABQ he worked at AmeriCorps Energy Express mentoring kids with behavioral problems in reading and writing. He has also worked as Youth Works Supervisor, High School Education Specialist and English Instructor. He has experience teaching Spanish and English to both, kids and adults.

Spanish-Albuquerque-Language-Institute-Kristin

Kristin | Spanish & English Instructor

She is fully bilingual and has a M.A. in Educational Leadership from New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, NM and a B.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is a certified bilingual educator and has extensive experience teaching adults and children. Some of her certifications include New Mexico Level Three Professional K-12 Specialty Area License, Endorsement in Social Studies, TESOL, Modern and Classical Languages and Bilingual Education, and California Bilingual Certificate of Competence.