I am a strategic and inclusive leader with a passion for serving multilingual communities. I believe that multilingual learners bring unique gifts to our schools as individuals and members of their communities. Their success is essential to the success of our educational system.

I began my career in education as an English teacher in Ecuador, later working as a bilingual high school teacher and consultant with the Illinois Resource Center improving instructional programs for linguistically diverse students throughout Illinois.

I served as Assistant Superintendent for Language and Culture and Human Resources in Schaumburg School District 54, the largest elementary school district in Illinois serving 16,000 students. In this capacity, I oversaw the implementation of dual language, immersion, English Learner programming, and professional development at 28 schools serving over 3,000 English learners and 1,600 dual and immersion students. I led the District 54 Equity and Inclusion Task force and the professional development of a district-wide initiative to improve organizational culture through the principles of positive psychology based on the work of the Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor.

Prior to serving as Assistant Superintendent, I was the principal of MacArthur International Spanish Academy, where we doubled the size of the dual language program and developed a school identity as MacArthur International Spanish Academy during my tenure. In 2011, MacArthur was recognized as Spanish School of the Year, by the Spanish Ministry of Education and in 2015, MacArthur was named as the #2 elementary school in Suburban Cook County by Chicago Magazine.

I live outside of Chicago and love gardening. If you happen to express any interest in my garden I will likely start bringing you produce.