Our team
Verónica Guzmán
Co-Founder, Co-Director
& P.E. Teacher
Verónica was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia. She came to the United States for college, earning a B.A in Political Science and International Studies from The University of Chicago. A few years after working in Washington, DC., she pursued a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from The University of California, Berkeley.
Maria Oneto
Co-Founder, Co-Director
& Lead Spanish Teacher
Maria has a B.A in Early Childhood Education from the Catholic University (Pontificia Universidad Católica) in Lima, Perú. She has taken courses in Mindfulness from Mindful Schools and Mindfulness Northwest as well as the Training of Trainers Program in High/Scope Curriculum from The High Scope Foundation in Michigan.
Dawn Rinaldo
Lead English Teacher
Dawn Rinaldo has spent the past 22 years working as a teacher. She began her career as a preschool teacher and for the past several years has been working as a certified kindergarten teacher in South Carolina and North Carolina.
Juan Miguel Lavista
Computer Science Teacher
Juan Miguel Lavista is the Senior Director of Data Science for Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence For Good Research Lab. Juan is involved in working to define the data science discipline within Microsoft and is currently the editor of the Microsoft Journal of Applied Research (MSJAR). He is also a faculty member at Singularity University and is a speaker on data science, big data, and artificial intelligence in the US and internationally.
Alejandra Guzmán
Art Teacher
Alejandra Guzmán has a B.A in graphic design from the Universidad Intercontinental in Mexico City, with studies in visual arts from Wakefield College in the United Kingdom. She worked as a lead graphic designer for global consumer brands and as a freelance designer in printed and digital media.
Luis Aznárez
Music Teacher
Luis Aznárez was born and raised in Barcelona, Spain. When he was thirteen years old, a friend gave him a bass guitar, and this sparked his passion for music. He studied theater lighting design at the Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya and at the Institut del Teatre. Early in his life he knew he would be connected to the stage.
Priscilla Portocarrero
Lead After-School Spanish Tutoring
Priscilla Portocarrero has a B.A in Psychology from Universidad Femenina del Sagrado Corazón (UNIFE) in Lima, Perú and a specialization in Family Therapy from Universidad de La Sabana in Bogotá, Colombia. She is also a certified Positive Discipline Parenting Educator from the Positive Discipline Association.